Stock are moving slightly higher this morning as earnings continue to roll in from many companies. The S&P 500 is up 3 points to 2,069, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is gaining 42 points to 17,624 and the Nasdaq is higher by 9 points to 5,039.
In addition to that, the Federal Reserve is meeting today and not expected to make any changes to interest rates. Chairwoman Janet Yellen will not be holding a press conference following the meeting, but a new policy statement could hold some clues as to which way the group is leaning.
Asian markets mostly closed lower, fueled by falling gas prices and concern about growth. It also didn’t help that a U.S. naval vessel was entering waters that China considers its territory and the country accused the U.S. of threatening its security.
The European indices traded higher even though Germany received poor economic news. The consumer climate and import prices both ticked down, but bad news is good news when the markets want monetary easing.
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Cabela’s stock was on fire in early trading moving up more than 9 percent to $36.50 on the word that Elliot Associates took an 11 percent stake in the company. The activist investor believes the sporting goods chain can unlock significant unrealized potential. The firms said it plans to engage with the board of directors on various alternatives including a potential sale. Cabela’s has been in a slump as its apparel and footwear businesses have been disappointing. Its rival, Dick’s Sporting Goods, has targeted its focus on these areas since the margins are much higher.
Walgreens topped all the other earnings announcement by saying it wanted to buy its smaller rival Rite Aid for $9.4 billion. Walgreens wants to widen its reach in the U.S. market and hopes that by a larger size it can negotiate good prices on drugs. As far as its earnings go, the drug-store chain turned a profit in its fiscal fourth quarter, but its revenue was shy of analyst’s estimates. Initially, Walgreen’s stock jumped on the news, but once the market digested the lighter revenue number the stock slid more than 4 percent to $90.56. Rite Aid stock plunged more than 7 percent on news of the deal to trade lately at $8.04.