Negative sentiment pushing down European stocks spilled over to US stock indexes, which are falling on Monday as a rise in Covid-19 cases triggered fears over renewed lockdown restrictions across the world.
Travel companies and airline stocks are leading most of the declines with Carnival plunging 6.1%, United Airlines down 7.5%, while American Express is dropping 6.2%. Meanwhile, popular stay-at-home stock Zoom Video Communications is up 5.4%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index is falling 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is dropping 2.7%. The S&P 500 Index is down 2%.
Again in the spotlight, shares in Nikola are sinking 18% after its founder Trevor Milton voluntarily stepped down as executive chairman amid allegations that the electric truckmaker is an “intricate fraud built on dozens of lies” and misled investors about its business prospects.
Nikola said that Stephen Girsky, former General Motors Vice Chairman, has been appointed Chairman, with immediate effect.
Short-seller Hindenburg Research claims that it has extensive evidence – including recorded phone calls, text messages, private emails and behind-the-scenes photographs – detailing dozens of false statements by Milton, concluding that it has “never seen this level of deception at a public company, especially of this size.” In response NKLA called the report “false and defamatory.”
Deals, deals, deals: Microsoft is snapping up ZeniMax Media in an all-cash deal for $7.5 billion. ZeniMax Media owns well-known video game publisher Bethesda.
“Gaming is the most expansive category in the entertainment industry, as people everywhere turn to gaming to connect, socialize and play with their friends,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Quality differentiated content is the engine behind the growth and value of Xbox Game Pass—from Minecraft to Flight Simulator. As a proven game developer and publisher, Bethesda has seen success across every category of games, and together, we will further our ambition to empower the more than three billion gamers worldwide.”
The clock is ticking: Oracle shares are up 1.3% after the software giant and Walmart issued a joint statement confirming their plans to snap up a minority stake in TikTok’s US business. Oracle will acquire a 12.5% stake in TikTok Global, while Walmart will take a 7.5% interest.
The move came after President Donald Trump approved the deal “in concept” on Saturday. The President has also announced that TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance “has received tentative approval for an agreement with the US government to resolve the outstanding issues.”
Shares in Illumina are tanking 7% after the gene sequencing firm announced the acquisition of Grail, a company focused on multi-cancer early detection, for $8 billion. Illumina is Grail’s biggest shareholder with a 14.5% stake. Grail is also backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates.
Shares of Royal Dutch Shell class A shares are down 2.8% following a Reuters report that the oil giant is looking to slash up to 40% off the cost of producing oil and gas in a major move to save cash so it can overhaul its business and focus more on renewable energy and power markets.
More streaming: Roku shares are popping 17% after the streaming player said it reached a deal with media giant Comcast’s NBCUniversal to give Roku users access to the Peacock app. In addition, Roku and NBCUniversal have renewed their agreement to keep 46 NBCU broadcast and cable apps on the Roku Channel.
Corona update: Allovir is gaining another 6% after closing almost 14% higher on Friday. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted clinical trial approval for its ALVR109, an allogeneic, off-the-shelf virus-specific T cell Covid-19 therapy against SARS-CoV-2. The therapy is being developed to halt the progression of COVID-19.
