Midday Fly By: Dominion to combine with NextEra, Publicis to acquire LiveRamp

Stocks were mostly lower near noon following a record-setting week as investors continue to watch climbing oil prices while awaiting more developments out of the Middle East. The 30-year Treasury yield climbed above 5.15%, its highest level since before the 2008 financial crisis, while the 10-year Treasury yield rose toward 4.65%. Investors are increasingly worried that inflation is becoming entrenched due to energy prices, persistent fiscal deficits and resilient economic demand. Markets are now pricing in a meaningful possibility that the Federal Reserve could raise rates again later this year instead of cutting them.

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Semiconductor and mega-cap tech stocks remain the market’s leadership group, but investors are becoming more sensitive to valuations as borrowing costs rise. Analysts are increasingly debating whether AI enthusiasm has become excessive, particularly given the massive capital spending required to sustain the boom.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Dominion (D) and NextEra Energy (NEE) agreed to combine in an all-stock transaction
• Publicis (PUBGY) (RAMP) for $2.2B
• Ford (F) and EDF Group announced the signing of a five-year framework agreement
• Regeneron (REGN) said its Phase 3 trial of fianlimab did not reach its primary endpoint
• Macy’s (M) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) were higher after Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) disclosed new positions in the companies

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• F5 (FFIV) upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI
• Zscaler (ZS) upgraded to Buy at B. Riley
• CoreWeave (CRWV) and Nebius (NBIS) assumed with lowered Neutral ratings as a new analyst took over coverage at DA Davidson
• Applied Materials (AMAT) downgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley
• Salesforce (CRM) reinstated with an Underperform at BofA amid structural reset

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Apple’s (AAPL) revamped Siri may launch in beta, and will have an option to auto-delete chats, Bloomberg reports
• U.S. President Donald Trump said he “should have asked for more” of a stake in Intel (INTC) on behalf of the U.S. government, Fortune says
• Fugazi Research issued a cautious note on MMTEC (MTC)
• Activist investor Elliot Investment Management has built a big stake in Bio-Rade Laboratories (BIO), with plans to push the company to boost its underperforming stock price, WSJ says
• VinFast’s (VFS) planned sale of two Vietnamese factories will allow the company to shed $6.9B in debt and obligations to help assist its path to profitability, Bloomberg says

4. MOVERS:

• Hive Digital (HIVE) higher after announcing its subsidiary is planning to build a new AI infrastructure facility in the Greater Toronto Area with approximately 320 megawatts of utility capacity
• Coursera (COUR) increases after announcing a $500M share repurchase program
• ServiceNow (NOW) gains after BofA reinstated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating
• Design Therapeutics (DSGN) lower after announcing data from its RESTORE-FA trial
• Poet Technologies (POET) falls after closing a $400M investment

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Brady (BRC) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY26
• iQiyi (IQ) reported Q1 results, with EPS and revenue lower year-over-year
• Gossamer Bio (GOSS) reported Q1 results, with CEO Faheem Hasnain commenting, “We are executing across multiple fronts at Gossamer”
• RedCloud (RCT) reported results for FY25 and reaffirmed guidance for FY26
• Baidu (BIDU) reported Q1 results, with EPS and revenue lower year-over-year

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.02%, or 12.01, to 49,538.18, the Nasdaq was down 0.60%, or 157.04, to 26,068.11, and the S&P 500 was down 0.25%, or 18.29, to 7,390.21.