The S&P 500 secures another record as energy, financials lift market
Salesforce agrees to buy Slack in $27.7B deal
U.S. equity markets erased losses Wednesday and the S&P 500 set a new record despite private employers adding fewer than expected jobs in November.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5011.12 | -11.09 | -0.22% |
| XLE | ENERGY SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF | 93.85 | -0.28 | -0.30% |
| XLF | FINANCIAL SELECT SECTOR SPDR ETF | 39.86 | +0.17 | +0.43% |
The broadest measure of the market rose 0.18% with energy and financials driving the gains.
OPEC OPTIMISM ON CUTS DRIVES OIL
West Texas Intermediate crude oil reclaimed the $45 per barrel level ahead of Thursday's output decision by OPEC members and their allies. The group is weighing a three-month extension of production cuts that were agreed to earlier this year.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 37775.38 | +22.07 | +0.06% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 15601.498878 | -81.87 | -0.52% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 60 points, or 0.2%, erasing a deficit of more than 200 points, while the Nasdaq Composite was little changed.
ADP JOBS DATA SIGNALS SLOW HIRING
The ADP payroll report showed U.S. private employers added 307,000 jobs in November, missing the 410,000 jobs that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting. Job gains from the prior month were revised up to 404,000 from 365,000.
HOUSE POISED TO CUT ROGUE CHINESE FIRMS OFF FROM AMERICAN INVESTORS
The U.K. government granted emergency use authorization to the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine, which is the first in the world to be approved, will begin being distributed to vulnerable populations next week.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFE | PFIZER INC. | 25.39 | -0.03 | -0.12% |
| BNTX | BIONTECH SE | 86.17 | -0.23 | -0.27% |
Elsewhere, Moderna shares were little changed after Merck & Co. said it sold its stake in the company.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRNA | MODERNA INC. | 102.00 | -1.44 | -1.39% |
| MRK | MERCK & CO. INC. | 125.21 | -0.16 | -0.13% |
In mergers and acquisitions, Salesforce.com Inc. agreed to buy workplace messaging platform Slack Inc. in a $27.7 billion deal. Slack shareholders will receive $26.79 per share in cash and 0.776 Salesforce shares for each Slack share they own.
SALESFORCE BUYS SLACK $27.7B DEAL
The deal was partly driven by the onset of the pandemic, according to the companies, which predict remote working is here to stay.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRM | SALESFORCE INC. | 271.92 | -4.40 | -1.59% |
| WORK | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
High-flying electric-vehicle stocks Tesla Inc. and Nio pulled back, as did fuel cell companies like Plug Power Inc. Separately, Elon Musk said he would consider a deal if he were approached.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LI | LI AUTO INC. | 29.18 | +0.45 | +1.57% |
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 149.90 | -5.55 | -3.57% |
| NIO | NIO INC. | 4.00 | +0.09 | +2.30% |
BlackBerry Ltd. shares were sharply higher for a second day after announcing a collaboration with Amazon Web Services to develop its intelligent vehicle data platform.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BB | BLACKBERRY LTD. | 2.79 | +0.03 | +1.09% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM INC. | 179.17 | -2.11 | -1.16% |
Palantir Technologies Inc. was downgraded to underweight and given a $17 price target at Morgan Stanley. Shares of the Peter Thiel-backed software company that specializes in big data had surged 170% through Tuesday since debuting on the New York Stock Exchange on Sept. 30.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLTR | PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC. | 21.13 | -0.18 | -0.84% |
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In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 finished up 1.23% after the government gave the green light for the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to be distributed, while France’s CAC 40 ticked higher by 0.02% and Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.52%.
Asian markets ended little changed with Japan’s Nikkei 225 edging up 0.05%, China’s Shanghai Composite index slipping 0.08% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 225 falling 0.13%.