1:25pm (EST)
The market is mixed as we enter the second half of trading as the indexes have stayed in a tight range today. The Treasury Budget is due out at 2pm (EST) and is the only economic report scheduled. Perhaps the slow action can be attributed to tomorrow’s FOMC Rate Decision which is also due out at 2pm. Of course, the devil will be in the details as Wall Street will be more focused on the Fed’s ensuing statements. Retail Sales and Business Inventories are also due out on Tuesday.
There are a few stocks getting nice pops today as Pepsico (PEP, $63.77, up $0.62) is up after creating a new President position as it prepares for an eventual successor for Indra Nooyi, its current CEO. The move puts John Compton as #2 in charge and he will head the Americas Food division. Shares have broken above their 200-day moving average (MA) of $63.66 and appear ready to test the 50-day MA which is at $64.50.
Shares of Pepsi recently tested support down at $62.50 and held. We saw it as a great opportunity to add some longer-term call options and today’s news has helped pushed our current Pepsi call option trade to nearly a 50% return in just under a week.
In M&A news (merger and acquisition), shares of Tudou Holdings (TUDO, $37.82, up $22.43) are zooming triple-digits while Youku.com (YOKU, $29.51, up $4.50) shares are also seeing strong gains after the companies decided to tie the knot. The deal is an all-stock swap with Youku.com shareholders getting a little over 70% of the new company while Tudou Holdings stockholders will own about 30%. The new entity will be called Youku Tudou.
As we head to press, the Dow is up 27 points to 12,949 while the S&P is lower by 2 points to 1,369. The Nasdaq is lower by 8 points to 2,980.
We have a lot to cover with our current trades so let’s go see where we are at. Subscribers, check the Members Area for the details.