Toward the end of trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.29 percent to 19,906.28 while the NASDAQ gained 0.25 percent to
5,534.73. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.28 percent to 2,270.69.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Healthcare shares gained around 0.73 percent in trading on Monday. Meanwhile, top gainers in the sector included Ariad
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA), and VCA Inc
(NASDAQ: WOOF).
In trading on Monday, utilities shares fell by 1.08 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included South Jersey
Industries Inc (NYSE: SJI), down 4 percent, and MDU
Resources Group Inc (NYSE: MDU), down 4 percent.
Top Headline
Global Payments Inc (NYSE: GPN) reported
better-than-expected earnings for its second quarter.
Global Payments reported Q2 earnings of $0.89 per share on revenue of $817.2 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $0.85
per share on revenue of $803 million.
Equities Trading UP
Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARIA) shares
shot up 73 percent to $23.74 after Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd announced plans to buy the company in a $5.20 billion
deal.
Shares of VCA Inc (NASDAQ: WOOF) got a boost,
shooting up 28 percent to $90.71 after Mars, Incorporated agreed to acquire the company.
Surgical Care Affiliates Inc (NASDAQ: SCAI) shares
were also up, gaining 16 percent to $56.55 after UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH) disclosed that its unit agreed to acquire Surgical Care Affiliates for around
$2.3 billion.
Equities Trading DOWN
Acuity Brands, Inc. (NYSE: AYI) shares dropped 14
percent to $203.01 after the company reported downbeat quarterly results.
Shares of AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAG) were down around 36 percent to $22.95. Before the open, the issue company
issued FY 2017 sales that surrounded current estimates. Also, the company announced an exclusive licensing agreement with
Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: PTN) for North
American rights to Rekyndatm. Raymond James downgraded AMAG Pharmaceuticals from Market Perform to Underperform.
Stage Stores Inc (NYSE: SSI) was down, falling around
16 percent to $3.35 as the company reported a drop in its holiday season same-store sales and lowered its earnings guidance. The
retailer’s same-store sales dropped 7.3 percent for the nine-week period ending December 31, 2016.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 3.89 percent to $51.89 while gold traded up 0.92 percent to $1,184.20.
Silver traded up 0.85 percent Monday to $16.66, while copper fell 0.53 percent to $2.53.
Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.49 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index declined 0.24
percent, while Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 1.66 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX dropped 0.30 percent, and the French CAC 40 fell
0.45 percent while U.K. shares rose 0.38 percent.
Economics
Data on consumer credit for November will be released today.
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