Midday Fly By: AWS in deal with OpenAI, Kimberly-Clark to buy Kenvue

The major averages were mixed near noon, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq higher as investors start the month with cautious optimism. Traders await a new slate of corporate earnings, as well as more developments on a tentative trade-truce between the U.S. and China. 

Meanwhile, with the U.S. government shutdown now entering its second month and key economic data delayed, markets are leaning more on earnings and policy cues than traditional macro signals. The absence of fresh labor and inflation numbers is creating a data vacuum, which in turn is keeping volatility on the table.

Looking to commodities, both oil and gold prices were fractionally higher near noon.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Amazon Web Services (AMZN) and Microsoft-backed (MSFT) OpenAI announced a $38B multi-year strategic partnership
• Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) reported year-over-year increases in Q3 operating earnings and revenue
• Kimberly-Clark (KMB) agreed to acquire Kenvue (KVUE) for $21.01 per share in cash and stock
• Coeur Mining (CDE) agreed to acquire New Gold (NGD) for $8.51 per share
• SM Energy (SM) and Civitas Resources (CIVI) agreed to combine in a $12.8B all-stock transaction

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Boeing (BA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Freedom Capital
• Luminar (LAZR) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
• Roku (ROKU) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler
• Charter (CHTR) downgraded to Market Perform at Bernstein and to Sector Weight at KeyBanc
• Cisco (CSCO) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Jehoshaphat Research is short Aaon (AAON), “a manufacturer of HVAC products with easy to borrow stock and universal Buy ratings from the Street.”
• An FDA official who recently resign is being sued by Aurinia Pharmaceuticals (AUPH) for allegedly soliciting a bribe and tanking its stock with false statements in a revenge campaign against a former colleague, WSJ says
• Samsung SDI (SSNLF) has reached an agreement with Tesla (TSLA) to supply more than $2.11B worth of Energy Storage System batteries to Tesla over three years, Korea Economic Daily reports
• Glencore (GLNCY) plans to close its Horne smelter, Canada’s largest copper metal-producing operation, due to environmental issues and the millions of dollars needed to upgrade the facility, Reuters says
• ExxonMobil (XOM) CEO Darren Woods said the company will be unable to continue doing business in the European Union, EU, if the government does not loosen the requirements on a sustainability law that would impose 5% fine on global revenue, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• Terns Pharmaceuticals (TERN) increases after announcing data from the ongoing CARDINAL trial of TERN-701
• Cipher Mining (CIFR) gains after reporting Q3 results and announcing a $5.5B lease agreement with AWS
• Iren (IREN) higher in New York after securing a $9.7B AI Cloud contract with Microsoft (MSFT)
• uniQure (QURE) falls in New York after announcing the FDA no longer agrees data for AMT-130 is “adequate” to support a BLA
• DuPont (DD) lower after Qnity Electronic (Q) completed its separation from the company and announcing the launch of three testing protocols for evaluating body armor

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• On Semi (ON) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for Q4, with CEO Hassane El-Khoury commenting, “Our third quarter results exceeded expectations”
• iRadimed (IRMD) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for Q4 and FY25
• Pinnacle West (PNW) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• Vertex (VERX) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for Q4 and FY25, with David DeStegano commenting, “Vertex delivered a solid third quarter with double-digit revenue growth and robust profitability”
• PSEG (PEG) reported Q3 results and narrowed its guidance for FY25

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.35%, or 166.83, to 47,396.04, the Nasdaq was up 0.58%, or 137.62, to 23,862.57, and the S&P 500 was up 0.22%, or 14.86, to 6,855.06.