Stocks opened in positive territory and moved in a narrow range as investors awaited the Fed's interest rate decision and the accompanying statement. The market barely moved until the final hour of trading, when the sellers came in and pushed the averages slightly lower after the Fed hiked rates, as expected, and confirmed plans to start holding press conferences after every FOMC meeting. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Producer Prices Index for May showed a headline month-over-month increase of 0.5%, versus the consensus call for an increase of 0.3%. The core PPI was up 0.3%, versus the consensus call for a monthly rise of 0.2%. In central bank news, the Federal Reserve boosted its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, adding that longer-term inflation expectations are little changed. In a press conference, Fed chairman Jerome Powell stressed that despite the changes in rates and in the policy statement, "none signals a change in policy views." COMPANY NEWS: Yesterday after the close, a federal judge approved AT&T's (T) purchase of Time Warner (TWX), without conditions, citing insufficient proof of consumer or competitive harm in what was widely considered a vertical merger. This has been read as improving the chances of other deals that have already been announced getting done, while also sparking speculation about what mega-mergers may be next. After the closing bell, Comcast (CMCSA) announced that it has made a "superior proposal" to acquire the businesses that Twenty-First Century Fox (FOXA) has agreed to sell to Disney (DIS) for $35 per share in cash, which it said represents a premium of approximately 19% to the value of Disney's all-stock offer. The $35 per share offer reflects a $65B equity value for 21CF, after giving effect to the proposed spinoff of "New Fox," Comcast stated... General Motors (GM) announced that CFO Chuck Stevens plans to retire after more than 40 years with the company. GM appointed Dhivya Suryadevara as its replacement CFO, effective Sept. 1, 2018... After TechRadar reported that Netflix (NFLX) and Telltale Games agreed to a deal that would bring simple game experiences to the streaming service, Netflix told Bloomberg that it is not adding games to its service. The streaming service said, rather, that it is producing an interactive Minecraft series for kids and licensing "Stranger Things" for video games... Meanwhile, EdR (EDR) shares rose 1.5% to $40.72 after The Wall Street Journal reported that Greystar Real Estate Partners is in exclusive talks to acquire the company and has offered the student-housing owner $41.50 per share, or $3.1B. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Enphase Energy (ENPH), which surged 33% after it agreed to acquire SunPower's (SPWR) microinverter business. Also higher was Pivotal Software (PVTL), which gained 33% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was TAL Education (TAL), which fell 10% after Muddy Waters issued a new short report accusing the company of "fraudulently overstating its profits." Also lower was H&R Block (HRB), which dropped 18% after reporting quarterly results and issuing FY19 guidance that missed expectations. INDEXES: The Dow fell 119.53, or 0.47%, to 25,201.20, the Nasdaq lost 8.09, or 0.11%, to 7,695.70, and the S&P 500 declined 11.19, or 0.40%, to 2,775.66.
