Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
November 13, 2017
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stock indexes rose on Monday as a sharp drop in General Electric shares was more than offset by gains in high dividend-paying sectors including consumer staples and utilities.
General Electric <GE.N> slashed its dividend by 50 percent and cut its profit forecast while unveiling a plan that narrowed its focus on aviation, power and healthcare.
Shares of the industrial conglomerate fell 8.1 percent to $18.84 after touching a more than five-year low of $18.75.
“It’s a big deal in terms of GE’s world. That could be very well why utilities are getting a bid today as you see the search for yield continue,” said Ryan Larson, head of U.S. equity trading at RBC Global Asset Management in Chicago.
Utilities <.SPLRCU> and consumer staples <.SPLRCS> rank among the sectors with the highest dividend yield on the S&P 500. They were also the largest percentage winning sectors on Monday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average <.DJI> rose 38.55 points, or 0.16 percent, to 23,460.76, the S&P 500 <.SPX> gained 5.36 points, or 0.21 percent, to 2,587.66 and the Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> added 15.24 points, or 0.23 percent, to 6,766.18.
Investors are closely tracking developments around the tax bill after U.S. Senate Republicans last week unveiled a new plan that differed from the House of Representatives’ version.
Some relief for investors did come from the regulatory side, and shares of regional banks rose after the Wall Street Journal reported a bipartisan group of Senate lawmakers reached a tentative agreement to ease some regulations on the sector.
The KBW Regional Banking Index <.KRX> turned positive mid-session and was last up 1.4 percent after steadily climbing in afternoon trading.
Toymaker Mattel <MAT.O> jumped 21.2 percent to $17.72 after a report that rival Hasbro <HAS.O> made an approach to acquire the company. Hasbro rose 6.3 percent to $97.17.
Qualcomm <QCOM.O> gained 3.0 percent to $66.52 after the chipmaker rejected rival Broadcom’s <AVGO.O> $103-billion takeover bid, saying the offer “dramatically” undervalued the company.
Tyson Foods <TSN.N> shares climbed 1.5 percent to $75.26 after the meat processor said low prices for livestock feed will help boost results again next year. Shares touched their highest since September 2016.
Roku <ROKU.O> shares continued to rally, up 27.1 percent on Monday to $42.25 more than doubling since the company reported earnings last week. The stock debuted at $15.78 on Sept. 28 after having priced its IPO at $14.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 1.14-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.01-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
The S&P 500 posted 39 new 52-week highs and nine new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 65 new highs and 73 new lows.
(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos in New York; Additional reporting by Sinead Carew and David K. Randall; Editing by James Dalgleish)
