Dow Jones average: 21,287, down 168
S&P 500: 2,420, down 21
Nasdaq Composite: 6,144, down 90
S&P/TSX Composite: 15,214, down 142
Though they finished above the day’s worst levels, it was another bad day for blue-chip equities, with tech stocks bearing the brunt.
Blue Apron Holdings Inc (NYSE:APRN), the company that delivers ingredients for a meal directly to customers, finished its first day on the New York Stock Exchange unchanged from its listing price of US$10.
That would have to be counted as a disappointing outcome after the company had slashed its listing price sin significantly to get the issue of new shares away.
Investors failed to go overboard for Pier 1 Imports Inc’s (NYSE:PIR) results, released after the bell last night, with the shares shedding 8.4%.
The retailer reported a narrowed loss of US$3mln in its fiscal first quarter from US$6mln the year before. The loss per share of four cents was a marked improvement on the loss of seven cents a share a year earlier and was a penny better than the market had been expecting.
Mid-session: Rite-Aid in need of band-aid after Walgreens change of heart
The bulls were running scared today, with tech stocks hit particularly hard.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was down 2%, or 123 points, at 6,111 in lunchtime trading.
In percentage terms, the falls on the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 were about half that; the Dow was off 204 points at 21,250 and the S&P was down 27 at 2,414.
There seems to be a consensus that the big names in the technology sector - Microsoft, Alphabet (owner of Google) and Apple - are overvalued.
Banks provided a bit of light in the gloom, after 33 out of 34 banks passed the Federal Reserve’s annual stress test yesterday, prompting many of them to announce plans to return more money to shareholders.
Drug stores chain Rite Aid Corp (NYSE:RAD) took a tumble, shedding US$1.125 at US$2.805, as Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NASDAQ:WBA) had second thoughts about merging with Rite Aid.
Instead of a full merger, Walgreens has agreed instead to buy 2,186 Rite Aid stores and related assets for US$5.175bn in cash.
The plug was pulled on the merger because of anti-trust (monopoly) concerns, even though Walgreens had intended to circumvent some of these concerns by selling a slug of stores to Fred’s Inc (NASDAQ:FRED).
Fred’s will not now be buying those stores, and although it will receive a US$325mln break fee from Walgreens, the 22% decline in the share price was a good indication of how the market felt about this consolation prize.
Open: Techs get battered while banks enjoy some stress relief
US stocks started lower at the open but bank shares rose after the Fed stress tests yesterday, while tech stocks lagged.
The Dow Jones is down 30 at 21,242, while the S&P 500 shed over eight a 2.432.
The tech heavy Nasdaq is down over 57 points at 6,176.
On the Dow Jones, bank giant Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is the top dog, up 2.22% to 228.19, while the tech giant Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) was top loser, falling 1.42% to $68.81 a share.
Shares in Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc (NYSE:WBA) are up over 2.65%as it emerged that it will not be buying smaller rival Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) after all.
Instead it is buying 2,186 Rite Aid stores, or about 45% of its fleet, three distribution centers, and related Rite Aid inventory for $5.175bn
Rite Aid shares plunged over 23%, while Walgreens rose, suggesting that investors were relieved that the company was dropping what was a difficult deal.