Market News: Stocks Recover From Early Lows

Stocks that traded actively in U.S. markets on Monday include: Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Oracle Corporation (ORCL), Clearwire Corporation (CLWR), Sprint Nextel Corporation (S), Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF), Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU), Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (ANR), Allergan, Inc. (AGN), BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (BBEP), Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL).

Market Levels:

US: Dow: 14659.60 (-0.94%), S&P 500: 1573.91 (-1.16%), 3320.76 (-1.09%)

Europe: CAC: 3595.63 (-1.74%), DAX: 7692.45 (-1.26%), FTSE: 6029.10 (-1.44%)

Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4669.10 (-1.47%), China: 1963.24 (-5.60%), Hong Kong: 19813.98 (-2.27%), Japan: 13062.78 (-1.28%).

Metals: Gold: 1277.10 (-1.15%), Silver: 19.49 (-2.33%), Copper: 3.02 (-2.29%)

Energy: Crude Oil: 95.18 (1.59%), Natural Gas: 3.74 (-0.85%)

Commodities: Corn: 5.46 (-1.75%), Soya Bean: 12.73 (0.00%), Wheat: 6.87 (-2.45%)

Currency: EUR/USD: 1.3126 (0.03%), GBP/USD: 1.5439 (0.13%), USD/JPY: 97.6700 (-0.23%)

10-year US Treasury: 2.555% (0.025)

U.S. markets off lows: Stocks recovered from lows made earlier in the session following comments from some Federal Reserve policymakers that downplayed concerns surrounding the tapering of the central bank’s bond-buying program. Fed Bank of Dallas President Richard Fisher said a reduction of the central bank’s stimulus program should be done gradually, while Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota said markets wrongly interpreted the Fed as having become more hawkish in its views on the need to slow bond purchases. No major economic reports were released on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) ended down 139.84 points, or 0.9 percent, at 14,659.56, while the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) fell 19.34 points, or 1.2 percent, to end at 1,573.09. The NASDAQ (INDEX.IXIC) lost 36.49 points, or 1.1 percent, to 3,320.76.

Stocks in News:
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Oracle Corporation (ORCL)
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) will offer its Xbox and Windows-based computer games for Apple Inc’s iPhone through a tie-up with Japanese gaming firm Klab Inc, the Nikkei business daily said on Monday. Microsoft’s “Age of the Empires” will be available as a free-to-play game worldwide on iPhone and other smartphone platforms this fiscal year, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the situation. Separately, Microsoft Corp. unveiled a software partnership with Oracle Corporation (ORCL) that would let Oracle software run on Microsoft’s enterprise platforms like Windows Server Hyper-V and Windows Azure.

Clearwire Corporation (CLWR), Sprint Nextel Corporation (S)

Clearwire Corporation (CLWR) said proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended shareholders vote in favor of Sprint Nextel Corporation (S)’s raised bid for the roughly 50 percent stake in the wireless spectrum owner that it doesn’t already own. Last week, Sprint raised its takeover bid to $5 a share, valuing Clearwire at about $14 billion. Shares of Clearwire slipped a percent to close at $5.03.

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc (CLF), Peabody Energy Corporation (BTU), Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. (ANR)

Coal stocks were among the worst performers in Monday trading after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would review an Environmental Protection Agency rule that would limit emissions from coal-fired power plants. A federal appeals court threw out the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule last year, saying the EPA had exceeded its authority under federal law.

Western Digital Corp. (WDC), STEC, Inc. (STEC)

Disk drive maker Western Digital Corp. (WDC) has agreed to acquire STEC, Inc. (STEC) for $340 million in cash as it looks to expand its presence in the high-growth solid-state drive market. Western Digital offer price of $6.85 per share represents a 91 percent premium to Stec’s closing share price on June 21, the companies said in statement. The deal is expected to close in the third or fourth quarter of 2013.

Allergan, Inc. (AGN)

Allergan, Inc. (AGN) shares plunged in trade after the after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration released a draft of guidance that suggests that Allergan’s chronic dry eye treatment, Restasis, could face generic competition sooner than expected, leading to a spate of downgrades. Deutsche Bank lowered Allergan to “hold” from “buy” and slashed its price target to $98 from $113. Citi analyst Liav Abraham cut her rating on Allergan shares to “Neutral” from “Buy” and reduced her target price to $95 from $124.

BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (BBEP), Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL)

BreitBurn Energy Partners L.P. (BBEP) will buy Whiting Petroleum Corp (WLL)’s oil-and-gas unit’s stake in the Postle and North East Hardesty oil fields in Oklahoma, along with related midstream assets, for about $860 million. BreitBurn said it expected the acquisition to double its fourth-quarter liquids production from the year-ago period. BreitBurn shares declined 3.1 percent to $17.36.