U.S. markets were mixed today after the Fed decided to leave interest rates unchanged near zero on its key Federal Funds rate.
Despite having enough reasons to raise the rates, such as a lower unemployment rate, improvement in GDP, and other economic measures, the Fed decided to err on the side of caution by waiting at least one more month, noting that inflation is not yet showing any indications of becoming a problem.
As soon as the announcement was made, U.S. stocks, which have been anticipating a rate hike for several weeks, began to sell off, then reversed course to go up by 1%, before drifting lower again in the last hour.
In other economic news, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 264,000 during the week which ended Sept. 12 — the lowest level in the past two months.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off just slightly at 0.4%, while the S&P 500 was down 0.3%. The Nasdaq actually finished higher by 0.1%. Most sectors were lower today, but healthcare and utilities were holding their own in positive territory.
Stocks on the rise included Eli Lilly and Co (NYSE:LLY), Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE:CVC) and Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP), all of which were at the top of the list and are three of today’s best stocks.
Eli Lilly and Co (LLY)
Pharmaceutical maker Eli Lilly rose more than 6% today after announcing a new study that demonstrated their daily pill for Type 2 diabetes, Jardiance, was shown to reduce the risk of death for diabetic patients at high risk for heart complications.
Jardiance was shown to bring down the death rate from heart complications by 38%, as well as deaths by any other cause by 32% and chronic heart failure hospitalizations by 35%. Jardiance is now the first medication that has been demonstrated to increase the lives of diabetics.
With today’s huge rise, LLY stock broke through some recent resistance around $88
Cablevision Systems Corporation (CVC)
CVC surged 14% higher today after announcing it is being acquired by French firm Altice SA (AMS:ATCT), in a deal valued at $17.7 billion — roughly $34.90 per share. The deal calls for $10 billion in equity, with another $7.7 billion in debt.
The sale of CVC has several other components, such as CVC’s Lightpath business services unit, its advertising sales unit, a local television news provider, and Newsday Media Group — one of the largest newspapers in the New York area.
CEO Dexter Geoi of Altice said shareholder approval isn’t necessary for the transaction to close, and it should do so sometime before July, 2016. The deal will make Altice the fourth-largest cable company in the United States.
The price of $34.90 is roughly 22% higher than Wednesday’s closing price.
Shopify Inc (SHOP)
SHOP stock surged 23% higher today after announcing a collaboration with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in which both companies will team up to help merchants create their own online stores.
Amazon has plans to shut down its own Webstore service, and has now advised users of Amazon Webstore software to move their online sites to Shopify. Under the terms of the collaboration, SHOP merchants can now use AMZN’s payment system and warehouses, and eventually SHOP merchants will be able to list products for sale on Amazon.com.
Shopify already has similar partnerships with Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), and popular website Pinterest.
As of this writing, Ethan Roberts did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
