Stocks opened in negative territory and continued to move lower in the opening hour as the selloff from Friday extended into the new trading week. There was little to point to as the reason for the weakness and the market pared its losses, though the selling resumed after Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital said during an interview on CNBC that he thinks "capital preservation" is the best idea for 2019 as he is "pretty sure" stocks are in a bear market. The losses of the last few sessions have put the Dow on course for its worst performing month since August 2015.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Empire Manufacturing report had a reading of 10.6, versus the estimate of 20.0. The NAHB housing market index fell 4 points to a weaker than expected 56 in December. West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery fell $1.32, or 2.6%, to $49.88 a barrel, marking the first time WTI settled below $50 a barrel in over a year.
COMPANY NEWS: Shares of several healthcare and hospital stocks slid after a federal judge in Texas on Friday ruled that the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, was unconstitutional based on its mandate requiring that people buy health insurance. JPMorgan analyst Gary Taylor told investors in a research note that Centene (CNC) and Molina (MOH) could bear most of the selloff in managed care given the companies' exposure to Medicaid and Obamacare markets. Both insurers have a total ACA exposure of more than 40% of EPS, followed by WellCare (WCG) at 10%, he said. For the session, Centene finished 5% lower, Molina lost 9% and WellCare dropped fractiionally.
Goldman Sachs (GS) shares declined 3% following reports that Malaysia's attorney general filed criminal charges against Goldman Sachs International, two Asian subsidiaries, and a former Goldman partner for alleged misappropriation of $2.7B from the 1MDB fund.
After ESPN reported that Madison Square Garden (MSG) chairman James Dolan said he would consider selling the New York Knicks for the right "bona fide" offer, Dolan released an official statement saying that there are "no plans" to sell the NBA team. Shares of Madison Square Garden closed 1% higher following the interview and the clarification.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Carlyle Group (CG) is near a deal to buy StandardAero Aviation for roughly $5B including debt, a bid exceeding that of Blackstone (BX).
In addition, the Journal reported that the Committee of Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, approved T-Mobile's (TMUS) planned acquisition of Sprint (S).
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Jack in the Box (JACK), which rose 2% after the company announced that its board and management team are exploring a range of strategic and financing alternatives.
Among the notable losers was Sophiris Bio (SPHS), which fell 40% after reporting that additional benefit was not observed on targeted biopsy six months after re-treatment with a second administration in its Phase 2b study of topsalysin for localized prostate cancer. Also lower was Best Buy (BBY), which slid nearly 6% after BofA Merrill Lynch analyst Colin Nagle downgraded the stock to Underperform on industry slowdown concerns.
Centene
-6.22 (-4.88%)
Molina Healthcare
-11.72 (-8.90%)
WCG
+
Goldman Sachs
-4.72 (-2.73%)
Madison Square Garden
+3.5 (+1.34%)
Carlyle
-0.38 (-2.33%)
Blackstone
-0.96 (-3.23%)
T-Mobile
-0.78 (-1.19%)
SentinelOne
-0.14 (-2.35%)
Jack in the Box
+1.81 (+2.26%)
Roche
+ (+0.00%)
Sophiris Bio
-0.85 (-41.06%)
Best Buy
-3.13 (-5.65%)