Dow Trades Lower, Stocks Fall as Wall Street Has Trade War Worries
New York (Mar 5) Stocks fell on Monday, March 5, but came off earlier lows as investors grappled with an impending global trade war.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 40 points, or 0.16%, to 24,498, the S&P 500 fell 0.04% and the Nasdaq was down 0.07%.
The leading laggards on the Dow Monday were Boeing Co. (BA - Get Report) and Nike Inc. (NKE - Get Report) .
Stocks finished mixed on Friday, March 2, as investors reacted to Donald Trump's plans to impose strict import tariffs on steel and aluminum, and the potential for a growth-damaging trade war between the U.S. and its various commercial and economic partners.
Trump tweeted on Sunday, March 4, that the U.S. was "on the losing side of almost all trade deals. Our friends and enemies have taken advantage of the U.S. for many years."
The Dow finished down 70 points, or 0.29% on Friday. The S&P 500 rose 0.51% and the Nasdaq gained 1.08% as healthcare stocks rose. For the week, the Dow lost 3.05%, the S&P 500 declined 2.04% and the Nasdaq fell 1.08%.
AXA SA said Monday it agreed to acquire XL Group Ltd. (XL - Get Report) in a deal valued at around $15 billion that will create the world's biggest property and casualty insurance company. AXA, Europe's second-largest insurer, will pay $57.60 for each XL share, a 33% premium to XL Group's closing price on Friday of $43.20. The proposed deal has been unanimously approved by the boards of both AXA and Bermuda-based XL, and is expected to close in the first half of 2018 subject to shareholder approval.
XL Group shares rose 29.2% to $55.96.
•AXA Agrees to Buy XL Group in $15 Billion Insurance Deal
Shares of Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM - Get Report) dropped 0.9% after Broadcom Ltd. (AVGO - Get Report) said the mobile chipmaker had requested a government review of its hostile bid that would delay its annual meeting.
"This was a blatant, desperate act by Qualcomm to entrench its incumbent board of directors and prevent its own stockholders from voting for Broadcom's independent director nominees," said Broadcom, which said in November it would change its domicile to the U.S. from Singapore. Broadcom said in a statement that it wasn't informed until the night of Sunday, March 4, that Qualcomm had "secretly filed a voluntary request with CFIUS to initiate an investigation."
Broadcom said Qualcomm requested that the government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. examine Broadcom's bid. Qualcomm didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The San Diego company's annual meeting on Tuesday, March 6, promised a showdown with Broadcom, which has offered $79 a share for Qualcomm and nominated six directors for the chip company's maker's board.
•Broadcom Blasts Qualcomm for 'Secretly' Filing Request That Will Delay Vote
Broadcom is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells the stock? Learn more now.
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN - Get Report) is in talks with big banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Get Report) about building a checking-account-like product the e-commerce giant could offer its customers, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The effort is still in its early stages and may not come to fruition, the people said. The talks with financial firms are focused on creating a product that would appeal to younger customers and those without bank accounts. Whatever its final form, the initiative wouldn't involve Amazon becoming a bank, the people told the Journal.
Amazon and JPMorgan Chase are holdings in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells the stocks? Learn more now.
TreeHouse Foods Inc. (THS - Get Report) rose 4.2% after the company announced it appointed Steven Oakland as CEO and president. He most recently served as vice chair and president, U.S. food and beverage , at J.M. Smucker Co.
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