Just yesterday, the market shed a few pounds on news from Cyprus that it would tax Cypriot savings accounts in order to receive a bailout. Today, the broad-based S&P 500 (S&P Indices:.INX) retreated again following a vote on this savings tax bill, which did not get the required votes in Cyprus’ parliament. Without this tax, there’s no guarantee of bailout funds and there’s a prospect that Cyprus could be forced to declare bankruptcy. What this comes down to is a matter of uncertainty. The market loathes uncertainty, and the past two days are evidence to that.
For the day, the S&P 500 dipped 3.76 points (-0.24%) to close at 1,548.34. However, just as we witnessed yesterday, the dip provided ample opportunity for three stocks to shine.
Today’s top two gainers within the S&P 500 come courtesy of a newly signed partnership. Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) and U.S. drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) rallied 5.4% and 3.6%, respectively, after the two announced a 10-year agreement worth somewhere around $400 billion. The two entities, along with Alliance Boots in Europe, will pool their purchasing power to buy generic and branded prescription drugs around the globe. This initial investment by Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG)/Alliance Boots gives them a 7% stake in AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) and cuts to an end a drug wholesale relationship between Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) and Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH). With a rapidly expanding and efficient drug delivery network, Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) is setting a foundation that should put it light years ahead of CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE:CVS) if it doesn’t step up and follow suit in quick fashion.
Following up these two top performers is energy-drink maker Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST), which moved higher by 3.3%. The ironic part about the move higher on a day when the S&P is down is that a midday press release from Bloomberg noted that top doctors around the country wrote the FDA requesting they limit the amount of caffeine in energy drinks. The letter, sent to the FDA and signed by 18 doctors, requests that energy drinks be limited to a similar amount of caffeine to what’s found in soda. The prospect of increased regulation is precisely what keeps me on the sidelines here and why, even after its fall from grace, I still think there’s more downside than upside to Monster Beverage.
The article Today’s 3 Best Stocks originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Sean Williams.
Fool contributor Sean Williams has no material interest in any companies mentioned in this article. You can follow him on CAPS under the screen name TMFUltraLong, track every pick he makes under the screen name TrackUltraLong, and check him out on Twitter, where he goes by the handle @TMFUltraLong.The Motley Fool recommends and owns shares of Monster Beverage.
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