Stocks opened sharply lower and remained in the red throughout the session, though the major averages improved from their worst levels early in the day. The weakness was attributed to concerns surrounding global growth and the lack of movement on U.S. tax reform. Oil prices fell as well amid global growth fears and headlines regarding continued tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the consumer price index edged up 0.1% in October with the core rate up 0.2%, matching forecasts. Retail sales were up 0.2% in October according to the advance sales report, modestly beating expectations for them to be flat month-over-month. The Empire State manufacturing reading dropped 10.8 points to 19.4 in November, which was worse than the expected slide to a reading of 25.1. September business inventories were flat, with sales up 1.4%, as forecast. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Target (TGT) dropped 10% after the big box retailer reported better than expected earnings for the just-concluded quarter but gave profit guidance for the holiday period that missed expectations at its midpoint. The company, which said it expects fourth quarter comparable sales to be flat to up 2%, added that it sees the environment “to be highly competitive,” but that it is confident in its holiday season plans… In jetliner news, Boeing (BA) and flydubai signed an agreement for 225 737 MAX airplanes with a list price value of $27B, while Airbus (EADSY) and Indigo Partners signed an agreement for 430 planes worth $49.5B at list prices… Meanwhile, shares of several packaged food makers, including General Mills (GIS), Campbell Soup (CPB), and Kellogg (K), slipped after Amazon (AMZN) announced new lower prices on additional grocery items at Whole Foods stores. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO), which jumped 13.5% after the company announced treatment of the first patient in the Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating an investigational in vivo genome editing therapy for people with Hunter syndrome. Also higher was CarGurus (CARG), which gained 4% after posting strong results in its first quarter as a public company. Among the noteworthy losers was Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR), which sunk 40% after the company announced that it has increased the frequency of blood cell count monitoring for participants in its Phase 3 program of tozadenant for Parkinson’s disease. Also lower was SandRidge Energy (SD), which slid 13% after announcing an agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Bonanza Creek (BCEI) in a cash-and-stock transaction valued at $36.00 per share, which implies a total transaction value of approximately $746M. Bonanza Creek shares rose 5% following the deal announcement. INDEXES: The Dow fell 138.19, or 0.59%, to 23,271.28, the Nasdaq lost 31.66, or 0.47%, to 6,706.21, and the S&P 500 declined 14.25, or 0.55%, to 2,564.62.
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