(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range today as corporate deal activity was offset by concern a fixed-income selloff may resume and investors considered a downbeat retail sales report.
The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) inched down less than 0.1 percent to 2098 at 3:48 p.m. in New York. The 30-company Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) was down 0.1 percent at 18057 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ:.IXIC) gained 0.1 percent to 4982.
DATA:
In U.S. economic news the Commerce Department said Wednesday U.S. retail sales were flat in April at $436.8 billion. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected a 0.2 percent increase in April. Retail sales in March were revised to 1.1 percent growth from 0.9 percent previously.
MOVERS:
American Express () rose 1.1 percent to $79.91 as the biggest U.S. credit-card issuer by customer purchases announced a 12 percent dividend increase and a new share-buyback program.
Macy's () slid 2.4 percent to $63.76 after the U.S. department-store chain reported weaker-than-expected sales and profit in the first quarter.
(CK) rose 1.3 percent to $232.47 as the drug distributor earned an adjusted $2.94 per share for its latest quarter beating estimates of $0.20.
() climbed 1.3 percent to $87.11 and Pall () added 4.5 percent to $123.95 after agreed to buy the water-systems maker for $13.8 billion. will also split itself into two independent companies.
Delta Airlines () rose 1.2 percent to $46.66 after announcing a $5 billion buyback program and raised its quarterly dividend to 13.5 cents per share from $0.09.
In financials () fell 1.9 percent to $96.08 even as the real estate website operator reported profit of $0.05 per share better than the consensus analyst forecast of an 0.11 per share loss. Revenue was also better than expected on improved ad sales.
HortonWorks (NASDAQ:HDP) added 0.8 percent to $21.97 after the data-software company’s second-quarter revenue forecast beat analysts’ estimates while reporting a narrower-than-expected first-quarter loss.
(BRA) jumped 12.5 percent to $105.38 after the Lincolnshire Illinois-based company said its first-quarter sales soared helped by a recent acquisition and saw growth in its legacy business.
() fluctuated and was last flat at $26.75. The web-hosting company which manages nearly a fifth of the world’s internet domains reported a higher-than-expected 18 percent increase in first-quarter revenue aided by customer addition.
() surged 1.7 percent to $126.01 after a panel of external advisers said its experimental cystic fibrosis combination should be approved by U.S. regulators.
Orexigen Therapeutics () plunged 14 percent to $5.09 as Takeda Pharmaceutical (OTCMKTS:TKPYY) threatened to end its collaboration with the drugmaker after a safety study of its obesity medicine was halted.
In other stocks Williams Partners (NYSE:WPZ) surged 22.4 percent to $58.02 after gas infrastructure company (NYSE:WMB) announced an agreement to buy the public equity of Williams Partners in a stock deal valued at $13.8 billion.
() rose 9.5 percent to $26.04 after the glass container maker said it would buy the food and beverage glass container business of Mexico's Vitro SAB de CV for $2.15 billion.
COMMODITIES:
Gold for June delivery on Comex rose 2.2 percent to settle at $1218.20 an ounce.
West Texas Intermediate for June delivery settled at $60.50 a barrel down 0.4 percent.
OTHER MARKETS:
Asian stocks were mixed Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index lost 0.6 percent. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.6 percent.
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