Stocks opened higher to kick off the heaviest week of earnings in the current season. The Dow established another new high, while the other major stock averages saw their best levels shortly after the open. The blue chip average, however, weakened as the day progressed and snapped its six-day winning streak in the process. The Nasdaq, the laggard, saw its losses worsen to more than 0.6% in leading the market lower. Oil prices similarly began the day higher but were also unable to hold their gains. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Chicago Fed’s national activity index rose to 0.17 in September from a revised reading of -0.37 for August. COMPANY NEWS: General Electric (GE) fell by over 6% as analysts issued further reactions to the company’s earnings report and guidance cut at the end of last week. Several downgraded the shares, highlighting the risk to the company’s dividend and the long time it may take for new management to effect a turnaround… Cisco (CSCO) announced a definitive agreement to acquire BroadSoft (BSFT) for $55 per share in cash, or an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.9B net of cash, assuming the conversion of debt. In other M&A news, Hartford Financial (HIG) announced a deal to acquire Aetna’s (AET) U.S. group life and disability business for $1.45B in cash. Shares of The Hartford, which also reported better than expected core earnings, increased its dividend and suspended additional share repurchases under its existing buyback program, fell over 4%, while Aetna shares rose fractionally… .. In earnings news, T-Mobile (TMUS) shares gained about 2% after the carrier reported better than expected results for the third quarter, reporting 1.3M total net customer additions. The company also raised the low end of its postpaid net customer additions view for the fiscal year. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Aimmune (AIMT), which jumped 28% as a result of its competitor DBV Technologies’ (DBVT) Viaskin Peanut missing a minimum efficacy measure compared to placebo in a study of the potential allergy treatment for children. Also higher following their earnings reports were Seagate (STX) and VF Corp. (VFC), which gained nearly 13% and over 5%, respectively. Among the noteworthy losers was DBV Technologies, which dropped 41% after the report of the data from the Viaskin Peanut late-stage trial. Also lower following their earnings reports were Hasbro (HAS), which fell over 8.5%, and Halliburton (HAL), which slid 2.5%. Meanwhile, Under Armour (UA) shares slipped about 3.5% after the Wall Street Journal reported that the company is considering an exit from smaller categories including tennis, outdoor gear, and fishing in an effort to combat declining sales. INDEXES: The Dow fell 54.67, or 0.23%, to 23,273.96, the Nasdaq lost 42.23, or 0.64%, to 6,586.83, and the S&P 500 declined 10.23, or 0.4%, to 2,564.98.
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