Post Market News: Morgan Stanley, NII Holdings, Conceptus, J.C. Penney

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Post Market News: Morgan Stanley, NII Holdings, Conceptus, J.C. Penney

Post Market News

Stocks that were active in the U.S. trading on Monday were Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NIHD), Conceptus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTS), J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) and Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX).

Market Levels

  • U.S.: Dow Jones: 14,814.53 (+0.69%), S&P 500: 1,593.60 (+0.72%), Nasdaq: 3,307.02 (+0.85%)
  • World Markets: Shanghai: 2,177.91 (-0.97%), Nikkei 225: 13,884.13 (-0.30%), Hang Seng Index: 22,580.77 (+0.15%), TSEC: 8,029.74 (+0.10%), FTSE 100: 6,458.02 (+0.49%), EURO STOXX 50: 2,717.38 (+1.27%), BSE Sensex: 19,387.50 (+0.52%)
  • Metals: Gold: $1,467.40 (+0.95%), Silver: $24.12 (+1.53%), Platinum: $1507.40 (+2.09%)
  • Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3096 (+0.53%), USD/JPY: 98.01 (-0.21%), GBP/USD: 1.5488 (+0.01%), USD/CAD: 1.0109 (-0.59%), USD/CNY: 6.1650 (0.00%), AUD/USD: 1.0357 (+0.73%)
  • 10 year U.S. Treasury: 1.66% (+0.01), 30 year U.S. Treasury: 2.89% (+0.03)

Market And Economy News

U.S. markets remained strong today. The S&P 500 index touched a new record high, surpassing the previous high touched two weeks ago. The index rose 11.36 points to 1593.60, helped by better performance of the technology sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 101.98 points to 14,814.53, while Nasdaq was up 27.76 points to 3307.02.

Data showed that U.S. consumer spending unexpectedly rose 0.2 percent in March, beating analysts’ estimate of no gain. Personal income also grew last month.

Stocks In Focus

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bloomberg reported Sunday that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (NYSE:MTU) (TYO:8306) is in advanced talks to acquire Morgan Stanley’s trust-banking business. UnionBanCal Corp, the American unit of Japanese bank is expected to buy the assets. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial is the largest shareholder of Morgan Stanley with about 22 percent stake. Shares rose 3.69 percent to close the session at $22.19.

NII Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:NIHD)

The struggling Latin American telecom provider’s stock received an upgrade from Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) ahead of the company’s first quarter results. Changing its rating to Outperform and increasing the price target from $5-$5.50 to $13-$15, Wells Fargo said that the continued turnaround of NII Holdings’ Brazilian and Mexican businesses will help boost the stock. NII shares surged 5.44 percent to end the session at $9.31 a share. 

Conceptus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTS)

The German health-care company Bayer AG (FRA:BAYN) (ETR:BAYN) has announced to acquire Conceptus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CPTS) for $1.1 billion in cash in an attempt to expand its women’s contraceptive business. The acquisition is expected to be completed by Q3 this year, and is subject to antitrust approval in the United States. Bayer has agreed to pay $31 per Conceptus share, a 20 percent premium over its Friday’s closing price. Shares jumped 19.54 percent today to finish the session at $30.96 per share.

J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP)

The struggling retailer today received a $1.75 billion loan commitment from Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) to boost its liquidity and discharge the 7.125 percent notes due in 2013. The loan is backed by J.C. Penney’s real estate and other assets. Shares of the Plano, Texas-based company jumped 1.12 percent to $17.19 per share.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX)

The generic drug maker was in talks to acquire Actavis Inc (NYSE:ACT), but the two companies couldn’t agree on the terms of acquisition. Valeant was planning to purchase Activis for about $13 billion in stock. Shares were up 3.80 percent to close the session at $75.94.

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