US shares ended uneventfully flat on Monday, although talk of Citrix sizing up suitors left the IT group’s shares topping the S&P 500 leaders board.
The S&P 500 was flat at 2373, while the Dow ended 0.1% lower at 20,881 and the Nasdaq Composite was the outperformer, up 0.2% at 5875.
The top performer of the S&P 500 was indeed a Nasdaq-listed stock, Citrix Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CTXS) which closed up 6.8% at $84.93 after Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources, that the company may be working with advisers on a possible sale.
Citrix, an enterprise technology company, is said to be working with Goldman Sachs to sound out potential buyers on a possible sale process.
The S&P Midcap 400 closed up 0.25 at 1713 and led by Cypress Semiconductor (NASDAQ:CY) up 3.1% at $13.89 after leading electronic parts distributor, Arrow Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:ARW), teamed up with Cypress to deliver pioneering solutions that will facilitate new, inventive business models for the Internet of Things (IoT).
The S&P Smallcap 600 closed up 0.4% at 833 and led by Kopin Corp (NASDAQ:KOPN) up 10.8% to $3.70.
Open
US stocks opened the week flat on Monday after managing only to muster session highs the previous session on buoyant payrolls data and a now fully-priced in rate hike on March 15.
The S&P 500 in fact ended Friday higher on the day but flat on the week as markets are prepped for a Federal Reserve 25 basis points hike.
The S&P 500 opened flat at 2371, Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.1% at 20,882 and Nasdaq Composite up 0.1% at 5865. The United States returned to Eastern Daylight hours at the weekend, meaning for the next week London is only four hours ahead of New York.
And London may be closer to home in other ways too this week.
Although considered sidebar geopolitical risks, Wall Street is not entirely immune to events in Europe, including this week’s general election in The Netherlands and the prospect of Britain triggering the start of talks to leave the European Union. Although Geert Wilder’s populist anti-EU party is not expected to win the election – poll rating upsets aside – a strong rating for him will add risk to prospects for populist movements political fortunes in elections this year in France, Germany and even Italy, the three largest Eurozone economies.
The top gainer on the S&P 500 was Delphi Automotive Plc (NYSE:DLPH) up 3% at $79.65 and greed doesn’t feature in the reason. Delphi has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as a 2017 World's Most Ethical Company. Nice badge to wear.
The biggest decliner was Frontier Communications (NASDAQ:FTR) down 3.6% to $2.58 on thin news in early trading.
The S&P Midcap 400 index was up 0.2% at 1713 and led by United States Steel Corp (NYSE:X) up 4.3% at $36.36 after it was upgraded by analysts at Vetr from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday. The firm presently has a $31.06 price objective on the stock.
The S&P Smallcap 600 was up 0.3% at 832 and led by Kirkland's Inc (NASDAQ:KIRK) up 5.8% at $12.13 after its fourth quarter earnings beat expectations on Friday.