U.S. market indexes were lower to start the week on Monday erasing previous gains and pushing further from new highs. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down -132.86 points or -0.74% to 17732.48. The S&P 500 was also down, closing at 2079.06 for a loss of -17.01 points or -0.81%. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 4848.44 for a loss of -46.11 points or -0.94%.
Volatility in market trading was high on Monday as the Federal Reserve begins its June Federal Open Market Committee meeting Tuesday. The two-day meeting to discuss monetary policy will end on Wednesday with a press conference and will include updated projections from the FOMC. The VIX Volatility Index reached a new high prior to the mid-week meeting. The VIX Volatility Index traded at 20.92 for a gain of 3.89 points or 22.84%.
Stocks trading actively Monday included Microsoft (MSFT, Financial), Bank of America (BAC, Financial), Apple (AAPL), Intel (INTC, Financial), General Electric (GE, Financial) and Facebook (FB, Financial).
In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, stocks leading gains and losses for the day included:
Gains
Exxon Mobil (XOM, Financial) 0.68%
McDonald's (MCD, Financial) 0.51%
Walt Disney (DIS, Financial) 0.24%
Chevron (CVX, Financial) 0.12%
Losses
Microsoft (MSFT, Financial) -2.6%
American Express (AXP, Financial) -2%
Coca-Cola (KO, Financial) -1.89%
Pfizer (PFE) -1.56%
On Monday, Microsoft and LinkedIn (LNKD, Financial) both traded actively as the two companies announced a merger. Microsoft will be buying LinkedIn for $196 a share or approximately $26.2 billion. Microsoft will pay cash for the deal which values LinkedIn at a 50% premium to its Friday closing price.
The acquisition of LinkedIn is expected to significantly contribute to Microsoft’s Office 365 and Dynamics business. Microsoft plans to integrate the social networking, news feed and professional tools that LinkedIn provides with its Office 365 and Dynamics business enriching the overall user experience for Office 365 and Dynamics customers. This integration is likely to bring significant market share to Microsoft and specifically its Office 365 business as the Microsoft Office Suite is more readily used with LinkedIn through the integration.
In a memo to employees from Satya Nadella, the chief executive officer reported the merger of the two companies “brings together the world’s leading professional cloud with the world’s leading professional network,” which will be a significant factor as cloud growth increasingly becomes more of a focus in the technology industry.
In a CNBC interview Monday, market specialist Ivan Feinseth had the following insights on the merger.
