Stocks Rise After Friday’s Sell-Off

U.S. Market
Stocks were higher this morning aftermarkets sold off on Friday on fears that a strong jobs report meant the Fed would raise short-term rates sooner rather than later. Today also marks the sixth anniversary of the current bull market.

There were no major economic data releases this morning.

At midday the Dow was up 0.7%, the S&P 500 was 0.3% higher while the Nasdaq was flat.

Stocks on the Move
Shares of GM (GM) rose 1.4% this morning after the firm said it would begin a $5 billion share buyback program. The move helps the firm avoid a proxy fight with activist investor Harry Wilson who had sought an $8 billion buyback program.

Mall-owner Simon Property Group (SPG) is making a $16 billion offer for rival Macerich (MAC) . The move comes after Simon took a 3.6% stake in Macerich in November. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Macerich’s management team has already refused multiple offers and has yet to comment publicly on Simon’s new offer.

Foreign Markets
European markets were mixed today. In late trading, the FTSE 100 and Paris CAC were each down 0.5% while Germany’s DAX was up 0.3%.

Asian shares were also mixed. The Shanghai Composite rose 1.9%, the Nikkei 225 was off 1% while the Hang Seng dipped 0.2%.