U.S. markets opened the week on a dour note, as the major indices slumped across the board today. Traders were cautiously looking ahead to the meeting of the Federal Reserve later this week, and to see how second-quarter earnings look for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) when it reports after today’s closing bell.
It was a quiet day with little economic news to move the markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.2%, while the S&P 500 was off 0.4% and the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.6%.
Sectors were a mixed bag today, with strong showings from basic materials and energy. By contrast, many of the biotech stocks were selling off on some overdue profit taking today.
AAPL stock wasn’t the only issue rising in anticipation of earnings reports after the bell. Several other stocks were also to the plus side as traders awaited their earnings, including Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX). Barrick, along with E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (NYSE:DD) and iGate Corp (NASDAQ:IGTE) are three of today’s best stocks.
E I Du Pont De Nemours And Co (DD )
There’s a heck of a fight going on at DuPont right now, with an activist investor making serious efforts to break the 212-year-old company into smaller divisions. As a result, DD stock led the Dow today, rising 4.6% amid news of some significant developments that could strongly affect the voting among DuPont shareholders on May 13.
Trian Fund Management, which has been trying to break DuPont into smaller units, has received the support of a proxy advisor firm, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), for shareholders to nominate two of Trian’s own people for the board. Trian also says that DuPont wastes $4 billion on excess corporate expenses, and that it’s time to reduce those costs.
Prior to today’s action, DD stock had pulled back from $81 to $71 over the last 30 days.
Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (ABX)
Gold and the other precious metals rallied today, sending ABX stock as well as fellow gold stocks Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) and Goldcorp Inc (USA) (NYSE:GG) significantly higher.
ABX stock, up more than 6% earlier before pulling back in the last hour to finish up 2.2%, was boosted on speculation that it will surpass estimates of 10 cents per share profit when it reports its quarterly earnings after the closing bell today.
ABX stock broke through recent resistance at $13.25 this morning, and as a result, the stock could advance quite a bit more.
iGate Corp (IGTE)
IGTE stock was up 3.4% after it was announced that rival Capgemini North America, Inc. was going to acquire it for $4 billion, or $48 per share. The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2015.
Capgemini is an IT consulting service in a variety of industries. The combined two companies is expected to dramatically increase Capgemini’s business in the U.S.
IGTE stock was the largest traded issue on the Nasdaq today with more than 16 million shares changing hands.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts does not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
