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The British pound registered a sharp drop on Monday, following reports that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker could not reach a Brexit agreement. The two parties had struggled to find common ground on issues including the Irish border, even though Ireland’s foreign minister earlier stated that a deal was close. The pound slumped to an intraday low of $1.3414 on the news, compared with $1.3478 late Friday in New York, before bouncing back. The British currency last traded at $1.3455, down 0.2%. The euro-sterling cross spiked in response to the headlines, but fell back to £0.8811, down 0.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Chip stocks tumbled in Monday morning trading amid valuation concerns and fear that supply of memory chips was catching up with demand. Nvidia Corp. shares dropped 6%, while Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shares fell 7.5%. It was the first time since May that AMD traded below $10 a share. Intel Corp.’s stock dropped 0.4%, despite seeing a price target increase from analysts at Instinet, who cited the company’s “commitment to make shareholder return a more immediate priority” via expense reductions. The firm upped its target from $45 to $50 a share. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is down 2.8%, compared with a 0.7% gain for the S&P 500 Index .

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The largest exchange-traded fund to track the materials sector rallied on Monday, hitting an all-time high and extending its strong year-to-date performance. The fund rose 1.3% in its biggest one-day percentage gain since October. The materials sector was part of a broad move higher in stocks, which came as investors cheered the weekend passage of the Senate version of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code. Among the fund’s biggest gainers, DowDuPont Inc. rose 1.9%, contributing the bulk of the ETF’s move higher. Sherwin-Williams Co. jumped 3.5% while Ball Corp. was up 3.2%. Thus far this year, the materials ETF is up more than 20%, above the 18.5% rise of the S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News

The largest exchange-traded fund to track the consumer discretionary sector rallied on Monday, hitting an all-time high in what was set to be its biggest one-day percentage jump since December 2016. The fund climbed 1.64%, surpassing an one-day rally of 1.62% in late October. The fund has seen nearly uninterrupted gains of late, having risen in 16 of the past 18 sessions, including Monday’s move. The fund was boosted by retail stocks, including Macy’s Inc. , which jumped 7.5% on the day. Among other retailers, Kohl’s Corp. added 5.4% and Foot Locker Inc. was up 5.1%. The sector has recently been supported by a strong start to the holiday shopping season. Among other discretionary names, Walt Disney Co. rose 5.2% while Home Depot Inc. was up 2.7%. Both stocks are Dow components. On the downside, Amazon.com fell 1.3% while Netflix Inc. shed 2.6%. Stocks rose broadly on Monday, which came as investors cheered the weekend passage of the Senate version of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code.

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From:: Stock Market News

The largest exchange-traded fund to track the industrial sector rallied on Monday, hitting an all-time high in what was set to be its biggest one-day percentage gain in more than a year. The Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF jumped 1.9%, its biggest one-day rise since Nov. 10, 2016. The fund has been a massive gainer of late, having risen in eight of the past 10 sessions. It is up 4.5% over the past month. The industrial sector was the biggest gainer in a broad market rally, which came as investors cheered the weekend passage of the Senate version of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code. Among its most active components, 3M Co. was up 1% while Caterpillar Inc. added 1.6%. General Electric Co. rose 0.5%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The largest exchange-traded fund to track the financial sector rallied on Monday and was at its highest level in more than a decade as investors cheered the weekend passage of the Senate version of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 1.7% and hit its highest level since October 2007. The fund was on track for its fifth straight daily gain, extending a recent period of outperformance. Over the past three months, the fund has gained 13.2%, making it the biggest gainer of any of the primary S&P 500 sector ETFs. Early Saturday, the Senate passed the Republican-sponsored tax reform proposal almost entirely along party lines. Hopes that the Trump administration and Republicans would usher in a business-friendly tax overhaul have been cited as a driver for the stock market’s record-setting streak over the past year, with financials seen as particular beneficiaries. The House and Senate now must agree on a single tax bill before it can be sent to Trump to sign. Among specific companies, Bank of America rose 3.7%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. was up 2.4%, and Wells Fargo & Co. climbed 2.6%. Among other financial-related ETFs, the SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF surged 2.6% while the SPDR S&P Bank ETF was up 2.4%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization stocks hit an intraday record on Monday, as investors cheered the weekend passage of the Senate version of a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. tax code, as had been widely but not fully expected. The index rose 1.2% and hit an all-time high. Early Saturday, the Senate passed the Republican-sponsored tax reform proposal almost entirely along party lines. Hopes that the Trump administration and Republicans would usher in a business-friendly tax overhaul have been cited as a driver for the stock market’s record-setting streak over the past year. The House and Senate now must agree on a single tax bill before it can be sent to Trump to sign. Small companies are seen has having a larger impact from the passage of any bill, as more of their revenue comes from the U.S., compared with their larger, multinational peers. Thus far this year, the Russell is up 14.5%, below the nearly 19% rise of the S&P 500 , the 24% gain of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite Index’s 27% gain. However, recent trading has favored the Russell; it is up 10% over the past three months, compared with the 7.4% gain of the S&P.

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Blue Apron Holdings Inc. shares jumped 21% in morning trade Monday, after Barclays analysts praised the company’s CEO change and suggested that there’s still some possibility that Blue Apron may get acquired. The company announced last week that CEO Matt Salzberg would be stepping down and that CFO Brad Dickerson would be taking over the top spot. Barclays sees this as a “positive” development given Dickerson’s operational experience. Blue Apron also said in a filing last week that it’s been making progress on its transition to a new fulfillment center in New Jersey, which has so far weighed on financial performance. Barclays wrote that “negative growth remains an issue given the marketing reductions in 2H17 and the elevated churn” but added that the possibility of Blue Apron getting acquired “may limit downside.” The firm raised its price target to $4 from $3. Shares have lost 61% of their value since the company’s June IPO. The S&P 500 is up 9% in that time.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 scaled fresh records on Monday as the main indexes opened with solid gains. Investors welcomed the weekend passage of the Senate version of a tax cut bill. The S&P 500 opened 17 points, or 0.6%, higher at 2,660, setting an intraday all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 235 points, or 0.9%, to 24,469, also hitting a record. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index advanced 49 points, or 0.7%, to 6,895, recouping some of the sharp losses from the previous week. Among the best performers on Wall Street were banking stocks. Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley , which rose 3% and 2%, respectively in early trade.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission says its new cyber unit, created in September, has taken its first action, obtaining an emergency asset freeze on an alleged initial coin offering fraud. The SEC filed charges against a recidivist Quebec securities law violator, Dominic Lacroix, his company, PlexCorps, and his partner, Sabrina Paradis-Royer. The Commission alleges that Lacroix and PlexCorps marketed and sold securities called PlexCoin on the internet to investors in the U.S. and elsewhere, claiming that investments in PlexCoin would yield a 1,354% profit in less than 29 days. Investors have purchased approximately 81 million PlexCoin tokens for approximately $15 million. The cyber unit is focusing on misconduct involving distributed ledger technology and initial coin offerings, the spread of false information through electronic and social media, hacking and threats to trading platforms, the SEC said.

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From:: Stock Market News