Stocks slide as AT&T, Discovery agree to combine media assets
Tesla has not sold its bitcoins: Musk
Paul Schatz, founder and president of Heritage Capital, Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst at The PRICE Futures Group, and Mark Tepper, president and CEO of Strategic Wealth Partners, weigh in on inflation fears.
U.S. equity markets fell Monday as traders digested a mega-merger in the media space.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 43398.12 | -352.74 | -0.81% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 5857.66 | -91.51 | -1.54% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 18617.852073 | -489.80 | -2.56% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 56 points, or 0.16%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were weaker by 0.25% and 0.38%, respectively. The selloff came after the major averages last week posted their largest weekly decline in three months.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DISCA | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
| T | AT&T INC. | 22.25 | -0.05 | -0.22% |
| NFLX | NETFLIX INC. | 837.26 | +6.79 | +0.82% |
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 114.67 | +5.54 | +5.07% |
In stocks, AT&T Inc. has agreed to merge its WarnerMedia division, which includes CNN and HBO, with Discovery Communication Inc., creating a streaming media giant that will compete with Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+ and Netflix Inc. AT&T will receive $43 billion in cash and debt with its shareholders controlling 71% of the new company. Discovery shareholders will own the remaining 29%.
AT&T, DISCOVERY AGREE TO MERGER OF CNN, OTHER MEDIA ASSETS
In other media news, ViacomCBS Inc. said it will reclaim the $120 million severance package owed to former CBS CEO Les Moonves, who resigned following allegations of sexual harassment.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIAB | NO DATA AVAILABLE | - | - | - |
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarified his company has not sold any bitcoin. Musk, in a weekend tweet, spurred speculation the electric-car maker was exiting its bets on the cryptocurrency.
TESLA HAS NOT SOLD BITCOIN MUSK CLARIFIES
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 318.11 | +6.93 | +2.23% |
MicroStrategy Inc. shares were under pressure as bitcoin fell below $45,000 per coin to its lowest level in more than three months. The business intelligence software provider owns about 91,850 bitcoins, accounting for the lion’s share of its cash.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSTR | MICROSTRATEGY INC. | 327.67 | -0.71 | -0.22% |
Elsewhere, Walmart Inc., Home Depot Inc. and Macy’s Inc. are among the companies scheduled to report their quarterly results on Tuesday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART INC. | 84.47 | -1.03 | -1.20% |
| HD | THE HOME DEPOT INC. | 405.72 | -4.47 | -1.09% |
| M | MACY'S INC. | 15.57 | +0.50 | +3.32% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 90 cents to $66.27 per barrel and gold jumped $29.60 to $1,867.50 per barrel.
COLONIAL PIPELINE FIASCO FORESHADOWS IMPACT OF BIDEN ENERGY POLICY
Overseas markets were mixed.
European bourses were lower across the board with Britain’s FTSE 100 declining 0.71%, France’s CAC 40 down 0.41% and Germany’s DAX 30 weaker by 0.31%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.92% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.59% and 0.78%, respectively.