Monday was a mixed day on Wall Street, as gains for major benchmarks contrasted with a decline in indexes tracking smaller companies. Many market participants focused on the White House's support of Chinese mobile device maker ZTE, which lifted several of the biggest stocks of Chinese technology giants that trade on U.S. exchanges. In general, investors seem to be pleased with the health of the global economy, and absent reasons to the contrary, the path of least resistance appears to be a bounce from the recent correction. Some individual companies received especially good news that lifted shares today. Caesars Entertainment (CZR), NXP Semiconductor (NXPI -1.63%), and Symantec (GEN -0.34%) were among the best performers on the day. Here's why they did so well.
Caesars gets some help from the Supreme Court
Shares of Caesars Entertainment rose 5% in the wake of good news for the casino industry from the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation's highest court ruled that a more than 25-year-old federal law that had prevented nearly every state other than Nevada from allowing sports-related betting was unconstitutional, opening the door for Caesars and its peers to begin such operations if state legislatures pass laws allowing sports betting. New Jersey, which was the state seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional, appears ready to move quickly, and Caesars praised the decision. The company said it will need to take time to understand the consequences of the legal win before offering specific strategy, but investors think it'll be a big win for Caesars to be able to have sports betting throughout its network rather than only in its Nevada locations.
Image source: Caesars Entertainment.
NXP gets the chip off its shoulder
NXP Semiconductors stock gained 12% as investors saw the White House's overture to Chinese smartphone maker ZTE as potentially opening the door to an approval from Chinese officials of Qualcomm's offer to purchase NXP. Investors had feared that the proposed deal would end up being a casualty of political tensions between China and the U.S., sending NXP stock lower as the odds of the $127.50-per-share buyout appeared to fall. Now, though, conditions seem more favorable, although even with today's jump, the share price is still 12% below what NXP shareholders would get if the deal goes through.
Symantec bounces back
Finally, shares of Symantec climbed nearly 10%. The cybersecurity company had seen dramatic losses last week after it announced that it would have to conduct an audit internally in order to address issues that a former employee had raised about accounting practices. Investors last week panicked that Symantec might have to make major restatements to past financial reports, but over the weekend, they seemed to reconsider their initial reaction. Shareholders will need to watch closely to see if anything material comes from the internal audit, but until it reaches a conclusion, you can expect Symantec stock to remain volatile.
