Icahn Defeats Bridgestone in Battle Over Pep Boys
A dramatic drop in the final hour of trade put the Dow further away from its goal of ending the year on a positive note. The Dow fell by as much as 132 points in the last 25 minutes of the session, before settling lower by 117 points. Twenty-nine of the 30 Dow components tanked. The one bright spot? Big box retailer Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) managed to slide slightly into the green.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 both settled in negative territory, but remain positive for the year. All 10 S&P 500 sectors closed in the red. Energy was the worst performing sector as oil fell 3.4% to settle below $37 per barrel. Names like Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) fell more than 1%, while Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMP) dropped nearly 4%.
Bucking the day's downward trend was Weight Watchers (NYSE:WTW), jumping 19% off buzz created by Oprah Winfrey's first ad for the weight management giant. Oprah tweeted the ad to her 30 million followers.
And, we have a winner! Carl Icahn has defeated Bridgestone in the battle over Pep Boys (NYSE:PBY). Bridgestone declined to top the activist investor's $18.50 a share offer for the auto parts and maintenance chain. In total, Icahn paid about $1 billion for the company as well as a $40 million termination fee to Bridgestone. Shares of Pep Boys closed lower by nearly 3%