Surevest CEO Rob Luna gives advice to young investors and discusses his outlook for the market.
U.S. equity markets were lower Monday as traders digested a mega-merger in the media space.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I:DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGES | 34298.12 | -84.01 | -0.24% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 4163.88 | -9.97 | -0.24% |
| I:COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX | 13370.073378 | -59.91 | -0.45% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 63 points, or 0.19%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were weaker by 0.21% and 0.48%, respectively. The early selling comes after the major averages last week posted their largest weekly decline in three months.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DISCA | DISCOVERY, INC. | 36.12 | +0.47 | +1.33% |
| T | AT&T, INC. | 33.51 | +1.28 | +3.99% |
| NFLX | NETFLIX, INC. | 487.56 | -5.81 | -1.18% |
| DIS | THE WALT DISNEY CO. | 170.20 | -3.53 | -2.03% |
In stocks, AT&T Inc. has agreed to merge its WarnerMedia division, which includes CNN and HBO, with Discovery Communication Inc., creating a streaming media giant that will compete with Walt Disney Co.’s Disney+ and Netflix Inc. AT&T will receive $43 billion in cash and debt with its shareholders controlling 71% of the new company. Discovery shareholders will own the remaining 29%.
AT&T, DISCOVERY AGREE TO MERGER OF CNN, OTHER MEDIA ASSETS
In other media news, ViacomCBS Inc. said it will reclaim the $120 million severance package owed to former CBS CEO Les Moonves, who resigned following allegations of sexual harassment.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIAB | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. | n.a. |
Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon Musk clarified his company has not sold any bitcoin. Musk, in a weekend tweet, spurred speculation the electric-car maker was exiting its bets on the cryptocurrency.
TESLA HAS NOT SOLD BITCOIN MUSK CLARIFIES
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA, INC. | 582.20 | -7.54 | -1.28% |
MicroStrategy Inc. shares were under pressure as bitcoin fell below $45,000 per coin to its lowest level in more than three months. The business intelligence software provider owns about 91,850 bitcoins, accounting for the lion’s share of its cash.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSTR | MICROSTRATEGY | 488.10 | -33.21 | -6.37% |
Elsewhere, Walmart Inc., Home Depot Inc. and Macy’s Inc. are among the companies scheduled to report their quarterly results on Tuesday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WMT | WALMART, INC. | 139.71 | +0.22 | +0.16% |
| HD | THE HOME DEPOT, INC. | 318.55 | -5.26 | -1.62% |
| M | MACY’S, INC. | 18.97 | +0.89 | +4.92% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 5 cents to $65.32 per barrel and gold jumped $11.10 to $1,849.20 per barrel.
COLONIAL PIPELINE FIASCO FORESHADOWS IMPACT OF BIDEN ENERGY POLICY
Overseas markets were mixed.
European bourses were lower across the board with Britain’s FTSE 100 declining 0.71%, France’s CAC 40 down 0.41% and Germany’s DAX 30 weaker by 0.31%.
In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 slid 0.92% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index and China’s Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.59% and 0.78%, respectively.
