Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) are roughly flat at the midday mark as Q1 draws to a close, with the utilities sector (XLU) the most in the green, while energy (XLE) trails and is the most in the red. Jonathan Corpina of Meridian Equity Partners joins us live from the New York Stock Exchange.
To discuss the other big stories of the day, Alexis Christoforous is joined by Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer and Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland.
Q1 market winners and losers
Stocks are about to close out their best first quarter in four years. Lots of winners in US stocks, with the tech sector coming out on top, and energy the only loser. Gold is up over 8%, while crude had a tough time, losing about 6.5%. Long-term interest rates remain relatively flat.
Amazon’s strategy to steal market share from Walmart
Let’s turn now to the price war raging between Amazon and Walmart — a war that’s squeezing consumer goods manufacturers. Walmart is reportedly pushing suppliers to shave at least 15% off wholesale prices, while Amazon reportedly wants companies to bypass Walmart and ship directly to online consumers.
McDonald’s switch from frozen to fresh beef in Quarter Pounders
It’s lunchtime on Wall Street, so let’s talk burgers and McDonald’s plan to start using fresh beef instead of frozen patties in its Quarter Pounder burgers beginning next year. No word yet on how long the switch to fresh meat will take for other McDonald’s burgers.
