Stocks Are In The Red
The Dow is down 42 points (0.2%), the S&P 500 is down 4 points (0.2%), and the Nasdaq is down 18 points (0.4%).
The economic calendar is light. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported U.S. mortgage applications fell 1.2% for the week ending May 23.
In the Eurozone, German unemployment jumped to its worst level in 5 years, and M3 - a measure of money supply - grew just 0.8% in April, the slowest pace in 3 years.
In corporate news, Valeant Pharmaceuticals increased the cash component of its offer for Botox-maker Allergan by $10 per share. Valeant has teamed with hedge fund manager Bill Ackman in its bid to acquire Allergan. Ackman holds a nearly 10% stake in both companies.
Shares of Allergan are down about 4%, and Valeant stock is lower by about 3.5%.
Other equity movers include:
- VIVUS is up about 5% after Aspen Investment Fund reported a 9.65% stake in the company and said it has plans to engage VIVUS' management in talks.
- DSW is down more than 25% after reporting first quarter sales that fell 0.4%.
- Michael Kors is down fractionally after its quarterly results, which showed retail net sales grew 49.7%.
- McDonald's said it will return up to $20 billion to shareholders through 2016, and shares of the fast food giant are down about 1%.
Meanwhile, Treasury notes are surging. Moments ago, the 10-year Treasury yield touched a low of 2.4395%.