Midday Fly By: Estee Lauder in deal talks with Puig, Smithfield reports Q4 beat

The major averages were mixed near noon, with the Dow and S&P 500 inching higher following yestereday’s gains. The bounce yesterday was driven by headlines suggesting a de-escalation with Iran, but that narrative is already fraying. Oil has turned higher again, climbing back above $90 for the WTI benchmark as optimism fades and the reality of disrupted supply through the Strait of Hormuz reasserts itself.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Estee Lauder (EL) confirmed it is in business combination talks with Puig Brands (PUGBY)
• Smithfield Foods (SFD) reported upbeat Q4 results and provided FY26 revenue guidance
• Netgear (NTGR) surged following reports that the FCC has banned foreign-made routers
• Sumitomo Mitsui (SMFG) is considering a potential takeover of Jefferies (JEF), FT reports
• Ares Management (ARES) said it is limiting redemptions in the Ares Strategic Income fund

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• UBS (FROG) to Buy after 30% AI-driven selloff
• CoreWeave (CRWV) reinstated at Buy at BofA
• Citi (RL) to Buy on post-selloff opportunity
• JPMorgan (XNCR) on a lack of “needle-moving” catalysts
• Ultragenyx (RARE) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Microsoft (MSFT) to rent data center project in Texas dropped by Oracle (ORCL), Bloomberg says
• South Korean AI startup Upstage is in talks to acquire 10K AMD (AMD) MI355 chips, in a bid to “diversify to other chips” as “we have a lot of Nvidia (NVDA) chips,” Bloomberg reports
• Palantir (PLTR) has been awarded a three-month contract by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to analyze sensitive internal data in an effort to combat financial crime, sparking concerns about the U.S. firm’s expanding role in the British state, The Guardian says
• Nintendo (NTDOY) has cut back on the production of the Switch 2 after lower-than-expected demand for the $450 gaming console during the year-end holiday season, Bloomberg reports
• Google (GOOGL) has signed agreements with five U.S. electric utilities to curtail its electricity use during peak demand, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) increases after receiving a new volume order from a hyperscale customer
• SM Energy (SM) gains after Truist initiated coverage of the stock with a Buy rating
• Hesai (HSAI) slips after reporting Q4 results and providing guidance for Q1
• ImmunityBio (IBRX) lower after the FDA sent a warning letter related to the promotion of Anktiva
• Ocugen (OCGN) falls after announcing 12-month data from its ArMaDa trial of OCU410

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Core & Main (CNM) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1 and FY26, with CEO Mark Witkowski commenting, “Fiscal 2025 marked our 16th consecutive year of sales growth”
• Concentrix (CNXC) reported Q1 results, with EPS missing consensus
• Achieve Life Sciences (ACHV) reported Q4 results, with EPS in-line with consensus
• Core Laboratories (CLB) provided guidance for Q1
• Neurogene (NGNE) reported FY25 results, with EPS higher year-over-year

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.31%, or 142.18, to 46,350.65, the Nasdaq was down 0.27%, or 59.83, to 21,886.93, and the S&P 500 was up 0.13%, or 8.57, to 6,589.57.