Stocks are slightly higher at midday as investors await word on whether Democrats and Republicans can broker a truce and enact more stimulus legislation ahead of the upcoming presidential election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said over the weekend that she has informed the White House that it has until Tuesday to reach an agreement or it is highly unlikely that a stimulus deal will be reached in the near-term.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., housing starts rose 1.9% to a 1.415M rate in September. Housing permits climbed 5.2% to a 1.553M rate, which is the highest since 2006.
TOP NEWS: The U.S., acting under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States, and eleven individual state Attorneys General, filed a legal action under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, seeking to "restrain Google LLC from unlawfully maintaining monopolies in the markets for general search services, search advertising, and general search text advertising in the United States through anticompetitive and exclusionary practices," as has been widely telegraphed by media reports. In response, Google Public Policy said via Twitter, "Today's lawsuit by the Department of Justice is deeply flawed. People use Google because they choose to -- not because they're forced to or because they can't find alternatives."
Shares of IBM (IBM) are about 6% lower near noon after the company's report last night of Q3 earnings and revenue. Citi analyst Jim Suva keeps a Neutral rating on IBM with a $140 price target following the company's Q3 results, stating that from both an operational and financial perspective, IBM is "getting even more complex." The company did not provide a Q4 outlook and Suva believes consensus Q4 earnings and cash flows will move lower, he added.
In other large-cap earnings news, Procter & Gamble (PG) and Travelers (TRV) shares are up 1% and 5%, respectively, following the companies' reports, while Philip Morris International (PM) has slid 3% following the company's quarterly update.
In M&A news, SK hynix announced an agreement to acquire Intel's (INTC) NAND memory and storage business for $9B. Following receipt of approvals, SK hynix will acquire from Intel the NAND SSD business, including NAND SSD-associated IP and employees, as well as the Dalian facility, with a first payment of $7B. SK hynix will acquire from Intel remaining assets, including IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers, R&D employees, and the Dalian fab workforce, upon a final closing, expected to occur in March 2025 with a remaining payment of $2B.
General Motors (GM) announced that its Spring Hill, Tennessee assembly plant will begin the transition to become the company's third vehicle manufacturing site to produce electric vehicles. The news was part of GM reporting plans for six U.S. facility investments that total more than $2B.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Corsair Gaming (CRSR), which rose 11% after Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter initiated the stock with an Outperform rating and $25 price target, continuing Wall Street's rollout of coverage of the recent IPO. Also higher was Logitech (LOGI), which gained 18% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was AMC Entertainment (AMC), which slid 11% after filing to sell 15M shares of common stock and providing downbeat Q3 revenue guidance. Also lower was Synchrony Financial (SYF), which fell 5% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 168.89, or 0.60%, to 28,364.31, the Nasdaq was up 51.30, or 0.45%, to 11,530.19, and the S&P 500 was up 21.13, or 0.62%, to 3,448.05.
