Stocks slip off record highs as Microsoft nabs Nuance in $19.7B deal

Microsoft seals $19.7B deal for Nuance Communications

U.S. equity markets slid Monday as investors readied for the start of earnings season and took in a major deal from Microsoft Corp. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 33274.15 +415.12 +1.26%
SP500 S&P 500 4109.31 +58.48 +1.44%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 12221.906686 +208.44 +1.74%

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 54 points, or 0.16%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were lower by 0.02% and 0.36%, respectively. Both the Dow and the S&P finished at all-time highs on Friday as the Nasdaq escaped bear-market territory. 

In M&A news, Nuance Communications is being acquired by Microsoft in a $19.7 billion deal, including debt. The all-cash transaction will pay Nuance shareholders $56 per share, a 23% premium to Friday’s closing price. The deal is the second-largest for Microsoft, behind its $26 billion purchase of LinkedIn in 2016. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
NUAN n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 288.30 +4.25 +1.50%

In addition, earnings season is set to kick off on Wednesday with big banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. set to release their quarterly results.  

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
JPM JPMORGAN CHASE & CO. 130.30 +1.50 +1.16%
GS THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. 327.03 +5.75 +1.79%
WFC WELLS FARGO & CO. 37.36 -0.02 -0.05%

Elsewhere, Uber Technologies Inc. reported gross bookings hit a record high in March as ride hailings snapped back to pre-pandemic levels and food delivery more than doubled from the previous year. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
UBER UBER TECHNOLOGIES INC. 31.70 +0.51 +1.64%
LYFT LYFT INC. 9.27 +0.17 +1.87%

Meanwhile, Alibaba Group Holdings was fined a record 18 billion Chinese yuan ($2.75 billion) by Chinese regulators for anticompetitive behavior. However, the fine was smaller than feared.    

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
BABA ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD. 102.14 -1.28 -1.24%

In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 38 cents or $59.70 per barrel and gold slipped $12.10 to $1,731.20 an ounce.

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Overseas markets were lower. 

In Europe, Germany’s DAX 30 and France’s CAC 40 both fell 0.13% while Britain’s FTSE 100 lost 0.39%. 

Asian markets were weaker across the board with China’s Shanghai Composite index down 1.09%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index declining 0.86% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 sliding 0.77%.