Midday Fly By: Netflix to buy Warner Bros., HP Enterprise posts mixed Q4

The major averages were broadly higher near noon, with the S&P 500 on pace for its fourth straight day of gains as investors digest inflation readings that could shape the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. Investor optimism appears rooted in growing expectations that the Fed will cut interest rates later this month as futures markets indicate the odds of a rate cut are seen as high.

In economic news, U.S. headline PCE chain prices rose 03% and the core was up 0.2% in September. Meanwhile, he preliminary Michigan sentiment report for December revealed a sentiment bounce to 53.3 from a 41-month low of 51.0 in November but a higher 53.6 in October.

Looking to commodities, gold prices continued their upward trend, with the “safe haven” asset inching closer to $4,300. Oil prices were also higher, surpassing the $60 per barrel threshold by a little.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Netflix (NFLX) agreed to acquire Warner Bros. (WBD) after the Discovery separation for an equity value of $72B
• HP Enterprise (HPE) reported mixed Q4 results and provided its outlook for Q1
• Ulta Beauty (ULTA) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q3
• ITT (ITT) agreed to acquire SPX FLOW for $4.775B in cash and equity
• SoftBank (SFTBY) is in talks to acquire datacenter investor DigitalBridge (DBRG), Bloomberg reports

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• MP Materials (MP) upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley
• Unity (U) upgraded to Overweight at Wells Fargo
• Humana (HUM) upgraded to Buy at Jefferies
• Raymond James double downgrades Parsons (PSN) on FAA contract snub
• Kosmos (KOS) double downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Russia’s internet and media regulator Roskomnadzor has blocked Snapchat (SNAP) and Roblox (RBLX), saying the platforms were used for “extremist and terrorist” activity, Business Insiders says
• Ocado is set to receive $350M from Kroger (KR) after the grocer opted to shut down three robotic warehouses and scrapped plans for another facility, Reuters reports
• Amazon’s (AMZN) Italian unit has paid compensation and scrapped a monitoring system for delivery staff, ending a probe alleging tax fraud and illegal labor practices, Reuters says
• Canada’s government has told Stellantis (STLA) that its shift of Jeep Compass production to Illinois from a plant in Toronto has meant the company defaulted on contracts covering hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance, NY Times reports
• Saab (SAABF) and Airbus (EADSY) are in discussions to co-operate on unmanned warplane technology, with the project focused on exploring unmanned aircraft to support the generation of crewed combat jets, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• Praxis Precision (PRAX) increases after completing its pre-NDA meeting with the FDA
• Rubrik (RBRK) gains after reporting Q3 results and raising its guidance for FY26
• New Fortress Energy (NFE) higher after receiving approval for a gas supply pact with Puerto Rico
• Domo (DOMO) falls after reporting quarterly results and announcing CEO Joshua Hames will be reducing his duties to focus on his health
• SentinelOne (S) lower after reporting Q3 results and announcing CFO Barbara Larson will be stepping down

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Victoria’s Secret (VSCO) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY25, with CEO Hillary Super commenting, “We delivered a standout third quarter”
• Southwest (LUV) cut its guidance for FY25
• Conmed (CNMD) reaffirmed its guidance for FY25
• Toro Corp. (TORO) reported Q3 results, with EPS higher year-over-year
• Cooper Companies (COO) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26 and Q1

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.13%, or 63.52, to 47,914.46, the Nasdaq was up 0.21%, or 48.87, to 23,554.01, and the S&P 500 was up 0.15%, or 9.95, to 6,867.07.