Wall Street Wrap – March 2, 2010
By Taryn Cooper, at 5:03 pm on March 2nd, 2010Stocks finished slightly higher on Tuesday, March 2, with the Dow closing at 10,406 (+2.2, 0.0%), Nasdaq at 2,281 (+7.2, 0.3%) and the S&P at 1,118 (+2.6, 0.2%).
Technology stocks were boosted by bellwether Qualcomm, announcing a $3 billion stock buyback plan as well as a dividend raise of 12%.
Merger Monday continued into Tie-Up Tuesday as CF Industries raised its hostile bid for Terra Industries (the target having agreed to terms with Yara) and Dow Chemical has agreed to sell its Styron plastics unit to Bain Capital in a deal valued at $1.6 billion.
After hours, the activity did not stop as Elliott Associates offered to acquire Novell in a deal with an implied value of $1 billion shortly after market close. As a result, Novell’s stock shot up 29% in the after-market.
In commodities, gold and crude oil prices rose, and the dollar fell. Investors appear to be waiting for economic data results before making a move.
