Stocks slip off record highs as Microsoft nabs Nuance in $19.7B deal
Microsoft seals $19.7B deal for Nuance Communications
Panel on markets
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 | 38852.27 | +176.59 | +0.46% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5180.74 | +52.95 | +1.03% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 16349.24507 | +192.92 | +1.19% |
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. | 413.54 | +6.88 | +1.69% |
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. | 192.00 | +1.49 | +0.78% |
| GS | THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC. | 443.67 | +5.49 | +1.25% |
| WFC | WELLS FARGO & CO. | 60.19 | +0.25 | +0.42% |
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. | 71.51 | +2.28 | +3.29% |
| LYFT | LYFT INC. | 17.52 | +0.32 | +1.86% |
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. | 81.55 | +0.22 | +0.27% |
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%.