General Mills reports Q1 beat, Rithm to acquire Paramount Group: Morning Buzz

The major averages were mixed near noon ahead of the Federal Reserve’s meeting later in the day. The widely expected 25 basis point interest rate cut is priced in, but traders are watching closely for guidance about how many more cuts are coming this year and what the Fed’s “dot plot” will show.

Looking to commodities, gold prices edged lower after achieving further record highs. Oil prices, meanwhile, were also lower following yesterday’s API crude numbers.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• General Mills (GIS) reported upbeat Q1 earnings and reiterated its outlook for FY26
• Rithm Capital (RITM) agreed to acquire Paramount Group (PGRE) for $1.6B in cash
•  Elliot disclosed a $2B stake in Workday (WDAY), which also announced a $4B stock buyback
• Alibaba (BABA) announced the signing of a contract with China Unicorn to deploy its Pingtouge AI accelerators
• StubHub (STUB) is indicated to open at $25-$26 after its IPO was priced at $23.50 per share

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Loop Capital (NFLX) to Buy from Hold, citing “exceptional” engagement in Q3
• FedEx (FDX) downgraded to In Line from Outperform at Evercore ISI, here’s why
• Berenberg downgraded Merck (MRK) to Hold, saying the “error bars” on the company’s long-term sales profile remain large while the Keytruda patent expiry in 2028 “is looming”
• Bernstein initiated coverage of Five Below (FIVE) with a Market Perform rating
• Tenaris (TS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Vitol and Glencore (GLNCY) are expected to make bids for Chevron’s (CVX) 50% stake in Singapore’s second-largest refinery, with the value of the entire refinery estimated at about $1B, Reuters says
• Disney (DIS), NBCUniversal (CMCSA), and Warner Bros. (WBD) have filed a joint copyright lawsuit against China’s MiniMax, alleging the company’s Hailuo AI was built on stolen IP from the studios, Reuters reports
• Bank of America (BAC) CEO Brian Moynihan does not plan to leave the bank in the short term, but the company has begun lining up candidates with experience to take his position in the future, Reuters reports
• Apple’s (AAPL) smartphone sales in China leading up to the iPhone 17 launch fell 6% compared to last year, Bloomberg says
• Macquarie Group (MQBKY) held talks to acquire Carlyle Group (CG), but discussions fizzled over the summer, Semafor says

4. MOVERS:

• New Fortress Energy (NFE) higher after confirming a $4B LNG supply pact with New Fortress Energy
• Roivant Sciences (ROIV) increases in New York after reporting Phase 3 VALOR study results for brepocitinib
• Lyft (LYFT) gains after partnering with Waymo (GOOGL) to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service to Nashville
• Diversified Energy (DEC) falls after announcing a 5.71M share offering
• Palantir (PLTR) lower after achieving CMMC Level 2 by C3PAO

 5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Progressive (PGR) reported August EPS higher year-over-year
• Fusion Fuel (HTOO) reported results for 1H and provided guidance for FY25
• Manchester United (MANU) reported Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Ingredion (INGR) provided guidance for FY25-FY27
• Bigg Digital Assets (BBKCF) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue higher year-over-year

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 304.12, or 0.66%, to 46,062.02, the Nasdaq was down 124.65, or 0.56%, to 22,209.31, and the S&P 500 was down 9.20 , or 0.14%, to 6,597.56.