Following the market opening Monday, the Dow traded up 0.02 percent to 21,209.59 while the NASDAQ slipped 0.01 percent to
6,305.74. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.03 percent to 2,438.38.
Leading and Lagging Sectors
Technology sector was the top gainer in the US market on Monday. Top gainers in the sector included VirnetX Holding
Corporation (NYSE: VHC), Asure Software Inc (NASDAQ:
ASUR), and CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA).
In trading on Monday, cyclical consumer goods & services shares fell 0.46 percent. Meanwhile, top losers in the sector included
Tempur Sealy International Inc (NYSE: TPX), down 4
percent, and Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD), down
4 percent.
Top Headline
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) cut its sales forecast for
the current quarter.
Herbalife expects Q2 revenue to decline by 6 percent to 2 percent, versus earlier forecast of 0.5 percent to 4.5 percent
decline. It projects adjusted earnings of $0.95 to $1.15 per share, up from previous forecast of $0.88 to $1.08 per share.
Equities Trading UP
Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE: FOR) shares shot up 13
percent to $16.10 after D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE: DHI)
proposed to buy 75 percent of Forestar Group for $16.25 per share in cash.
Shares of Loxo Oncology Inc (NASDAQ: LOXO) got a
boost, shooting up 41 percent to $69.28 after the company reported that larotrectinib trial demonstrated 76 percent confirmed
objective response rate.
Gigamon Inc (NYSE: GIMO) shares were also up,
gaining 11 percent to $43.75. Reuters reported that Gigamon is exploring a potential sale.
Equities Trading DOWN
Endocyte, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECYT) shares dropped 14
percent to $1.65. Cowen & Co. downgraded Endocyte from Outperform to Market Perform, while Wedbush downgraded the stock from
Outperform to Neutral.
Shares of Juno Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ: JUNO)
were down 8 percent to $24.06. Juno Therapeutics presented updated data from the TRANSCEND trial of JCAR017 at the ASCO Annual
Meeting.
Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF) was down, falling around 6
percent to $69.46 after the company cut its sales forecast for the current quarter.
Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 0.90 percent to $47.23 while gold traded up 0.33 percent to $1,284.40.
Silver traded up 0.29 percent Monday to $17.575, while copper fell 0.72 percent to $2.556.
Eurozone
European shares were lower today. The eurozone’s STOXX 600 fell 0.16 percent, the Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.30 percent, while
Italy’s FTSE MIB Index fell 0.85 percent. Meanwhile the German DAX climbed 1.25 percent, and the French CAC 40 declined 0.69
percent while U.K. shares fell 0.26 percent.
Economics
U.S. nonfarm productivity was unchanged for the first quarter, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.20 percent decline. Unit
labor costs rose 2.20 percent for the quarter, versus estimates for a 2.50 percent growth.
US Services PMI declined to 53.60 in May, versus a prior reading of 54.00. Economists expected a reading of 54.10.
U.S. factory orders declined 0.2 percent for April, versus economists’ expectations for a 0.20 percent drop.
The ISM non-manufacturing index slipped to 56.90 for May, versus previous reading of 57.50. Economists were expecting a reading
of 57.00.
The Conference Board Employment Trends Index rose to 133.70 in May, versus a prior revised reading of 132.77.
The Treasury is set to auction 3-and 6-month bills at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index for May is schedule for release at 12:30 p.m. ET.
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