By Staff Reporters
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(Bloomberg) — Novartis AG raised its profit outlook and announced plans to buy back as much as $15 billion in shares as it prepares to spin off its Sandoz generics unit. Operating profit excluding some items will likely grow by low double digits this year, the Swiss drug maker said in a statement, raising its forecast for a second time from a prior estimate of high single-digits gains. The stock rose as much as 4% in Zurich trading.
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Shares of U.S. telecom giant Verizon (NYSE: VZ) fell 7.5% in trading on Monday after a series of articles in The Wall Street Journal highlighted the lead in cable sheathing that telecom companies used decades ago. Some analysts downgraded the stock, but the market sold before more details were available from the company.
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Here is where the major market benchmarks ended:
U.S. stocks extended a rally as better-than-expected bank results boosted the S&P 500 and NASDAQ to fresh 15-month highs.
- The S&P 500 Index was up 32.19 points (0.7%) at 4,554.98; the Dow Jones industrial average was up 366.58 points (1.1%) at 34,951.93; the NASDAQ Composite was up 108.69 points (0.8%) at 14,353.64.
- The 10-year Treasury note yield (TNX) was little changed at 3.793%.
- CBOE’s Volatility Index (VIX) was down 0.16 at 13.32.
Financial stocks were among the strongest performers Tuesday, sending the KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) up over 4%. Oilfield services shares were also strong as crude oil futures gained over 2%. The small-cap Russell 2000 (RUT) gained over 1% and posted a five-month high.
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Filed under: iMBA, Inc. | Tagged: CBOE, DJIA, DOW, NASDAQ, Novartis, Novartis AG, S&P 500, Sandoz, Verizon, VIX, VZ | Leave a comment »


















