Midday Fly By: Meta to slash metaverse spending, Salesforce posts Q3 beat

The major averages were little changed near noon as investors pause after recent gains and remain optimistic about a December rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Traders are focused on a Challenger report showing announced job cuts in November from U.S. employers declined 81,800 to 71,300 for the month, marking the highest November total since 2022. Meanwhile, U.S. initial jobless claims also fell 27,000 to 191,000 in the week ended November 29.

Smaller-cap and value-oriented stocks appear to be drawing more attention than in previous weeks. With interest-rate expectations shifting and borrowing costs possibly heading lower, some investors are repositioning toward companies that typically benefit from easier monetary policy.

Looking to commodities, gold edged higher as the “safe haven” asset inches back towards record highs. Additionally, oil was up over 1%, with the commodity near $60 per barrel following the EIA natural gas storage change data.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• The EU has opened an antitrust investigation into Meta‘s (META) AI provider policy on WhatsApp access, while Bloomberg reported the company plans to cut metaverse spending by up to 30%
• Meanwhile, Meta is hiring Alan Dye, Apple’s (AAPL) “most prominent design executive” who has served as the head of Apple’s user interface design team since 2015
• Salesforce (CRM) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q3
• Snowflake (SNOW) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and announced a $200M partnership with Anthropic
• Five Below (FIVE) also provided a “beat and raise” report for Q3

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Toast (TOST) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
• PayPal (PYPL) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan
• MBX Biosciences (MBX) initiated with a Sell at Goldman Sachs
• JPMorgan upgraded Toll Brothers (TOL) to Overweight and downgraded Lennar (LEN) to Underweight
• Susquehanna initiated coverage of GE Aerospace (GE) with a Positive rating

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• BP (BP) is in advanced discussions to sell its Castrol lubricants group to Stonepeak in a deal that could value Castrol at more than $8B, FT says
• Paramount Skydance (PSKY) is questioning the fairness of Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) sale process and whether the company is acting in the best interest of shareholders, CNBC reports
• Hapag-Lloyd (HPGLY) has submitted an initial offer for Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM), though formal negotiations have not yet started, Globes reports
• Rio Tinto’s (RIO) new CEO Simon Trott said the company would target up to $10B in cash proceeds from the sale of its assets or minority stakes to partners as he looks to target cost reductions and sell assets to simplify the business, WSJ says
• ExxonMobil (XOM) plans begin winding down operations at one of the two steam crackers it operates on Singapore’s Jurong Island beginning in March, with a complete shutdown of the plan expected to be complete by June, Reuters reports

4. MOVERS:

• AxoGen (AXGN) increases after the FDA approved the biologics license application for Avance
• UiPath (PATH) gains after reporting Q3 results and providing guidance for Q4
• ASP Isotopes (ASPI) higher after Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage of the stock with an Overweight rating
• Symbotic (SYM) falls after announcing a 10M stock offering
• UniQure (QURE) lower in New York after the FDA announced data submitted from the Phase I/II studies of AMT-130 are currently unlikely to provide the primary evidence to support a BLA submission

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Kroger (KR) reported Q3 results and narrowed its guidance for FY25
• SAIC (SAIC) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY26
• Dollar General (DG) reported Q3 results, with EPS beating consensus
• Hormel Foods (HRL) reported Q4 results, with interim CEO Jeff Ettinger commenting, “We finished fiscal 2025 with another quarter of solid top-line growth”
• Hovnanian (HOV) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.06%, or 30.14, to 47,852.76, the Nasdaq was up 0.15%, or 35.49, to 23,489.59, and the S&P 500 was up 0.08%, or 5.31, to 6,855.03.