The markets were shaken early this morning as news broke that Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, plead guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his dealings with Russia. As part of this plea, Flynn is now expected to fully cooperate with the investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller into potential Russian meddling in the U.S. election; one report suggested Flynn will testify that Trump personally directed him to collude with the Russians.
The Dow 30 immediately plummeted 300 points on the news, but did recover most of that by the close. For the day the Dow 30 lost 40, the S&P 500 closed lower by 5, and the Nasdaq 100 lost 26. Some of this recovery was attributed to news that the Senate Republicans officially believe they have enough votes to pass tax reform.
Mylan (NYSE: MYL) shares popped 4.35% today over reports that Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) held exploratory talks with generic drug makers, including Mylan and Sandoz, about a potential entry into the pharmacy space. Technical traders jumped at the long opportunity as the stock broke out of a mini-downtrend. Shares have mostly held near the recent highs but technical traders will be watching the $50 area closely, as the stock has not been able to push above this since early this year.
Blue Apron (NASDAQ: APRN) enjoyed an up day for a change as the company reported in a regulatory filing that it had replaced its CEO. The news pushed shares higher by 8.03% today, which may be significant. The meal-kit delivery company has been struggling since going public in June as its customer acquisition cost continues to weigh on profit potential. The stock is lower by almost 70% since its IPO.
Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG) shot higher by 5.91% today after Canaccord Genuity initiated coverage of the stock to buy. The analyst firm cited success in commercializing its fuel-cell technology and also commented that there was potential for product margins to grow. Shares have gained over 100% this year, but remain volatile near the highs.