Apple (AAPL) was also in the news, this time because of a rare downgrade. Walter Piecyk, a technology analyst at BTIG Research, went to neutral on the stock from buy, saying the large iPhone subsidies that wireless carriers have been offering will come to an end, putting the tech heavyweight's profit margins at risk.
The downgrade did little to dissuade buyers though as Apple shares hit a new all-time high of $639.83, and finished up 0.4% at $636.23. The sell side remains overwhelmingly bullish with more than 80% of the 51 analysts covering the company at strong buy or buy.
Yahoo!'s (YHOO) head of products, Blake Irving, is leaving the company following last week's news that the Internet company is slashing 2,000 jobs.
Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson is slated to hold an all-staff meeting Tuesday to brief employees on the company's new management structure, a source told Reuters. Yahoo! shares added 0.2% at $15.10.
Great Wolf Resorts (WOLF) plans to evaluate a sweetened takeover bid of $7 a share in cash from private equity firm KSL Capital Partners. Great Wolf, an operator of indoor water parks, rejected an earlier bid of $6.25 a share from KSL. The latest bid from KSL tops an agreed-to bid from Apollo Global Management (APO) that values Great Wolf shares at $6.75 each. Great Wolf shares surged 13% to close at $7.44. May oil futures slipped 85 cents to settle at $102.46 a barrel, while June gold futures gained $14 to settle at $1,646 an ounce.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury climbed 2/32, diluting the yield to 2.05%, while the U.S. dollar index fell 0.1% at $79.759.
--Written by Andrea Tse and Shanthi Bharatwaj in New York.
>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Andrea Tse.
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