U.S. markets carried over their momentum from Friday’s rally, as investors remained upbeat over a stronger-than-expected jobs report and positive bond news across the pond. All in all, the first trading-day anniversary of the U.S. debt downgrade from AAA (actually Sunday) came and went with little fanfare, but positively.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average moved ahead 0.16% to finish at 13,117, the S&P 500 ended up 0.23% at 1,394, and the Nasdaq rode a tech surge to finish up 0.74% at 2,989.
The day’s biggest splash came early, as Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) founder Richard Schulze announced a bid to take the company private with an offer between $24 to $26 per share, or about $8.8 billion total. Investors were cheered by the news, as shares initially jumped nearly 20% before settling in with a 13% gain to close at $20.
Global financial services firm Knight Capital (NYSE:KCG) avoided a total financial catastrophe through a $400 million rescue plan arranged by Jefferies Group (NYSE:JEF) on Sunday. The market maker’s status has been revoked by the NYSE because of last week’s trading problems, and KCG finished down over 22% on the day.
Technology stocks rallied during the day, helped in part by a strong earnings report from IT firm Cognizant Technologies (NASDAQ:CTSH). Cognizant beat Street earnings expectations by 8 cents per share on higher-than-expected revenues. The company also provided forward guidance in line with analyst expectations, and shareholders were rewarded as the stock headed up over 10% on the day. BMC Software (NASDAQ:BMC) and Red Hat (NYSE:RHT) followed suit, gaining a respective 3% and 2%.
Earnings news led Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) the other way, down 8% after falling short of Street expectations on revenues and coming in with earnings 61% below last year’s figures. Competitors Smithfield Foods (NYSE:SFD) and Hormel (NYSE:HRL) fell in sync with Tyson, with SFD down more than 2% and HRL shedding 1%.
Finally, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares continued a recent climb after last quarter’s “disappointing” earnings, peaking Monday at just under $625 per share before settling in up 1% at $622 per share. Rumors continue to swirl around Apple joining the DJIA to replace Kraft (NASDAQ:KFT) — a move that would involve either a split in the stock or an index recalculation to avoid an overweighting in the index.
Tuesday brings more earnings reports including Emerson Electric (NYSE:EMR) and Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS).
Three Up
- Nii Holdings (NASDAQ:NIHD): Up 18.8% ($1.28) to $8.08.
- First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR): Up 11.7% ($2) to $19.06.
- Navistar (NYSE:NAV): Up 10% ($2.23) to $24.62.
Three Down
- SuperValu (NYSE:SVU): Down 8.95% (23 cents) to $2.34.
- HCA Holdings (NYSE:HCA): Down 3.95% ($1.05) to $25.55.
- Goodrich Petroleum (NYSE:GDP): Down 2.9% (32 cents) to $10.85.
Marc Bastow is an Assistant Editor of InvestorPlace.com. As of this writing, he was long AAPL.
