MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock Market Ends At Record As Senate Moves To End Government Shutdown
Juno shares soar on Celgene buyout
Major stock market indexes finished at records Monday as the Senate approved a procedural bill that clears the way to ending a shutdown of the U.S. government.
How did main benchmarks perform?
The S&P 500 rose 22.67 points, or 0.8%, to 2,832.97 with nine of its 11 main sectors ending higher, led by energy and telecommunication services.
The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 71.65 points, or 1%, at 7,408.03, on the back of strong biotechnology stocks. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 3.1%, fueled by a flurry of merger news in the industry (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/biotech-etf-rallies-on-merger-news-on-track-for-highest-close-since-2015-2018-01-22).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 142.88 points, or 0.6%, to 26,214.60.
What were strategists saying?
"Investors have learned from history that shutdowns don't impact markets, so it's not surprising to see stock prices higher," said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco.
"The biggest geopolitical risk to markets in the long term is trade-protectionist policies. In the short-term, the wrangling over the debt ceiling is likely to spook investors a lot more than shutdown does because the impact on markets is direct," Hooper said.
"History says that investors have little to fear from government shutdowns, as four of the seven in the past 35 years were accompanied by price declines that averaged only 1.0% and required less than two weeks to get back to break even," said Sam Stovall, CFRA's chief investment strategist, in a note late Sunday.
Read:Recap of Senate vote on reopening the federal government (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/live-blog-of-senate-vote-on-re-opening-the-federal-government-2018-01-22)
And read:A shutdown 'could reintroduce investors to the fact that markets go down' (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-government-shutdown-could-reintroduce-investors-to-the-fact-that-markets-go-down-2018-01-22)
What drove the markets?
Lawmakers failed Sunday to end the federal government closure, as negotiations over immigration continued to roil Capitol Hill. However, on Monday, the Senate approved a procedural vote (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/compromise-seems-far-off-on-second-day-of-government-shutdown-2018-01-21) that sets the stage to fund the government through Feb. 8. The next step would be for Senate to pass the actual bill to finance the government and send it to the House.
A reading on the Chicago Federal Reserve's national activity index rose to 0.27 in December from 0.11 in November.
Check out:GDP report could fall victim to government shutdown (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gdp-report-could-fall-victim-to-government-shutdown-2018-01-19)
Also see:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)
Which stocks were key movers?
Apple Inc. shares (AAPL) fell 0.8% on fresh concerns about iPhone X sales, with the worries weighing on the Silicon Valley giant's suppliers in Asia (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-unfazed-by-us-government-shutdown-2018-01-21).
Celgene Corp.(CELG)plans to buy Juno for $9 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/celgene-to-acquire-juno-therapeutics-for-9-billion-or-87-a-share-2018-01-22), and Sanofi SA(SAN.FR)(SAN.FR) said it would acquire Bioverativ for $12 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/sanofi-to-acquire-bioverativ-for-116-billion-2018-01-22-24852329). The news lifted Juno Therapeutics Inc.(JUNO) by 27% and Bioverativ Inc.(BIVV) by 62%. Celgene shares edged up 0.3%, while Sanofi shares dropped 3.1%.
In other deal news, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals(BCRX) and Idera Pharmaceuticals(IDRA) agreed to merge. BioCryst dropped 4.8%, while Idera sank 15%.
Insurance company Validus Holding Ltd.'s shares (VR) soared 44% after giant insurer American International Group Inc.(AIG) announced it is buying it for about $6 billion (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aig-to-acquire-validus-for-556-billion-2018-01-22). AIG shares were down 0.9%.
Shares in Halliburton Co.(HAL) traded 6.4% higher after the oil-field services provider released better-than-expected quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/halliburton-shares-rise-after-q4-profit-revenue-beats-2018-01-22).
Shares of Xerox Corp (XRX) rose 2.6% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company's biggest and third-biggest investors, billionaires Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, have formed an alliance and plan to encourage the printer and copier giant to explore a potential sale.
See:Netflix earnings--did price increases send customers packing? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-earnings-analysts-await-update-on-how-price-increases-are-affecting-growth-2018-01-17)
And read:As stocks rocket to records, Ameritrade to roll out round-the-clock trade (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/as-stock-market-rockets-to-records-td-ameritrade-to-roll-out-round-the-clock-trade-2018-01-22)
How did other assets fare?
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-holds-steady-as-investors-wait-for-shutdown-developments-2018-01-22) was modestly lower as traders waited for developments on the shutdown. European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-wobble-around-2-12-year-high-as-ubs-falls-washington-wrestles-2018-01-22)rose, and Asian markets closed mostly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-unfazed-by-us-government-shutdown-2018-01-21). Gold futures settled fractionally lower and oil futures (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-edge-up-after-saudi-urges-producers-to-cooperate-into-2019-2018-01-22) were firmer.
--Victor Reklaitis contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 22, 2018 16:32 ET (21:32 GMT)