US Stocks Mixed As Samsung Announces $8 Bn Harman Deal

US stocks mixed as Samsung announces $8 bn Harman deal

NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2016 ) : Samsung's $8 billion offer for Harman International drove up shares in the auto electronics maker sharply while major US equities markets were little-changed early Monday.

About a half-hour into trading, the Dow Jones Industrial average was up 0.3 percent at 18,904.23, building on last week's record close on the back of a post-election rally. The broader S&P 500 was flat at 2,164.76 However the tech-rich Nasdaq was 0.1 percent lower at 5,229.71.

Major tech stocks fell, with microsoft down 0.9 percent, Apple down 0.8 percent, Google parent Alphabet down 2.5 percent. Embattled South Korean electronics giant samsung announced Monday it would buy the US car audio and connectivity electronics specialist Harman for $8 billion in cash, equal to nearly 30 percent above the Stamford, Connecticut company's closing price on Friday $87.

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Harman shares were up 25 percent to $109.68, close to Samsung's offer price. Drugmakers gave up early gains to fall into negative territory, with Pfizer losing 0.6 percent, Eli Lilly and Co down 0.2 percent and Johnson & Johnson down 0.8 percent.

Oil majors fell, with Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips all down between 0.3 and 0.7 percent, with the noted exception of Marathon Petroleum, which rose 0.7 percent ahead of a dividend payment to shareholders.