U.S. markets were mostly stagnant, with lighter trading volume on this Columbus Day, as energy prices were weak and traders anticipated earnings reports coming ahead.
Traders were also waiting to see if any Fed board members would give further hints of what the Fed might do.
Three members scheduled to give speeches this week are Fed Board member Lael Brainard, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, and NY Fed William Dudley. Brainard’s speech will come right after the closing bell on Monday.
Crude oil was off more than 4.5% today on profit taking, as energy gave back some of its gains over the past several days.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3%, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were 0.1% higher. Energy and Basic Materials were weak today, while the rest of the sectors were in the green. Healthcare stocks had a fairly good day, as evidenced by Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN) and St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ). Those two, along with EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) are three of today’s best stocks.
Amgen, Inc. (AMGN)
AMGN stock was lifted more than 2% today after analyst Michael Yee, of RBC Capital Markets, LLC, noted that Amgen, along with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) and Esperion Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:ESPR) will all benefit as Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY) discontinues the development of evacetrapib, a potential blockbuster treatment for cholesterol and heart disease.
AMGN has a rival class of heart treatment that is being developed, called proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 that has already been FDA approved. So Lilly’s loss was Amgen’s gain.
LLY stock was a big loser on the news, down more than 7%.
St. Jude Medical, Inc. (STJ)
Another medical stock, STJ, rose more than 2% today as the company announced it has now gained CE Mark approval for its HeartMate 3 Left Ventricular Assist System. The HeartMate is a cardiac support option that is used on advanced heart failure patients who are either awaiting a transplant, are not a candidate for a transplant, or are recovering after a heart attack.
CE marking is a claim that the maker of a medical device can make when a product meets the requirements of all European Medical Device Directives. CE marking is also a legal requirement in order to market a medical device in the European Union.
EMC Corporation (EMC)
The rumor is now a fact. Dell Inc., along with private equity firm Silver Lake, has purchased EMC for a reported $67 Billion. This is a record among technology deals.
The acquisition has already been approved by EMC’s board, but approval from EMC stockholders and regulatory authorities is still needed. According to the terms of the deal, EMC shareholders will get $24.05 per share in cash, plus tracking stock related to a portion of EMC’s interest in their VMware, Inc. (NYSE:VMW) subsidiary.
Michael Dell will become the new CEO for the two merging companies, and Joe Tucci, the current CEO of EMC will step down after the closing. EMC was up nearly 2% on the news.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
