The S&P saw a modest gain to kick off the week, the Dow saw a more meaningful advance and the Nasdaq pulled back as Congress remains in a stalemate over a new fiscal stimulus package. Outside of the domestic situation in terms of more coronavirus aid, the clampdown on Chinese owned software by the U.S. last week, sanctions on Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam, and the arrest of several high ranking pro-democracy supporters under Hong Kong's new national security law are adding to frictions with China, but not yet doing much to derail the stock market's recent strength.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the JOLTS report showed job openings rose 518,000 to about 5.9M in June.
The latest data from the Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering shows there are now 19.91M confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, including 5.06M in the U.S., and 732,128 deaths due to the disease. Florida reported 536,961 cases of the virus, up from 532,806 yesterday, while California reported 561,911 total cases, up 7,751 from the previous day.
TOP NEWS: Over the weekend, Reuters reported that Twitter (TWTR) has approached TikTok owner ByteDance to express interest in acquiring the U.S. operations of the video-sharing app. Sources also told Reuters that it is far from certain that Twitter would be able to outbid Microsoft (MSFT) for the operations and complete such a transaction in the 45 days that President Trump has given ByteDance to agree to a sale. Meanwhile, the South China Morning Post later said that ByteDance is unlikely to sell to Twitter or Microsoft, as a source said the offer was like "robbing the owner when his house is on fire."
Foot Locker (FL) shares rose 7.8% after the company provided a sales and earnings update for the second quarter, reporting an 18% year-over-year comparable store sales increase in Q2. The company added that it will not be providing fiscal 2020 guidance at this time.
Additionally on the earnings front, shares of Marriott (MAR) finished 3.6% higher despite the company reporting worse than expected quarterly losses and revenue. Of note, Marriott said it added over 11,400 rooms globally during Q2 and that it sees "steady signs of demand returning."
In M&A news, IAC (IAC) announced that it acquired a 12% interest in MGM Resorts (MGM) for an aggregate of roughly $1B. Commenting on the news, MGM Resorts said it "welcomes" IAC as a "long-term strategic partner and intend to invite them to join our Board of Directors." MGM shares jumped 13.8% following the news.
Bloomberg reported that Carlyle Group (CG) is weighing options for Logoplaste, including a potential sale that could value the Portuguese plastic-packaging company at more than $1.2B
Meanwhile, McDonald's (MCD) confirmed a report that a lawsuit has been filed against former CEO Steve Easterbrook that alleges he fraudulently hid details of three physical sexual relationships with employees when the board fired him last November over a different relationship with a subordinate.
Additionally, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Environmental Protection Agency is readying to adopt new rules that would remove regulations for methane gas emissions, including ending requirements that oil and gas producers have systems and procedures to detect methane leaks in their systems.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Seres Therapeutics (MCRB), which soared over 389% after the company reported "positive" results from its Phase 3 ECOSPOR III study. Also higher were Canopy Growth (CGC) and Schrodinger (SDGR), which gained a respective 7.8% and 4.3% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Eastman Kodak (KODK), which dropped 28.1% after the Twitter account of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation said that recent allegations of the company's wrongdoing raise serious concerns over a loan and that it will not proceed any further unless these allegations are cleared. Also lower were Reata Pharmaceuticals (RETA) and NewAge (NBEV), which fell 33.2% and 8.3%, respectively, after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 357.96, or 1.3%, to 27,791.44, the Nasdaq lost 42.63, or 0.39%, to 10,968.36, and the S&P 500 advanced 9.19, or 0.27%, to 3,360.47.
+0.29 (+0.78%)
Microsoft
-4.12 (-1.94%)
Foot Locker
+2.26 (+8.22%)
Marriott
+3.36 (+3.58%)
IAC
-1.86 (-1.40%)
MGM Resorts
+2.64 (+13.88%)
Carlyle
-0.07 (-0.26%)
McDonald's
-0.43 (-0.21%)
Seres Therapeutics
+18.07 (+388.60%)
Canopy Growth
+1.29 (+7.75%)
Schrodinger
+3.01 (+4.23%)
Eastman Kodak
-4.21 (-28.29%)
Reata Pharmaceuticals
-52.75 (-33.56%)
NewAge
-0.225 (-9.22%)