The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Markets fade after early gain on Wall Street
Stocks gained ground early as they came off their best week, but faded by the afternoon
NEW YORK >> Stocks gained ground early Monday as they came off their best week in 2015, but faded in the afternoon and sustained small losses for the day.
Technology stocks fell more than the rest of the market. Pfizer and Allergan slipped after announcing a deal to combine and create the world’s largest drug company. GameStop skidded after reporting weak results.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 31.13 points, or 0.2 percent, to 17,792.68. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index declined 2.58 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,086.59. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.44 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,102.48.
The S&P 500 index rose 3.3 percent last week, lifted by good news from retailers and tech stocks. That was its largest weekly gain since last December. However, it wasn’t quite enough to cancel out the big loss the S&P suffered the previous week.
Pfizer, the maker of Viagra and Lipitor, said it will buy Botox maker Allergan for about $155 billion.
The New York-based company will gain new products that will help it counteract the expiration of patents protecting some key drugs. Pfizer will also become based in Ireland as part of the deal, reducing its tax bill.
If the purchase goes through, it will be one of the largest corporate transactions in history. It’s also the biggest deal in 2015, a year that has been filled with big mergers. Just two weeks ago, Budweiser maker AB InBev agreed to buy rival beer maker SABMiller for $107 billion.
Pfizer gave up 85 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $31.33 and Allergan fell $10.74, or 3.4 percent, to $301.72.
The companies said last month that they were discussing a combination, and Allergan shares are up about 6 percent since then while Pfizer stock has lost 11 percent.
Apple dragged down the technology sector as its stock fell $1.55, or 1.3 percent, to $117.75.
Video game retailer GameStop slipped after it reported a smaller quarterly profit and less revenue than analysts had forecast.
The company said sales of new games and game systems weren’t as good as it expected, and sales were also hurt by delays in opening some stores. Its shares slid $1.65, or 4.2 percent, to $37.61.
Video game maker Electronic Arts fell after GameStop’s announcement, losing $3.44, or 4.8 percent, to $68.98.