Nike reports Q1 beat, U.S. takes 5% stake in Lithium Americas: Morning Buzz

The major averages were mixed near noon as traders grapple with the U.S. government shutdown. It’s unclear how long the shutdown will last, and while the stock market has typically weathered the storms of previous shutdowns, this one presents new risks, given a number of new economic factors at play, including the impact of tariffs.

In other economic news, U.S. ISM manufacturing index edged up 0.4 ticks to 49.1 in September, while the U.S. S&P Global manufacturing index left at 52.0 for the final September print.

Looking to commodities, gold is continuing its climb to the $3,900 threshold, currently just below it. Meanwhile, oil prices were sliding after yesterday’s API crude print.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Nike (NKE) reported upbeat Q1 results, though it raised its tariff-related incremental cost estimate
• Lithium Americas (LAC) reached a pact with General Motors (GM) and the U.S. Department of Energy to advance the first draw of $435M on the previously announced $2.26B DOE loan, with the U.S. government acquiring a 5% interest in the Canadian company
• Axcelis (ACLS) and Veeco (VECO) agreed to combine in an all-stock merger with an enterprise value of $4.4B
• Ford (F) reported Q3 U.S. sales rose 8.2% year-over-year
• Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella is offloading some duties to Judson Althoff, The Information reports

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Seaport Research initiated coverage of Apple (AAPL) with a Buy rating and $310 price target
• Northland double downgraded DraftKings (DKNG) on prediction market headwinds
• Carvana (CVNA) upgraded at Jefferies, here’s why
• Sunrun (RUN) upgraded to Buy at Jefferies ahead of growth inflection
• Marvell (MRVL) downgraded to Hold at TD Cowen on clouded visibility

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• BlackRock (BLK)-owned Global Infrastructure Partners is nearing a $38B deal to buy utility group AES (AES) in what would be one of the largest infrastructure takeovers of all time, FT reports
• Ahead of the holiday shopping season, Peloton (PTON) is relaunching its product assortment, introducing a commercial equipment line, and raising its subscription and hardware prices in an effort to reignite growth, CNBC says
• European antitrust regulators are investigating Sanofi (SNY) over potentially anti-competitive behavior, FT says
• Meta (META) is acquiring chips startup Rivos as part of an effort to bolster its internal semiconductor development and to control more of its AI infrastructure, Bloomberg says
• Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), Takeda Pharmaceuticals (TAK), and Astex Pharmaceuticals are joining a consortium that include AbbVie (ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to share data for training an AI model meant to assist with drug discovery and development, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• Plug Power (PLUG) higher after delivering its first 10-megawatt GenEco electrolyzer array to Galp (GLPEY)
• United States Antimony (UAMY) increases after receiving its first delivery order to produce antimony ingots
• Catalyst Pharmaceuticals (CPRX) gains after announcing a $200M share repurchase program
• Bakkt (BKKT) lower after completing the sale of its loyalty business to Project Labrador
• Corteva (CTVA) falls after announcing plans to separate into two publicly traded companies

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• RPM (RPM) reported Q1 results and provided guidance for Q2 and FY26
• Halozyme (HALO) backed its guidance for FY25
• Conagra Brands (CAG) reported Q1 results and backed its guidance for FY26, with CEO Sean Connolly commenting, “I am pleased by the solid progress we made in the first quarter”
• Castor Maritime (CTRM) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue lower year-over-year
• Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) reported Q1 results, with CEO Sherman Miller commenting, “We delivered our strongest Q1 in company history”

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 83.70, or 0.18%, to 46,481.59, the Nasdaq was down 12.47, or 0.055%%, to 22,647.54, and the S&P 500 was up 2.09, or 0.031%, to 6,690.55.