Stocks slip ahead of inflation data, Take-Two, Zynga in focus

Inflation will ‘stay high’: Fmr. Kansas City Fed president

Former Kansas City Federal Reserve President and CEO Thomas Hoenig discusses U.S. monetary policy amid high inflation.

U.S. stocks opened lower as Monday's session kicked off and ahead of key inflation data due later this week.

The Nasdaq Composite paced the drop falling over 1.7%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.5% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average over 200 points or 0.6%. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
I:DJI DOW JONES AVERAGES 35723.74 -507.92 -1.40%
SP500 S&P 500 4595.18 -81.85 -1.75%
I:COMP NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX 14586.516734 -349.38 -2.34%

Investors are also keeping a close eye on rising bond yields with the 10-Year Treasury at 1.77%.

STOCKS FALL, BOND YIELDS RISE AS INVESTORS GET TASTE OF 2022

Tech names took a hit with Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Google trading lower. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
AAPL APPLE INC. 168.61 -3.56 -2.07%
MSFT MICROSOFT CORP. 305.93 -8.11 -2.58%
AMZN AMAZON.COM INC. 3,138.27 -112.81 -3.47%
GOOGL ALPHABET INC. 2,671.05 -69.29 -2.53%

In deal news, Take-Two is buying Zynga, the maker of the popular Farmville game, for $12.7 billion, a 64% premium to Friday's closing prices. 

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 "We are thrilled to announce our transformative transaction with Zynga, which significantly diversifies our business and establishes our leadership position in mobile, the fastest growing segment of the interactive entertainment industry," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two in the deal announcement. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
TTWO TAKE-TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWARE INC. 140.18 -24.42 -14.84%
ZNGA ZYNGA INC. 8.65 +2.65 +44.25%

In pharma news, Pfizer's CEO told CNBC a vaccine specific to treat omicron will be ready by March. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
PFE PFIZER INC. 55.41 -0.30 -0.55%
BNTX BIONTECH SE 209.00 -2.84 -1.34%

Lululemon shares slipped after the yoga retailer said the virus impacted holiday sales. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
LULU LULULEMON ATHLETICA INC. 335.37 -19.84 -5.59%

"We started the holiday season in a strong position but have since experienced several consequences of the Omicron variant, including increased capacity constraints, more limited staff availability, and reduced operating hours in certain locations. I am proud of how our teams continue to deliver for our guests, and we are excited about what the future holds for lululemon" said CEO Calvin McDonald. 

As a result, sales will now be at the low end of the $2.125 billion to $2.165 billion range. 

Ticker Security Last Change Change %
USO UNITED STATES OIL FUND L.P. 56.19 -0.48 -0.86%
BNO UNITED STS BRENT OIL FD LP UNIT 21.76 -0.21 -0.96%

In commodities, oil hovered at the $78 per barrel level. 

The economic calendar is light but will pick up on Wednesday with the release of the Consumer Price Index for December and the Producer Price Index the following day.  

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