Stocks edge up to record highs
U.S. indexes edged up to more record highs Monday as fear seemed to drain out of the market.
Trading was remarkably calm after the weekend’s presidential election in France, which had the potential to upset global markets. The winner was Emmanuel Macron, the candidate who favored keeping France in the European Union and in the euro currency — to the relief of investors who feared the alternative would have hurt global trade.
Markets around the world have been tearing higher in recent weeks, due in part to excitement about the French election and strong earnings reports from U.S. companies.
Confidence has grown enough that on Monday, the VIX volatility index sank to its lowest level since 1993. The VIX has been on a general trend downward since shortly before the U.S.’ November election.
Newell Brands jumped 11.9% to $51.93, the largest gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, after reporting stronger revenue and profit for its latest quarter than expected. The firm, whose brands include Paper Mate, Sharpie and Calphalon, also raised its earnings forecast for the year.
Kate Spade surged 8.3% to $18.38 after agreeing to a $2.4-billion buyout by Coach, its rival in the luxury goods market. Coach is to pay $18.50 a share for Kate Spade. Often when companies announce takeovers, the purchaser’s stock will drop on worries that it paid too much or pursued an illfitting deal. But Coach rose 4.8% to $44.71.
Tyson Foods dropped 6.1%, to $59.48, after reporting weaker revenue and earnings for its latest quarter than analysts expected.
Straight Path Communications rocketed 33% to $214.74 after the wireless spectrum licensing firm said it received a new offer worth $184 a share from a “multinational telecommunications company.”
Kite Pharma dropped 13.2% to $70.99 after the Santa Monica biotech company posted disappointing earnings and disclosed the death of a patient in a safety study testing a cancer drug.
The euro fell to $1.0930 from $1.0990. The dollar rose to 113.07 yen from 112.61 yen. The British pound slipped to $1.2943 from $1.2969.
Benchmark U.S. crude rose 21 cents to $46.43 a barrel. Brent crude rose 24 cents to $49.34 a barrel. Natural gas fell 9 cents to $3.17 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil rose 2 cents to $1.46 a gallon and wholesale gasoline rose a penny to $1.52 a gallon.
Gold rose 20 cents to $1,227.10 an ounce, silver fell 2 cents to $16.26 an ounce and copper fell 4 cents to $2.49 a pound.
Bond yields rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 2.38% from 2.35%.