The Dow, S&P, and Nasdaq each hit new records during the market’s pop shortly after the open. With little in the way of a catalyst, the averages pared their gains and stocks are little changed and hugging the flatline near noon. The industrial sector is seeing a bit of relative strength as shares of General Electric (GE) are seeing their third consecutive higher day. Oil prices are losing ground and down roughly 2% to dip back below $58 a barrel. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., new home sales rose 6.2% to a 10-year high rate of 685,000 units in October, which was much stronger than forecast. COMPANY NEWS: Time Inc. (TIME) jumped 9% after Meredith (MDP) announced an agreement to acquire all of the company’s outstanding shares for $18.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8B. In less market-moving headlines centered on the company, President Trump tweeted over the weekend that Time Magazine called to say he “was PROBABLY going to be named ‘Man (Person) of the Year,’ like last year,” but he “would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot,” so he “took a pass”… In other M&A news, Barracuda Networks (CUDA) announced that it has agreed to be acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $27.55 per share in cash in a transaction valued at $1.6B. Also, Bazaarvoice (BV) announced a deal to be acquired by Marlin Equity Partners for $5.50 per share in cash for a total value of approximately $521M. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers amid reports that Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend sales at traditional retailers was more robust than feared were L Brand (LB), which rose 3%, and Gap (GPS), which advanced 1.5%. Among the noteworthy losers was Western Digital (WDC), which dropped 7% after Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty downgraded the stock to Equal Weight as she believes the NAND industry is entering a downturn for the first time since early 2016. Also lower following an analyst downgrade was Square (SQ), which slid 11% after BTIG analyst Mark Palmer lowered his rating on the stock to Sell from Neutral, as he believes its valuation is too full and that the recent rally, aided by bitcoin enthusiasm, has been overdone. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 31.02, or 0.13%, to 23,589.01, the Nasdaq was down 12.59, or 0.18%, to 6,876.57, and the S&P 500 was little changed at 2,601.24.
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