It was a choppy session for U.S. stocks, which finished Monday higher across the board. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.8%, the S&P 500 added 0.45% and the Nasdaq Composite moved fractionally higher. Financial and technology names led the way up, while health care stocks lagged.
Elsewhere, the yield on the benchmark, 10-year U.S. treasury note gained 6.6 basis points, to 2.199%.The U.S. dollar index also moved more than 1% higher on the session. Crude oil gained more than 3% on Monday and the CBOE S&P 500 Volatility Index (VIX) dropped more than 9%.
Atmel (ATML) was the big winner of the session, gaining more than 12%, as the company was acquired by England-based Dialog Semiconductor for $4.6 billion of cash and debt. We sold about one-third of our Atmel position in the Stocks Under $10 newsletter, as we believe the stock can move back closer to the headline deal price of $10.42 in the coming months. On the other hand, Weatherford (WFT) fell nearly 17% on speculation the company may bid for some of Halliburton's (HAL) assets.
Looking ahead to Tuesday morning, AutoZone (AZO), Carnival (CCL), Conagra (CAG) and Darden Restaurants (DRI) headline the earnings calendar. Bank of America (BAC), which is part of the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio, will also host an investor meeting. On the economic front, we'll get a look at FHFA homes prices before the opening bell.
David Peltier is the portfolio manager for Stocks Under $10 and Dividend Stock Advisor. Test drive with a free trial.
