>>> US Close Dow +0,15% S&P +0,46%Nasdaq+0,36% Russell +0,32%

Closing Market Summary: Stocks End Strong Week on Upbeat Note

The stock market capped a strong week with an advance that sent the S&P 500 higher by 0.5% to extend its weekly gain to 3.4%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (+0.2%) underperformed today, but the price-weighted index still managed to add 3.0% for the week.

After adding more than 88 points in the previous two sessions, the S&P 500 spent the first half of the day near its flat line, but climbed ahead of the close. Despite the sharp midweek surge, buying interest remained in place today with nine of ten sectors ending the day in the green.

The energy sector (+3.1%) finished in the lead and extended its weekly gain to 9.7%, which put the growth-sensitive group well ahead of the remaining sectors. Crude oil contributed to today's rally as the energy component settled higher by 5.4% at $57.10/bbl and continued its advance into the $58.00/bbl area in electronic trade.

Meanwhile, the other commodity-related sector—materials—ended in the second place with a solid gain of 1.2%. Steelmakers contributed to the advance with the Market Vectors Steel ETF (SLX 36.61, +1.05) climbing 3.0%.

Outside of energy and materials, only one other sectors was able to end ahead of the broader market. Industrials (+0.5%) rallied behind their top-weighted component—General Electric (GE 25.62, +0.48)—while transport stocks ended just behind the broader market. The Dow Jones Transportation Average climbed 0.4% with freight carriers pacing the advance.

Elsewhere, the health care sector (+0.4%) slipped behind the market into the close, but biotechnology outperformed. Juno Therapeutics (JUNO 35.00, +11.00) surged 45.8% in its debut, which represented the largest biotech IPO of the year. For its part, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 317.20, +3.23) rallied 1.0% and helped the Nasdaq Composite end just behind the broader market even as chipmakers lagged.

The PHLX Semiconductor Index shed 0.3% with Xilinx (XLNX 43.00, -0.70) falling 1.6% after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to ‘Underperform' from ‘Neutral.' As for the broader technology sector (+0.1%), the top-weighted group was kept behind the broader market by relative weakness in influential components like Apple (AAPL 111.78, -0.87), Intel (INTC 36.37, -0.65), and Visa (V 261.67, -2.49).

Shares of Visa were also partially responsible for the underperformance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. However it wasn't just the top-priced listing that kept the index behind the S&P 500. Nike (NKE 94.84, -2.24) fell 2.3% after the company's below-consensus futures orders growth overshadowed better than expected earnings and revenue. Retail names in general displayed weakness with the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 94.13, -0.68) shedding 0.7%.

Treasuries climbed throughout the day and ended just below their highs. The benchmark 10-yr yield slipped four basis points to 2.17%.

Today's participation was well ahead of average, which was caused by quadruple witching. As a result more than 2.1 billion shares changed hands at the NYSE floor.

Investors did not receive any economic news today and Monday's data will be limited to the Existing Home Sales report (consensus 5.20 million), which will be released at 10:00 ET.
  • Nasdaq Composite +14.1% YTD 
  • S&P 500 +12.0% YTD 
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average +7.4% YTD 
  • Russell 2000 +2.7% YTD 

(BFW) SHV Waives 95% Nutreco Bid Acceptance Level Condition to 66.7%

SHV Waives 95% Nutreco Bid Acceptance Level Condition to 66.7%
2014-12-19 16:19:30.805 GMT


By Martijn van der Starre
(Bloomberg) -- SHV considers Nutreco stake of more than 15%
to be strategic investment with long-term perspective, won’t
sell interest in foreseeable future, it says in e-mailed
statement.
* Says regulatory clearance obtained from EU Commission,
Turkish competition authorities in connection with offer
* NOTE Dec. 11: Cargill Weighs Stand-Alone Bid for Feed
Supplier Nutreco


For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Martijn van der Starre in Amsterdam at +31-20-589-8507 or
vanderstarre@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Mariajose Vera at +49-89-244478-803 or
mvera1@bloomberg.net
Corina Ruhe

>>> Boskalis Interested in Purchase of Ailing Companies’ Assets: FD

Boskalis wants ‘to do more’ in transport, installation business for offshore oil and gas extraction, Dutch paper Het Financieele Dagblad says on website, citing interview with CEO Peter Berdowski.
  • Boskalis interested in buying assets such as heavy-lift, diving support and work vessels
  • Says Fugro is very nice company; would say no if asked whether he’d make an takeover offer tomorrow

Barron's; Stryker Stock Can Stay Hot, Helped By M&A

Stryker Stock Can Stay Hot, Helped By M&A
Despite a big run this year, shares of the medical device maker look cheap. Also, why Goldman Sachs put Stryker on its “Conviction Buy” list.

Advancing age, obesity and injuries can wear on hips and knees, which is bad news for Baby Boomers, but good news for Stryker.

As one of the biggest makers of implants used to replace and repair damaged hips, knees and other joints, Kalamazoo, MI-based Stryker should strongly benefit from a coming wave of surgeries in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Stryker (ticker: SYK ) has spent billions on acquisitions in the past five years and now generates most of its revenue from products that have nothing to do with hips or knees.

This strategy has paid off. The stock has returned more than 30% in the past 12 months, closing Thursday at $95.83, compared to the 13% gain by the S&P 500.

Though Stryker stock reached an all-time high today, we don’t think investors fully appreciate the underlying value and see ample upside.

Stryker already boasts industry-leading organic sales, which exclude acquisitions, growth. It also has one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry and should continue to capitalize on accretive deal making that drives sales in fast-growing markets and expands its reach outside the U.S.

At 18.4 times 2015 estimated earnings, Stryker trades at a slight discount to the broader medical device industry, having historically averaged a 10% premium. Return it to that premium, and the shares, which yield 1.5%, could climb to $108.

“The stock has performed well year to date, but in my opinion, it has not been given the level of credit given to cash-deploying, shareholder value-creating, acquiring companies in their multiples,” says Leerink Swann analyst Richard Newitter. “Stryker has room to play catch-up.”

Others agree. Earlier this month, Goldman Sachs added Stryker to its “Conviction Buy” list, citing, among other tailwinds, a strong balance sheet and what analyst David Roman calls “a demonstrated ability to do deals.”

Founded in 1941, Stryker is the fifth-largest medical device company in the S&P 500 based on 2013 revenue of $9 billion, and a prominent player in the $38 billion orthopedic-implant market, where it competes with Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ), Zimmer Holdings ( ZMH ), Medtronic ( MDT ) and others.

Last year, Stryker derived 44% of revenue from reconstructive products, with sales of hip and knee implants alone exceeding $2.5 billion. The medical-surgical products business chipped in $3.3 billion, or 37% of company-wide revenue, while the other 19% came from spinal implants and neuro-technology products.

That’s quite a change from 2009, when orthopedic devices generated almost 60% of Stryker’s business.

But a lot has changed since then.

The financial crisis and the resulting recessions hit device makers hard both here and in Europe. The industry, however, bounced back quickly, helped by the extension of health benefits to millions of Americans via the Affordable Care Act and an improving economy in the U.S., where unemployment is falling and hospital admissions are rising.

Stryker has also broadened its international footprint in recent years by snapping up companies with new technologies and entering fast-growing markets.

In 2010, Stryker paid $1.5 billion for Boston Scientific’s ( BSX ) neurovascular business. From 2011 to 2013, it spent $4.5 billion on acquisitions, including the $1.6 billion purchase of Mako Surgical and $765 million acquisition of Trauson Holdings that expanded Stryker’s presence in China.

Organic sales growth exceeded 5% in 2013. Goldman Sachs’ Roman sees that reaching 6% to 7% as the macroeconomic environment continues to improve for device makers.

In 2015, Roman expects revenue to exceed $10 billion, yielding $5.24 a share in earnings. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of $5.20 a share.

Stryker still has plenty of dry powder for deals with $4.7 billion in cash on its balance sheet, compared to $3.9 billion in debt. Stryker also plans to repatriate $2 billion in overseas cash by June.

In May, reports surfaced that Stryker was considering a bid for its European rival Smith & Nephew ( SNN ), a deal that would strengthen its presence outside the U.S. and propel the company ahead in the markets for sports medicine and products used to treat trauma. It would also add scale to its U.S. hip and knee business.

Rival Zimmer leapfrogged Stryker earlier this year with its $13.4 billion acquisition of rival Biomet (see Barron’s Take, “Zimmer Attractive After $13.4 billion Biomet Purchase,” April 24).

Questions remain as to whether Smith & Nephew is a willing seller or whether U.S. antitrust regulators would approve a deal. Yet Smith & Nephew isn’t the only way that Stryker can create more value. “Should the deal not happen, we still expect Stryker to be an active acquire,” notes Leerink’s Newitter.

And we still expect Stryker’s stock to keep rising, whether Smith & Nephew becomes part of the company or not.

>>> Portugal Telecom: Isabel dos Santos mulls final decision on EUR 1.21bn bid -

Portugal Telecom: Isabel dos Santos mulls final decision on EUR 1.21bn bid

Isabel dos Santos, the Angolan entrepreneur, has still not decided whether to withdraw her EUR 1.21bn bid for Portugal Telecom (PT), reported Jornal de Negocios. The online version of the Lusophone business paper quoted a source in Terra Peregrin, the vehicle that made a EUR 1.35 per share bid on PT, as saying dos Santos is still studying various options over PT and has not pulled out of the process.

A Lisbon business paper reported Thursday that dos Santos would withdraw her PT bid, but still remain focussed on potential opportunities arising from consolidation of telco markets in Portugal and Brazil.

Portugal's CMVM stock market regulator said earlier this week the dos Santos bid on PT would have to be raised in value and also declined to grant the request for a mandatory offer waiver made by the Angolan investor, daughter of longtime Angolan leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos.


Jornal de Negocios