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U.S. stocks opened modestly lower as investors readied for the start of earnings season and took in a major deal from Microsoft.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 33773.86 | -26.74 | -0.08% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4124.96 | -3.84 | -0.09% |
| I:COMP | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell over 40 points, or 0.13%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were lower by 0.35% and 0.11%, respectively. Both the Dow and the S&P finished at all-time highs on Friday as the Nasdaq escaped bear-market territory.
In M&A news, Nuance Communications is being acquired by Microsoft in a $19.7 billion deal for the cloud and AI provider. The all-cash transaction will pay Nuance shareholders $56 per share, a 23% premium to Friday’s closing price. The deal is the second-largest for Microsoft, behind its $26 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NUAN | NUANCE COMMUNICATIONS, INC. | 53.55 | +7.97 | +17.49% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 255.40 | -0.45 | -0.17% |
In addition, earnings season is set to kick off on Wednesday with big banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. set to release their quarterly results.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPM | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. | 156.74 | +0.35 | +0.22% |
| GS | THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP, INC. | 333.55 | +2.55 | +0.77% |
| WFC | WELLS FARGO & CO. | 40.62 | +0.12 | +0.31% |
Elsewhere, Uber Technologies Inc. reported gross bookings hit a record high in March as ride hailings snapped back to pre-pandemic levels and food delivery more than doubled from the previous year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UBER | UBER TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | 59.60 | +1.91 | +3.31% |
| LYFT | LYFT INC. | 61.14 | +0.17 | +0.28% |
Meanwhile, Alibaba Group Holdings was fined a record 18 billion Chinese yuan ($2.75 billion) by Chinese regulators for anticompetitive behavior. However, the fine was smaller than feared.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BABA | ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD | 240.78 | +17.44 | +7.81% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 81 cents or $60.13 per barrel and gold slipped $1.80 to $1,743 an ounce.
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Overseas markets were mixed.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX 30 and France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.17% and 0.15%, respectively, while Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.31%.
Asian markets were lower across the board with China’s Shanghai Composite index losing 1.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declining 0.86% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 sliding 0.77%.
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