10 Stocks Defy Monday’s Market Optimism

5. Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE:COF)

Capital One saw its share prices fall by 3.85 percent on Monday as investors sold off positions following concerns about its potential acquisition of Discover Financial for $35.3 billion, saying that it was “anti-competitive.”

According to a report by The Capital Forum, the Department of Justice was said to have found the deal “anticompetitive” in the subprime sector.

COF and Discover Financial secured their shareholders’ approval of the merger last month, and the transaction was expected to be closed early this year, subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Meanwhile, the Delaware State Bank Commission gave its green light for the proposed acquisition in December.

“Our acquisition of Discover is a singular opportunity to bring together two very successful companies with complementary capabilities and franchises, and to build a payments network that can compete with the largest payments networks and payments companies,” said COF Chairman and CEO Richard Fairbank in a statement last month.