A batch of corporate deals, another drop in crude oil and new peace talks between Russia and Ukraine helped send the stock market higher Tuesday morning. Apple climbed above a buy point.
Indexes pared some gains after the first half-hour of trading. The Nasdaq composite rose 1% as technology and consumer discretionary sectors led the early market. Technology Select Sector SPDR rose 1.2%.
Apple rose nearly 1% in heavy trading, climbing above the 176.75 buy point of a double-bottom base. It is the first of the tech titan stocks to break out as the sector continues to mend.
The S&P 500 opened more than 1% higher and then fell back to a 0.4% gain.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.7% after UnitedHealth Group announced it is acquiring LHC Group.
U.S. Stock Market Today Overview |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Index | Symbol | Price | Gain/Loss | % Change |
| Dow Jones | (0DJIA) | 35203.72 | +247.83 | +0.71 |
| S&P 500 | (0S&P5) | 4604.00 | +28.48 | +0.62 |
| Nasdaq | (0NDQC ) | 14503.10 | +148.20 | +1.03 |
| Russell 2000 | 209.14 | +2.95 | +1.43 | |
| IBD 50 | 39.40 | -0.34 | -0.86 | |
Last Update: 10:08 AM ET 3/29/2022 |
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Small caps led as the Russell 2000 jumped 1.4%.
Volume rose on the Nasdaq and NYSE compared with the same time on Monday.
Oil Prices Fall Below $100 Per Barrel
Another drop in oil prices helped the stock market extend its advance. The price of U.S. crude slid 5.7% to below $100 a barrel. That follows a 7% drop on Monday to $105.96 a barrel. The drop Tuesday sent the energy sector to the worst performance among S&P sector ETFs, while transportation stocks cheered. The iShares U.S. Transportation ETF gapped up to a 1.4% gain.
In another positive for stocks, the 10-year Treasury yield eased 6 basis points to 2.41%. Many investors and economists remain concerned about the flattening trend in the yield curve, which can portend an economic slowdown.
Representatives of Russia and Ukraine are meeting in Turkey today on peace talks. Previous negotiations have been largely unsuccessful as the war turns more into a stalemate.
Most major global markets rose. The London FTSE 100 was up 1.2% in afternoon trading. The Paris CAC 40 surged 3.4% and the German DAX leapt 3.2%. The Tokyo Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1%. The Shanghai composite fell 0.3% as many Chinese cities remain locked down due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.
Stock Market Movers: UnitedHealth, Nielsen, FedEx
UnitedHealth Group rose 0.5% on news that it plans to acquire LHC Group for about $5.4 billion in cash, or $170 a share. LHC shares shot up nearly 7% to 168.05. LHC provides at-home health care that costs less than nursing homes and some other types of facilities.
Nielsen Holdings shot up 21% after a group led by an Elliott Management division and Brookfield Asset Management agreed to buy the company for $28 a share. The deal is valued at $16 billion including debt, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Nielsen, best known for its television ratings and marketing analytics, soared more than 30% March 14. That's when The Wall Street Journal reported the company was in talks for a buyout. The talks had collapsed but were revived.
FedEx rose 4.4% after the shipping giant said founder and CEO Fred Smith will step down and become executive chairman June 1. President and Chief Operating Officer Raj Subramaniam was named the new chief executive.
Rival United Parcel Service broke out of a cup-with-handle base with a 222.67 buy point. The buy zone goes to 233.80. Reports said UPS is expected to announce an expanded deal with Alphabet's Google Cloud to support the logistics company's new data initiatives.
IBD 50 Lags Stock Market
Innovator IBD 50 ETF fell despite the stock market's gains. The index is heavily weighted with energy and metals stocks that are down 2% to 7%. Fertilizer supplier CF Industries plunged 13%.
But Carlisle Cos. broke out past the 250.33 buy point. Volume was below average, however.
The Case-Shiller 20-city adjusted home price index rose 1.8% in January. That marked a pickup from the revised 1.4% increase the previous month, and it topped forecasts for a 1.4% increase.
