The Dow is on track for its sixth win in the last seven sessions
It was a relatively upbeat week for stocks, with all three major benchmarks on track for solid weekly gains as of Friday afternoon. Monday started off strong, with both the Dow and Nasdaq scoring triple-digit gains, plus, investors watched Bitcoin's (BTC) rebound after its weekend slump. Tuesday, stocks gave back their early-morning gains to finish the day in the red as Big Tech dipped, though several reopening stocks pared further broad-market losses. Mid-week, the Dow closed its 125th anniversary just north of breakeven, with sentiment was boosted by dramatically falling Covid-19 cases in the U.S. Thursday, better-than-expected weekly jobs data boosted the Dow to a triple-digit pop, while Senate Republicans countered U.S. President Joe Biden's infrastructure plan and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen shared comments regarding inflation. Just before heading into the long weekend, the Dow is eying its sixth win in the last seven sessions.
Billion-Dollar Acquisition Buzz
Starting off the week, two stocks had very different reactions to billion-dollar mergers. Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) stock moved higher after announcing it is acquiring HeidelbergCement's U.S. affiliate Lehigh Hanson Inc's West Region business for $2.3 billion in cash, while Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) plummeted after revealing plans to buy Cimarex Energy (XEC) in an all-stock deal valued at $7.35 billion. The big-time deals didn't stop there. Amazon.com (AMZN) catapulted itself further into the entertainment business this week, after purchasing MGM Studios for an ambitious $8.45 billion.
Household Names Making Headlines
Plenty of big reopening names were making headlines this week as well. In retail news, Dick's Sporting Goods surged after an earnings beat, and reports came that Walmart (WMT) is partnering with Gap (GPS) to launch a new line of home products. Walt Disney (DIS) also jumped into the action, seeing a surge in options activity one week after earnings. Options bulls targeted both Shake Shack (SHAK) and United Airlines (UAL), the former after a lofty bull note. Lastly, Twitter (TWTR) has plenty of technical support that could help the stock climb it out of its recent pullback.
Memorial Day Week Looks to Bring Plenty of Data
Earnings season is winding down, though this upcoming week will still feature reports from Broadcom (AVGO), Canopy Growth (CGC), Cloudera (CLDR), Lululemon Athletica (LULU), and Zoom Video (ZM). Plus, plenty of economic data is on tap, including an update to the Federal Reserves latest Beige Book report, more initial and continuing jobless claims data, and an ADP employment report. In the meantime, check out the best and worst performing stocks historically during the week of Memorial Day.