The markets were mixed on the day, with tech stocks and oil helping but changes to the Dow hurting. The Dow 30 was lower on the day by 45, the S&P 500 gained 4, and the Nasdaq 100 was once again the leader with a gain of 55.
Tech was once again the winner as money continued to shift from trade-sensitive areas to growth tech names. Facebook (NYSE: FB) and Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) both broke out to new highs with 2% gains each. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) also pushed to new highs with a gain of 1%.
Disney (NYSE: DIS) made headlines as they were forced to raise their bid for Twenty First Century Fox (NASDAQ: FOXA) to $38 per share, bringing their total bid to $71.3 billion. This puts them back in the lead in their competition with Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), which offered $65 billion last week.
Walgreens Boost-Alliance (NYSE: WBA) share shot higher by 5% on the day as it was announced that they would take the place of General Electric (NYSE: GE) in the Dow 30, ending GE's 111-year run. This pushed shares of GE to new lows as the company continues to restructure. Walgreens' bullish move today pushed shares to their highest point in two months.
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) shares were lower on the day by 10% following an announcement that 150 US stores will close next year. Closing these stores is the first step to boosting performance. Starbucks missed earnings in five of the last six quarters. CEO Kevin Johnson considers this performance unacceptable and feels that changes need to be made. The company also announced lower guidance going forward, saying that they would focus on changes in consumer trends towards health and wellness. They also announced a share buyback program of $20 billion and will be raising their dividend.