Nasdaq Slides Into The Red
The Dow is up 72 points (0.4%).
The S&P is up 4 points (0.2%).
The Nasdaq is down 3 points (-0.1%).
Pfizer has confirmed reports that it has approached AstraZeneca about a merger in what's been estimated to be a $100 billion deal.
"We believe patients all over the globe would benefit from our shared commitment to R&D, which is critical to the future success of the pharmaceutical industry, in the form of potential new therapies that help to fight some of the world's most feared diseases, such as cancer," said Pfizer CEO Ian Read.
AstraZeneca is up 14% while Pfizer is up 3%.
Other stocks that are rallying this morning include Microsoft (+3%), Gilead Sciences (+2.7%), Apple (+2.7%), and Vertex Pharmaceuticals (+2%).
Meanwhile, Amazon.com continues to get slammed. The stock is down 3.2% today.
Bank of America is down 4% today after management found an error in how it calculated its regulatory capital.
From the BofA statement: "On April 16, the company issued a press release announcing preliminary financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2014. As part of such release, the company included estimated preliminary Basel 3 capital amounts and ratios as well as Basel 1 capital amounts and ratios for 2013. Subsequent to the press release, the company discovered an incorrect adjustment being applied in the determination of regulatory capital related to the application of the fair value option to certain legacy Merrill Lynch structured notes resulting in an overstatement of its regulatory capital amounts and ratios."
In economic news, March pending home sales and April Texas-area manufacturing activity both improved more than expected.