The markets sold off hard today as news late yesterday from Apple had investors more fearful of a global slowdown. Weak manufacturing numbers added to the concern. The Dow 30 was lower on the day by 660, the S&P 500 closed lower by 62, and the Nasdaq 100 sold off 202.
Sector News
Transports were lower on the day thanks in part to disappointing guidance from Delta Airlines, which underperformed for December despite the uptick in travel the holiday season usually entails. The sector is lower by over 13% in the last year.
Biotech was higher on buyout news from BMY. Investors cheered the idea of more mergers in the space throughout 2019.
Stock News
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the dominant headline today as the company announced lower guidance for the first time since 2002. The company said that slower sales in China along with escalating trade war issues are to blame for lower revenue, EPS, and profit margins than Wall Street expectations. The stock fell to new 52-week lows on the news, pulling down all the major indices.
The news also sent a shudder through their suppliers like Cirrus Logic (NASDAQ: CRUS), which nearly fell to 52-week lows along with Skyworks (NASDAQ: SWKS), Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO), Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE: TSM), Lumentum Holdings (NASDAQ: LITE), and Synaptics, Inc. (NASDAQ: SYNA).
Celgene (NASDAQ: CELG) was a big headline in the M&A space, as the company announced that they would be acquired by Bristol Myers (NYSE: BMY). The company will pay $74 billion in cash and stock, which equates to 1 share of BMY and $50 cash for each share of Celgene owned.
Gilead (NASDAQ: GILD) shares were higher by about 5% as Oppenheimer called it the cheapest large-cap biotech.
Delta (NYSE: DAL) shares plummeted to new 52-week lows today following disappointing guidance and December performance metrics.