WATCH LIST
News that China introduced tougher laws to protect copyrights–a longstanding beef with the White House and American companies–drove New York markets up on Monday. The Nasdaq soared the highest at 1.32%. That and the S&P smashed new closing records, mere days after making new ones last week. The momentum lifted the TSX above 17,000 to make a new intra-day high. China’s announcement puts the trade ball in Washington’s court to withdraw tariffs against China, which is the other major stumbling block.
Monday markets were also driven by a rash of M&A. Charles Schwab bought TD Ameritrade for $26 billion to create an online brokerage giant. Both already offer zero-fee commissions, so the industry will watch if the new entity can sustain that. Schwab stock rose by 2.3% while TD Ameritrade spiked 7.58%.
TD itself will still own 13% of the merged company. Meanwhile, Louis Vuitton (LVMH) bought Tiffany for $16.26 billion. The French luxury retailer rose 2.27% and Tiffany jumped 6.17%. Both deals had been in the works for a while. On the digital side, Viagogo aquired eBay’s Stubhub, the ticket re-seller for $4.05 billion. Ebay climbed 2.05% on the news. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) What will Tuesday bring?
🏛 Charles Schwab Corp +2.3%
TD Ameritrade Holding +7.58%
🛍 LVMH +2.27%
💍 Tiffany & Co. New +6.17%
🌐 eBay Inc +2.05%
