The S&P 500 closed at its highest level since February 1 and the Nasdaq finished the day at an all-time high after after a report indicated that both and China and the Trump administration appear willing to resume trade talks and a reading on inflation was no firmer than expected. Amid all the recent trade jitters, investors have been bracing for earnings season, which kicks off tomorrow with reports from JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C). ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the headline Consumer Prices Index rose 0.1% month-over-month in June, with the core rate 0.2% higher, which were less hot inflation readings than feared after the jump in the Producer Prices Index yesterday. Initial jobless claims dropped 18,000 to 214,000 in the week ended July 7, though it is likely that the larger than expected drop resulted from seasonal adjustments around the July 4 holiday. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of CA Technologies (CA) jumped about 19% to $44.15 after Broadcom (AVGO) confirmed last night that it has agreed to acquire CA for $44.50 per share in a deal with an enterprise value of approximately $18.4B. On the other side, Broadcom fell 14% after the news, with at least five firms cutting their ratings on the stock... Delta Air Lines (DAL) rose nearly 2% after the company reported better than expected second quarter adjusted earnings and raised its dividend 15%... Comcast (CMCSA) announced an increased "superior" cash offer for the entire share capital of Sky (SKYAY), raising its bid to GBP 14.75 per share the day after 21st Century Fox (FOXA) raised its bid to buy the portion of Sky it does not already own to GBP 14 per share... Shares of Aetna (AET) and CVS (CVS) advanced 2% and 1%, respectively, after Bloomberg reported that Reorg Research said the U.S. Justice Department does not plan, "at this time," to challenge the merger between the two companies. The Washington State insurance regulator, which was cited by Reorg, later told Bloomberg that it has no direct information on the DOJ review and has not had contact with the DOJ about the review... Netflix (NFLX) shares fell 1% after UBS analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded the stock to Neutral citing valuation and his view that there is no "pronounced upside" expected to come with its second quarter results. Meanwhile, Emmy Award nominees were announced today, with Netflix being the most nominated network for the first time, breaking a 17-year streak held by HBO (T). MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Zogenix (ZGNX), which surged 21% after it said the primary endpoint was achieved in a second Phase 3 clinical trial of ZX008 in Dravet syndrome patients. Also higher was Papa John's (PZZA), which gained 11% after founder John Schnatter resigned as chairman a day after it came to light that he had used a racial slur on a company conference call. Among the notable losers was L Brands (LB), which fell 12% after reporting that its June same-store sales were up 3%. Loop Capital analyst Laura Champine kept her Sell rating on L Brands after its June sales report, saying that while comps rose 3% to meet consensus expectations, the merchandise margins were weaker. Also lower was Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK), which dropped 8.5% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow rose 224.74, or 0.91%, to 24,925.19, the Nasdaq gained 107.30, or 1.39%, to 7,823.92, and the S&P 500 advanced 24.27, or 0.87%, to 2,798.29.
