Market rally cools off | Amazon gets into the pharmacy business | Stimulus impasse persists

TUE, NOV 17, 2020

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF TUE, NOV 17, 2020 • 04:22 ET

DJIA		29783.35
		-0.56%	-167.09

S&P 500		3609.53
		-0.48%	-17.38

NASDAQ		11899.34
		-0.21%	-24.79

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	119.39	-0.91	-0.76%
BA	210.05	+7.65	+3.78%
INTC	45.53	-0.66	-1.43%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
GE	9.68	+0.11	+1.15%
AAPL	119.39	-0.91	-0.76%
CCL	18.05	+0.48	+2.73%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	119.39	-0.91	-0.76%
TSLA	441.61	+33.52	+8.21%
INTC	45.53	-0.66	-1.43%

EDITOR'S NOTE

Looks like Amazon is getting involved in yet another lucrative business, and it's sending ripples across the U.S. equity market.

The company announced Tuesday it will start fulfilling prescriptions online through a new service called Amazon Pharmacy. The e-commerce giant had been building its offering in the sector for years before the announcement. In 2018, it acquired online pharmacy PillPack.

The news sent pharmacy giants CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance down 8.6% and 9.6%, respectively. Both CVS and Walgreens were among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500. Walgreens was also by far the worst-performing component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

"Given Amazon Prime's vast user base and market leading delivery capabilities, there will clearly be potential for some market share shifts over time out of the traditional retail pharmacies." Goldman Sachs analyst Robert Jones wrote in a note. "That said we would note based on several in-depth case studies we previously performed, it typically takes several years before Amazon gains meaningful market share in new end-markets."

The declines by drugstore stocks, coupled with disappointing U.S. retail sales data, led to the recent stock market rally cooling off Tuesday. The Dow slid more than 150 points for the average's first loss in three sessions. The S&P 500 pulled back by 0.5%.

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