After Market: S&P 500 Extends Winning Streak to 6 Days

DailyFinance Staff
Updated

Stocks rallied Tuesday, but ended off session highs, again led by earnings and takeover news from the drug sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average (^DJI) rose 65 points, the Standard & Poor's 500 index (^GPSC) gained 7, and the Nasdaq composite (^IXIC) jumped 40 points. The Dow has five gains in a row, while the S&P and Nasdaq extended their winning streaks to six sessions.

The European health care firm Novartis (NVS) was at the center of a series of big deals. It bought GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) cancer drug business for $14.5 billion, then sold its animal health unit to Eli Lilly (LLY) for about $5.5 billion. Let's check all three stocks -- Novartis gained more than 1 percent, Glaxo rose 4 percent, and Lilly fell 1 percent.

Meanwhile, Allergan (AGN), the maker of Botox, jumped 15 percent after receiving an unsolicited takeover bid from Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX) and activist investor Bill Ackman. Valeant rose 7 percent.

Speaking of Botox, there's a small company developing a new treatment for frown lines. Revance Therapeutics (RVNC) surged 25 percent on positive test results for the product. Biotech also stocks rallied, with a closely watched index gaining more than 3 percent.

On the earnings front, Cable-giant Comcast (CMCSA) gained 2 percent after topping expectations.

Also beating the Street:

On the downside, McDonald's (MCD) edged lower. While the market has soared over the past year, the stock has marched in place, virtually unchanged from a year ago.

%VIRTUAL-article-sponsoredlinks%Kimberly-Clark (KMB) fell 2 percent after posting flat earnings, and Medidata Solutions (MDSO) tumbled 22 percent after missing expectations.

Elsewhere, investors were buying up retail stocks. Dillard's (DDS) gained 5 percent, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) added 3.5 percent, Quiksilver (ZQK) rose 4 percent, and Conn's (CONN) jumped 7.5 percent on word that investor David Einhorn bought a big stake.

But Einhorn, who runs Greenlight Capital, also issued a warning, telling his investors that we're in the midst of another tech bubble. He says his firm is now betting against some high-flying momentum stocks.

What to Watch Wednesday:

  • The Commerce Department releases new home sales for March at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

These major companies are scheduled to release quarterly financial statements:

  • Apple (AAPL)

  • Boeing (BA)

  • Brinker International (EAT)

  • Delta Air Lines (DAL)

  • Facebook (FB)

  • Procter & Gamble (PG)

  • Reynolds American (RAI)

  • Safeway (SWY)

-Produced by Drew Trachtenberg.

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