From Briefing.com: The week began with the markets all posting modest gains. Ahead of the upcoming earnings season, the markets essentially traded in a tight range for the majority of the day, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average boasted the most notable uptick, ending higher by 47.37 points (+0.28%) to 17131.86. The Nasdaq Composite followed, up 8.17 points (+0.17%) to 4838.64. The S&P 500 posted the most tame gains, adding only 2.57 points (+0.13%) to end Monday 2017.46. Trading was relatively quiet today as banks and bond markets were closed for Columbus Day.
8 sectors posted session gains, as the XLU +0.89%, XLY +0.48%, IYZ +0.35%, XLV +0.26%, XLP +0.26%, XLK +0.12%, XLF +0.09%, XLI +0.02% finished above flat lines. Laggards on the session were XLB -0.86%, XLE -1.29%.
Strength in the Technology (XLK 41.53, +0.05 +0.12%) sector today started with the news that EMC (EMC 28.35, +0.49 +1.76%) confirmed last weeks rumored deal which it would be acquired by Dell for $67 billion in a cash and stock buyout which values the company at $33.15 per share. Under the terms of the deal, EMC shareholders will receive $24.05 per share in cash in addition to tracking stock linked to a portion of EMC's economic interest in the VMware (VMW 72.27, -6.38 -8.11%) business.
Also today, Social Media (SOCL 18.50, -0.17 -0.91%) name Twitter (TWTR 28.75, -2.10 -6.81%) was the subject of a Re/code article which suggested the company is planning layoffs for next week. The article suggested all employment areas could be impacted, but that engineers could be the main focus of the trim.
In the S&P 500 Information Technology sector (698.31, +1.45 +0.21%), trading began in the red, but quickly turned green about an hour into trading. The sector finished the day near session highs, with EA +4.72%, PYPL +1.77%, QRVO +1.69%, HRS +1.68%, TSS +1.60%, V +1.37% outperforming. Notable laggards on the session included: TDC -3.05%, GLW -1.48%, WDC -1.15%, CTSH -1.12%, AKAM -0.87%, XRX -0.85%.
Other notable news items among sector components:
VMware (VMW) preannounced Q3 results for EPS of $1.02 on revenues of +10% to $1.67 billion, both of which are above expectations.
EMC (EMC) Elliott Management issued a statement following buyout news. The firm noted they, 'strongly support the deal.'
PTC (PTC 34.90, +0.23 +0.66%) to acquire the Vuforia business from Qualcomm (QCOM 57.79, +0.01 +0.02%) for $65 million. The company does not expect the deal to impact FY16 non-GAAP EPS.
Symphony Communication Services announced it has raised more than $100 mln in new capital to accelerate global customer adoption. New investors Google (GOOG 646.67, +3.06 +0.48%), Lakestar, Natixis, Societe Generale and UBS (UBS 19.75, -0.04 -0.20%), along with a group of existing investors (including venture firm Merus Capital) participated in the round. Symphony previously raised a total of $66 million from a consortium of 15 financial institutions.
Elsewhere in the technology space:
Marvell (MRVL 9.25, -0.16 -1.70%) and interim CFO Sukhi Nagesh agreed on succession plan, effective immediately MRVL will commence search for a permanent CFO.
xG Technology (XGTI 0.59, +0.03 +6.56%) announced it will convert $500,00 of existing loans due from the company to the company's CEO into shares of the company's common stock.
Gilat Satellite (GILT 3.82, +0.18 +4.95%) announced CFO Yuval Ronen has decided to leave the company, and that he will be replaced by Adi Sfadia. The company also announced HTS, IFC, rural internet broadband and Chinese market structural changes.
Finjan (FNJN 1.63, -0.03 -1.81%) provided an update on patent litigations vs. Palo Alto Networks (PANW 167.81, -4.07 -2.37%) and Symantec (SYMC 20.88, -0.12 -0.57%). The judge, 'stayed the case pending a decision by the US Patent and Trademark Office on whether to institute Inter Partes Review of Finjan's patent claims in five of eight patents asserted against Symantec. Depending on the PTAB's decision on whether or not to institute those IPRs, Judge Gilliam will determine whether to extend the stay.'
Tableau Software (DATA 84.46, +1.46 +1.75%) and Deliotte Consulting LLP signed an alliance. Financial terms of the alliance were not disclosed.
Analyst actions:
HRS was upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan,
NTAP was upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird;
VMW was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho,
TECD was downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James,
MRVL was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Nomura,
EMC was downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies,
RKUS was downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray
4:05 pm : The stock market began the trading week on a sleepy note with a Monday session that saw the S&P 500 bounce around an eight-point range. The benchmark index settled higher by 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) outperformed slightly.
With the bond market closed for Columbus Day, a fair share of participants elected to forego the Monday session. The subdued activity was highlighted by below-average trading volume as fewer than 700 million shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.
Eight sectors finished the day with gains while commodity-sensitive energy (-1.1%) and materials (-0.9%) underperformed throughout the session. The energy sector finished at the bottom of the leaderboard, narrowing its October gain to 10.9% while crude oil surrendered 5.2% to settle at $47.19/bbl. Similar to the sector, WTI crude continues holding a solid month-to-date gain (+4.7%) despite today's dive.
Staying on the cyclical side, the consumer discretionary space (+0.5%) displayed relative strength since the start while the remaining growth-sensitive groups spent the day closer to their flat lines. Homebuilders contributed to the strength in the discretionary space with iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 27.94, +0.09) climbing 0.3%.
Elsewhere, the top-weighted technology sector (+0.2%) hovered just above its flat line throughout the day. Large sector components like Apple (AAPL 111.58, -0.54), Microsoft (MSFT 47.00, -0.11), Alphabet (GOOGL 676.43, +5.19), and Facebook (FB 94.26, +1.02) traded in mixed fashion while EMC (EMC 28.35, +0.49) spiked 1.8% after agreeing to be acquired by Dell for $67 billion in cash and stock.
Moving to the countercyclical side, consumer staples (+0.2%) and utilities (+0.9%) held gains throughout the day while the health care sector (+0.2%) eked out a slim advance despite a 7.8% slide in the shares of Eli Lilly (LLY 79.44, -6.70) after the company halted the development of a cholesterol drug.
Investors did not receive any economic data today, but tomorrow, the Treasury Budget for September will be reported at 14:00 ET (Briefing.com consensus $95.00 billion).
Nasdaq Composite +2.2% YTD
S&P 500 -2.0% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -3.9% YTD
Russell 2000 -3.4% YTD
DJ30 +47.30 NASDAQ +8.17 SP500 +2.54 NASDAQ Adv/Vol/Dec 1362/1.24 bln/1445 NYSE Adv/Vol/Dec 1584/680.1 mln/1459
3:35 pm :
Oil prices sold off today. The OPEC report was one catalyst helping move oil prices
In floor trade, Nov WTI crude oil finished the day off at $47.09/barrel, down 5.2%
In electronic trade, Nov crude is climbing a little higher... now at $47.36/barrel
In other energy, Nov natural gas rose 2% to $2.54/MMBtu.
Grains were rather flat by the end of the day following Friday's WASDE report
Metals were flat to modestly higher today
Dec gold rose +0.7% to $1164.50/oz, while Dec silver +0.3% at $15.87/oz
Dec copper ended flat at $2.41/lb.
1:10 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (121) outpacing new lows (40) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: ACRS, ALTR, AMRK, AMSF, APDN, APPF, ATNI, ATO, ATVI, AWK, BGG, BNCL, BOFI, BRSS, BZC, CBZ, CDW, CLX, CNO, CSBK, CSH, CTAS, DEA, DGII, DPS, DWTR, EEFT, EFX, ELS, ENR, ENVI, EQC, ESSA, EXLS, EXPD, EXPO, FBC, FISV, FIZZ, FLTX, FONR, GGAC, GPN, GSBC, HA, HBCP, HCAC, HRL, JBT, JCOM, JE, JJSF, JKHY, JOE, LANC, LG, LGIH, LZB, MAA, MATX, MB, MNRO, MO, MRGE, MRKT, NKE, NKSH, NOC, NPK, NSA, NVCR, NVDA, NVX, OGS, ORLY, OSIS, PBY, PFS, PGR, PMTS, PNY, PRA, PRK, PRMW, PSTG, QPAC, RAI, RDI, RNST, RTN, SBUX, SHOR, SIG, SIGI, SKYW, SPSC, SRCL, STZ, STZ.B, SYKE, TAYD, TFSL, TOWN, TSN, TSS, TTC, TTEC, UBSH, UDR, UFPT, UVE, VLRS, VNTV, VRSN, VSAT, VVI, WCN, WDFC, WGL, WSFS, Z
Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: ABTX, ACPW, ADAP, ALDX, APPY, BIIB, CDZI, COO, COSI, CREG, CTMX, DRWI, ESMC, FEIM, GKOS, GROW, HTWR, HYH, IPCI, ISH, KIQ, LITE, LNTH, MNOV, NTRA, NVLS, OZM, PERF, REDF, RLOC, SIEN, SXC, TIGR, TNDM, VICL, VMW, WMGI, WSCI, WWW, ZSAN
ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: none
ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: none
7:04 am EMC confirms it will to be acquired by Dell for $67 billion in cash and stock deal; valued at $33.15 per share (EMC) :
EMC and Dell confirmed EMC will to be acquired by Dell, together with its owners, Michael S. Dell, founder, MSD Partners and Silver Lake and Silver Lake for $67 billion in cash and stock deal; valuing EMC at $33.15 per share. Under the terms of the agreement, EMC shareholders will receive $24.05 per share in cash in addition to tracking stock linked to a portion of EMC's economic interest in the VMware business. Based on the estimated number of EMC shares outstanding at the close of the transaction, EMC shareholders are expected to receive approximately 0.111 shares of new tracking stock for each EMC share.The EMC Board of Directors approved the merger agreement and intends to recommend that stockholders of EMC approve the agreement. Mr. Dell and related stockholders will own approximately 70% of the company's common equity, excluding the tracking stock, similar to their pre-transaction ownership
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
