Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk
Investors are waiting to see if last week’s late momentum will carry over into this holiday-shortened trading week, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both coming off their biggest daily gains of 2012.
Friday’s rally saw the Dow, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq finish with their first simultaneous June gains since 2004, and the Dow registering its best June percentage gain since 1997.
The week will begin with two economic reports, both at 10 a.m. New York time. The Institute For Supply Management’s monthly manufacturing index is seen coming in at 52.0 for June, compared to May’s 53.5 reading. And economists think construction spending was unchanged in May, compared to a 0.3 percent increase in April.
Though the second quarter is now history, earnings season doesn’t get underway in earnest until next Monday, when Alcoa releases its quarterly numbers. Today’s earnings calendar is virtually blank.
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) is a stock to watch this morning, as Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) strikes a deal to buy Amylin for $31.00 per share or $5.3 billion in cash. In a follow-on deal, AstraZeneca (AZN) will pay Bristol-Myers $3.4 billion for the right to collaborate on developing Amylin drugs after the deal is complete.
Lincare Holdings (LNCR) is another stock involved in a takeover deal, as it’s being bought by Germany’s Linde for $4.6 billion in cash. Lincare is a specialist in home-based oxygen therapy, while Linde is a maker of industrial gases.
A smaller deal sees technology distributor Ingram Micro (IM) buying wireless device company BrightPoint (CELL) for $650 million in cash. Ingram is seeking to expand into the mobile market, which has higher profit margins than its core personal computer business.
Barclays (BCS) chairman Marcus Agius has resigned, in the wake of the Libor probe into interest-rate fixing that resulted in Barclays paying more than $450 million in fines. Chief executive Bob Diamond is also said to be under pressure to resign, but has not done so.
Apple (AAPL) is paying $60 million to China’s ProView Technology to settle a trademark dispute over the iPad name.
The Wall Street Journal says Dell (DELL) may announce a deal as soon as today to buy Quest Software (QSFT), following a back-and-forth bidding contest with private equity firm Insight Venture Partners. Dell’s most recent offer had been worth $27.50 per share, or about $2.3 billion.
GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) experimental once-daily lung drug showed positive results in a late stage clinical trial. The treatment is used for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.
Dish Network (DISH) has removed AMC from its offerings, following the expiration of the contract between the two. Dish says it dropped AMC because it was charging fees that were too high for a low-related channel. AMC countered by pointing out that its show “The Walking Dead” is the highest-rated scripted drama on cable, and that Dish has refused to discuss rates.
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