S&P 500 Index at Record Intra-day High, Valeant Lifts Allergan Bid

Nichole Harper
28 May, 2014
New York City

U.S. stocks traded near flat line and investors looked ahead to GDP report tomorrow. Valeant lifted its offer for Allergan to $50 billion and increased cash portion. German unemployment increased for the first time in six months in May.

[R]11:55 AM New York – U.S. stocks traded near flat line and investors looked ahead to GDP report tomorrow. Valeant lifted its offer for Allergan to $50 billion and increased cash portion. German unemployment increased for the first time in six months in May.[/R]

Stocks on Wall Street meandered after investors worried about the stretched valuations and looked forward to GDP report tomorrow.

S&P 500 index increased 0.33 to 1,912.23 and the Nasdaq Composite Index decreased 2.61 to 4,234.45.

U.S. GDP is expected to contract in the first quarter after the preliminary report suggested the economy expanded at 0.1% annual growth.

Valeant Rasises Offer for Reluctant Allergan

Valeant lifted its cash portion of the offer for California based and Botox maker Allergan by $10 to $58.30 a share. The deal is now worth $50 billion.

Allergan had rejected two weeks ago the offer from the Canadian company’s first offer of $46 billion. Valeant said it would invest up to $400 million and keep Allergan employees to keep developing Darpin, the early stage medication in development for genetically engineered proteins.

European Markets

Alstom SA was in focus after General Electric Co CEO Jeff Immelt made a rare presentation before National Assembly of France and in a direct appeal pledged to create jobs and improved the offer for the energy unit.

The French government said GE improved its offer after meeting between Immelt and French President Francois Hollande and the U.S. company is said to have promised to create 1,000 industrial jobs in France in the next three years.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index slid 0.95 to 6,843.99 and in Frankfurt the DAX index fell 0.3% or 32.09 to 9,908.73.

In Paris, CAC 40 index slipped 0.2% or 8.27 to 4,521.48.

The number of unemployed people in Germany increased by a seasonally adjusted 23,937 to 2.905 million in May, according to Federal Labor Agency in Nuremberg.

The adjusted jobless rate was unrevised at 6.7%, the lowest in two decades.

Asian Markets

Stocks in Tokyo advanced and construction companies were in focus on the expectations that the central government may extend tax incentives to develop cities for two more years ahead of the Olympic Games in 2020.

Japan’s net foreign assets exceeded 300 trillion yen for the first time at the end of 2013, mainly because of sharp decline of yen, the government said.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 34.43 or 0.2% to 14,670.95 and the broader Topix index edged up 3.06 to 1,198.17.

The yen fell at 101.82 against one U.S. dollar.

In Mumbai trading, the Sensex Index edged up 6.24 to close at 24,555.75 The CNX Nifty rose 11.65 to 7,329.65. And, in Hong Kong, Hang Seng index gained 0.6% to 23,080.03.

Foreign investors have poured $4 billion in Indian stocks in two months to May.