Alphabet jumps after avoiding worst case in antitrust ruling: Morning Buzz

The S&P and Nasdaq indexes have received a lift from a landmark court ruling in Alphabet’s (GOOGL) favor. The decision, which allows Google to retain control of its Chrome browser and maintain key distribution partnerships, sparked a surge in its shares and boosted those of Apple (AAPL) as well.

Meanwhile, precious metals continue their safe-haven march. Gold pushed past $3,500 an ounce, reflecting heightened geopolitical tension as China’s President Xi delivered pointed remarks alongside Russian and North Korean leadership, adding to the sense of global unease.

With the closely watched nonfarm payrolls report scheduled for Friday, market pricing now reflects a roughly 91% likelihood of a Fed rate cut in September.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• A number of analysts raised their price targets on Alphabet (GOOGL) after Judge Amit Mehta issued a better-than-feared antitrust remedy ruling with minimal penalties, which the Street sees removing a material overhang for Google’s search business
• Apple (AAPL) shares also traded higher after what analysts called “a near best-case scenario” remedies ruling
• Macy’s (M) advanced after the department store operator reported better than expected top- and bottom-line results during the second quarter
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) shares have slipped as the retailer’s Q2 report and guidance appears to have underwhelmed investors
• Ford (F) reported a 3.9% increase in U.S. sales in August that was helped by electric vehicle sales that rose 19.3% year-over-year

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded Chipotle (CMG) to Buy
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Kraft Heinz (KHC) to Equal Weight
• BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Constellation Brands (STZ) to Underperform
• Truist downgraded Six Flags (FUN) to Hold
• Citi downgraded Academy Sports (ASO) to Neutral

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Walmart (WMT)-backed OnePay is launching OnePay Wireless, its own branded wireless plan, as it seeks to become a one-stop shop for its users, CNBC says
• HoldCo Asset Management expects to nominate around five directors to Comerica’s (CMA) 11-person board when the window opens, likely in December, WSJ reports
• Some of the largest air cargo operators have warned of a capacity crunch as their jet fleets age and Boeing (BA) and Airbus (EADSY) delay deliveries, FT says
• CEO Marc Benioff says Salesforce (CRM) has cut its customer support staff from 9,000 to roughly 5,000 in 2025 after deploying AI agents to handle a growing share of its work, SFC reports
• Microsoft (MSFT) agreed to give the U.S. General Services Administration $3.1B in potential savings in software for the year, CNBC reports

4. MOVERS:

• TG Therapeutics (TGTX) higher after completing its share repurchase program and authorizing a new $100M share repurchase program
• Energy Vault (NRGV) increases after regaining compliance with NYSE
• Wave Life Sciences (WVE) lower in New York after announcing an update from its RestoreAATion-2 trial of WVE-006
• Bruker (BRKR) falls after announcing a $600M stock offering
• Erasca (ERAS) declines after BofA double-downgraded the stock to Underperform

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• REV Group (REVG) reported Q3 results and narrowed its guidance for FY25
• Sprinklr (CXM) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY26, with CEO Rory Read commenting, “Our Q2 results reflect the continued and intentional progress we are making in our transformation to better serve our customers and partners”
• J.Jill (JILL) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Zscaler (ZS) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1 and FY26
• Verint (VRNT) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.36%, or 164.25, to 45,131.56, the Nasdaq was up 0.87%, or 185.91, to 21,465.54, and the S&P 500 was up 0.31%, or 20.14, to 6,435.68.