Danaher to Acquire Pall for $13.8 Billion, Market Indexes Trend Lower

Nichole Harper
13 May, 2015
New York City

Market indexes on Wall Street trimmed morning gains and retail sales in April were flat. Danaher Corp agreed to acquire Pall Corp for $13.8 billion in cash. Senate Democrats blocked President Obama

[R]2:55 PM – Market indexes on Wall Street trimmed morning gains and retail sales in April were flat. Danaher Corp agreed to acquire Pall Corp for $13.8 billion in cash. Senate Democrats blocked President Obama’s free trade initiative.[/R]

Market indexes on Wall Street opened higher after the release of retail sales and steadily declined and dipped more than three times and traded near the flat line in late afternoon.

Retail sales in April adjusted for seasonality and calendar were unchanged at $436.8 billion from March but jumped 0.9% from a year ago month.

Total retail sales in three months to April increased 1.5% from a year ago period, the Department of Commerce reported.

In a separate report the department said inventories in March rose 0.1% from February to $1,786.2 billion and jumped 2.9% from a year ago.

Sales in March increased 0.4% to $1,309.7 billion from February but declined 2.1% from a year ago.

April import price index decreased 0.3% after declining 0.2% in March and 0.4% in February.

In April, export prices dropped 0.7% following 0.1% increase in March, the Department of Labor said.

On Wall Street, Tollbooth Strategy Index slid 2.89 to 10,661.77.

S&P 500 index edged up 1.16 to 2,100.27 and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 10.38 to 4,986.52.

Crude oil in New York gained 48 cents to $61.23 a barrel and gold soared $22.20 to $1,214.60 an ounce.

U.S. Movers

Danaher Corporation ((DHR)) jumped 2% or $1.74 to $87.74 after the medical, industrial and commercial products maker agreed to acquire air and water-filter maker Pall Corporation for about $13.8 billion in cash.

The merged company will split itself into two publicly traded companies after the deal under a different business combination.

Under the terms, shareholders of Pall Corp will receive $127.20 a share in cash, a premium of 28% to its closing stock price on Monday.

The company expects the separation will take place in a tax-free transaction by the end of 2016.

Stocks of Pall Corporation climbed 4.5% to $123.98.

Macy''s, Inc ((M)) dropped 1.4% or $1.01 to $64.35 after the apparel and accessories retailer reported sales in the first-quarter ending on May 2 slid 0.7% to $6.23 billion from a year ago period.

Comparable store sales in the quarter slid 0.1%

Net income in the quarter declined 13.8% to $193 million or 56 cents per diluted share compared to $224 million or 60 cents from the same quarter last year.

Macy''s forecasted diluted earnings per share for the year between $4.70 and $4.80.

European Markets

European markets returned to calm after the economic growth accelerated in the March quarter and bond market stabilized.

On a quarterly basis, economic growth accelerated to 0.4% in the euro zone, fastest expansion since the second quarter of 2013.

The economic growth data also stabilized the bond market and DAX index edged slightly lower after losing nearly 2% in the previous session.

UK unemployment rate for the three months to March fell 5.5% from 5.7% in December to February period and 6.8% from a year ago period, UK National Statistics reported today.

Industrial output in March fell at 0.3% in the euro area and stable in EU28 from February. In February production jumped 1% in euro area and 0.8% in EU28, the Statistical Office of the European Communities said.

Preliminary estimate first-quarter gross domestic product rose 0.4% in the euro-area and in EU28 nations compared to previous quarter, the Statistical Office of the European Communities said.

In London trading, FTSE 100 index gained 0.3% or 20.56 to 6,954.36 and in Frankfurt the DAX index edged down 9.38 to 11,463.03.

In Paris, CAC 40 index increased 0.8% or 38.51 to 5,013.16.

ABN AMRO Group N.V., the Netherlands-based financial services provider reported total revenues in the first-quarter ending in March jumped 9% to €2.17 billion from €1.98 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the quarter soared 74.6% from a year ago to €543 million compared to €311 million.

Deutsche Telekom AG fell 0.9% to €16.43 after the largest telecom operator in Germany said total revenues in the first-quarter ending in March surged 13.1% to €16.84 billion from €14.89 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the quarter tumbled 56.7% from a year ago to €787 million compared to €1.82 billion and diluted earnings per share declined to €0.17 from €0.41.

The company reported revenues in the quarter from T-Mobile in the U.S. soared 11.7% to $7.7 billion and in the quarter added net 1.8 million customers and total customer increased to 7.8 million.

The telecommunication company said net debt soared 22% to €46.31 billion from €37.96 billion in the same period a year ago.

Asian Markets

Market indexes in Japan lacked direction and current account in March widened to the largest since 2008.

Market indexes in Tokyo traded volatile and investors focused on latest earnings releases and investors remained optimistic that the Bank of Japan will continue to buy stocks.

After the close, Bank of Japan bought 36.1 billion yen of index focused Exchange Traded Fund on Tuesday.

Current account surplus in March surged more than five-fold to 7.81 trillion yen from 1.47 trillion yen a year ago month. The surplus was the widest since 2008.

Export in the month climbed 8.4% to 75.61 trillion yen compared to 69.75 trillion yen in the same month a year ago, the Finance Ministry said.

Total imports in March jumped 1.8% to 82.18 trillion yen from 80.77 trillion yen in March 2014.

Separately, ministry said export in first 20 days of April climbed 6.2% to 4.14 trillion yen and imports dropped 0.6% to 4.41 trillion yen from a year ago month.

The provisional data are not adjusted for season factors.

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average jumped 139.88 or 0.7% to 19,764.72 and the broader Topix index rose 1.94 to 1,604.21.

The yen closed at 119.85 against a dollar.

SoftBank Corp fell 0.3% to 7,330 yen after the communication services provider said revenues in the year ending in March soared 30.1% to 8.67 trillion yen from 6.67 trillion yen in a year ago period.

Net income in the year surged 28.5% to 668.36 billion yen compared to 520.25 billion yen and diluted earnings per share jumped to 558.75 yen from 434.68 yen in the same period a year ago.

Stocks in Mumbai rebounded and market indexes traded higher despite weaker earnings from Adani Enterprises, Ashok Leyland, Lupin and Torrent Power.

Rupee strengthened 15 paisa to 64 against one U.S. dollar.

The Sensex Index jumped 373.62 or 1.4% to close at 27,251.10. The CNX Nifty increased 108.50 or 1.3% to 8,235.45.

Adani Enterprises Limited soared 6.9% to ₹720.55 after the conglomerate said net in the fourth-quarter plunged 74.1% to ₹737.17 crore.

Total revenues in the quarter rose 0.5% to ₹16,507.65 crore.