America’s Retirement Planners senior planner Ken Moraif in today’s markets and investing in technology.
U.S. stock markets became mixed on Monday morning as yields climbed after the Senate passed 12 President Biden’s $ 1.9 billion COVID-19 relief package.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ek: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 31629.05 | +132.75 | + 0.42% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3841.08 | -0.86 | -0.02% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITION INDEX | 12857.652068 | -62.50 | -0.48% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average averaged 148 points, or 0.47%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.09% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3%.
In a 50-49 vote, the Senate approved its own version of Biden’s $ 1.9 billion bill, limiting $ 1,400 checks to those earning $ 75,000 a year or less and removing, among other things, a minimum wage of $ 15 . The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on the measure on Tuesday.
The passage of the bill through the upper chamber sparked concerns about inflation, and the ten-year treasury yield sent just above 1.60% before falling back to 1.58%.
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In equities, mega-cap technology stocks fell as rising bond yields threatened their growth prospects.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQ | INVESCO QQQ NASDAQ 100 | 306.43 | -2.25 | -0.73% |
Elsewhere, Microsoft Corp.’s shares were in focus after a cyber attack on its Exchange email software, allegedly carried out by Chinese hackers, infected tens of thousands of customers.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 229.75 | -1.85 | -0.80% |
Walt Disney Co. will reopen its reduced-capacity California theme park from April 1st.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 195.36 | +5.52 | + 2.91% |
Meanwhile, GameStop Corp’s shares rose after Chewy founder Ryan Cohen was tasked with leading the company’s e-commerce shift.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GME | GAMESTOP | 154.79 | +17.85 | + 13.03% |
According to The Wall Street Journal, General Electric Co. is entering into a merger and acquisition deal worth more than $ 30 billion to combine its aircraft rental operations with Aercap Holdings NV in Ireland.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GE | GENERAL ELECTRICAL CO., LTD. | 13.99 | +0.41 | + 2.99% |
Apollo Global Management has agreed the retirement services company Athene Holdings for $ 11 billion in stock. The deal, which pays a 17% premium to Athens’ closing price on Friday, gives shareholders 1,149 Apollo shares for every Athens share they own.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOTE | ATHENE HOLDING LTD | 52.45 | +3.55 | + 7.26% |
In commodities, Brent crude oil reached $ 71.38 a barrel overnight after Yemen’s Houthi launched a drone strike on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities. Prices have since retreated with Brent’s 48-cent trade at $ 68.88 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate crude, meanwhile, slipped 40 cents to $ 65.69 a barrel.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USO | UNITED STATES OIL FUND LP | 43.95 | -0.51 | -1.15% |
Elsewhere in the commodity complex, gold fell by $ 5.40 to $ 1,693.10 per ounce.
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Overseas markets were mixed.
In Europe, the German DAX 30 traded 1.69%, the French CAC 40 rose 1.12% and the British FTSE 100 rose 0.23%.
Asian markets, meanwhile, were under pressure with the Chinese Shanghai Composite Index down 2.3%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index down 1.92% and Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.42%.