Stocks opened in negative territory, putting the S&P's four-day winning streak in immediate jeopardy. The averages found a level shortly after the open and drifted for most of the day, looking like they could break either way, until a report late in the day about President Trump preferring to move forward with $200B in Chinese tariffs cemented the session as a losing one. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., initial jobless claims rose 3,000 to 213,000 in the week ended August 25. Personal income edged up 0.3% in July, with spending 0.4% higher, both as expected. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that President Donald Trump wants to move ahead with imposing tariffs on $200B in Chinese imports as soon as a public-comment period concludes next week. The report noted, however, that some sources cautioned that Trump has yet to make his final decision on the matter. COMPANY NEWS: Electronic Arts (EA) fell nearly 10% after announcing that the launch of its "Battlefield V" game has been pushed out a month "to take the time to continue to make some final adjustments to core gameplay." Driven by the later Battlefield launch date, the continuing impact of foreign exchange rates, and a revised mobile forecast, EA lowered its FY19 net bookings guidance to $5.2B from $5.55B... Campbell Soup (CPB), which is a target of activist fund Third Point, slid 2% after the soup and snack maker reported earnings, issued guidance and said it has engaged Goldman Sachs and Centerview Partners to commence a process to divest its Campbell International and Campbell Fresh businesses. The fact that it does not plan to sell itself to a strategic buyer could potentially provoke Dan Loeb into starting a proxy fight, the New York Post recently said... Meanwhile, shares of Apple (AAPL) were in focus after the tech giant confirmed that it will be hosting a special event on September 12. According to 9to5Mac, the company will use this event to unveil new hardware, including the rumored iPhone XS and Apple Watch Series 4. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was K2M Group (KTWO), which surged 26% to $27.50 after Stryker (SYK) agreed to acquire the company for $27.50 per share, or $1.4B, in an all cash transaction. Stryker shares finished about 1% lower after the deal news. Also higher was Signet Jewelers (SIG), which jumped 24% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was DaVita (DVA), which fell 9% after the California Assembly passed a union backed bill that will cap commercial dialysis payments at lower Medicare rates and force charities to disclose donors of third-party payments. Also lower were Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) and Dollar Tree (DLTR), which declined a respective 17% and 15.5% after reporting quarterly results. INDEXES: The Dow fell 137.65, or 0.53%, to 25,986.92, the Nasdaq lost 21.32, or 0.26%, to 8,088.36, and the S&P 500 declined 12.91, or 0.44%, to 2,901.13.
