Intel CEO meets with Trump, Cardinal Health to acquire Solaris: Morning Buzz

The major averages were broadly higher near noon after the headline consumer price index rose 0.2% in July and the core increased 0.3%, exactly as forecast. The news reassured investors who were concerned about Trump’s tariff policies potentially spiking prices in the U.S. economy.  The tame inflation report might give the Federal Reserve the green light to cut interest rates next month, traders appear to be surmising.

Looking to commodities, gold prices were fractionally lower, falling to below $3,400 for the first time in weeks. Meanwhile, oil prices continue their decline ahead of Tuesday’s API crude numbers.

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1. STOCK NEWS:

• Intel (INTC) said CEO Lip-Bu Tan had a “candid” and “constructive” discussion with President Trump, with the president calling the meeting “interesting”
• Meanwhile, Trump said that Goldman Sachs (GS) CEO David Solomon should “focus on being a DJ” instead of running a bank, tying the criticism to Goldman’s previous statement’s about tariffs
• Cardinal Health (CAH) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q4 and agreed to acquire Solaris Health for $1.9B in cash
• China is urging companies not tot use Nvidia’s (NVDA) H20 chips, Bloomberg reports
• Sinclair (SBGI) has launched a strategic review for its broadcast business

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Starbucks (SBUX) upgraded at Baird, here’s why
• Piper upgraded Chipotle (CMG) to Overweight after 31% selloff
• Shopify (SHOP) downgraded to Neutral from Accumulate at Phillip Securities
• Palo Alto Networks (PANW) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Sandler
• PubMatic downgraded to Neutral at B. Riley and Hold at Lake Street after softer than expected Q3 outlook

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Perplexity has offered $34.5B to acquire Google’s (GOOGL) Chrome browser, The Wall Street Journal reports
• Gildan Activewear (GIL) is weighing a cash and stock offer for Hanesbrands (HBI) that would value the company at about $6 a share, Bloomberg reports
• Citigroup (C) Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser is in Mexico City for talks with President Claudia Sheinbaum that include the potential public listing of her bank’s retail unit Banamex, Bloomberg says
• Amdocs (DOX) is set to lay off “hundreds” of employees, including many in Israel, Globes reports
• General Motors (GM) seeks to hire back some former employees of its Cruise autonomous vehicle business in a renewed push to develop self-driving cars, Bloomberg reports

4. MOVERS:

• WideOpenWest (WOW) increases after announcing it will be taken private by DigitalBridge in a $1.5B deal
• Green Dot (GDOT) higher after reporting Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• Gevo (GEVO) and 3D Systems (DDD) gains after reporting quarterly results
• Fluence Energy (FLNC) lower after reporting Q3 results and backing its guidance for FY25
• BigBear.ai (BBAI) and Microvast (MVST) fall after reporting quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• On Holding (ONON) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• Celanese (CE) reported Q2 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Smithfield Foods (SFD) reported Q2 results, with CEO Shane Smith commenting, “Our strong second quarter results demonstrate the agility and resilience of our business”
• Venture Global (VG) reported Q2 results and backed its guidance for FY25, with CEO Mike Sabel commenting, “We are pleased to announce another strong quarter”
• Circle Internet (CRCL) reported Q2 results, with revenue beating consensus

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up/down xxx, or xxx%, to xxx, the Nasdaq was up/down xxx, or xxx%, to xxx, and the S&P 500 was up/down xxx, or xxx%, to xxx.