Midday Fly By: Nike reports Q2 beat, TikTok to sell U.S. unit

The major averages were broadly higher near noon as the last full trading week of the year ends with sentiment shaped by a mix of fresh corporate news, cooling inflation data and upcoming economic releases. Investors are also navigating the final “triple witching” day of the year, when stock index futures, stock options and single-stock futures all set to expire, which tends to boost volume and create unusual trading activity.

The backdrop for markets reflects broader relief that U.S. inflation in November rose more slowly than expected, reinforcing hopes that the Federal Reserve may be able to cut rates next year and easing some pressure on risk assets.

Looking to commodities, gold edged higher towards $4,400, while oil prices were also marginally higher near noon.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Nike (NKE) reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings and revenue, though the company guided for Q3 revenue to decline in the low-single digits
• FedEx (FDX) reported upbeat Q2 results and narrowed its FY26 earnings and revenue outlook
• TikTok has agreed to sell its U.S. unit to a group of investors including Oracle (ORCL), Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based MGX, (CAG) reported mostly in-line Q2 results and reiterated its FY26 guidance
• BioMarin (BMRN) agreed to acquire Amicus (FOLD) for $14.50 per share in cash, or $4.8B

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Wedbush downgraded Lyft (LYFT) to Underperform on autonomous vehicle impact
• Cummins (CMI) upgraded to Overweight at Barclays
• Lockheed Martin (LMT) downgraded to Neutral at JPMorgan
• Paccar (PCAR) upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan
• Wells upgraded Generac (GNRC) on data center backup power growth

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Soo Kim, founder of New York hedge fund Standard General, has been approached by at least on shareholder of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to acquire all or part of its cable television assets, FT says
• U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has launched a review that may end with allowing Nvidia’s (NVDA) H200 chips to be shipped to China, Reuters reports
• Honda (HMC) plans to halt production in Japan and China from December 29 to January 6, showing the ongoing fallout of the global chip shortage, Bloomberg says
• Netflix (NFLX) has hired ESPN (DIS) anchor Elle Duncan as its first on-air sports host in a multiyear deal, Variety reports
• Meta Platforms (META) is working on a new image and video-focused AI model code-named Mango alongside the Facebook parent’s next text-based large language model, WSJ says

=4. MOVERS:

• Volaris (VLRS) increases in New York after entering into an agreement with Grupo Vivo Aerobus to combine in merger of equals
• CoreWeave (CRWV) gains after Citi resumed coverage of the stock with a Buy rating
• Carnival (CCL) higher after reporting Q4 results and reinstating its quarterly dividend
• Altimmune (ALT) falls after reporting results from its IMPACT Phase 2b trial of pemvidutide
• KB Home (KBH) lower after reporting Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Paychex (PAYX) reported Q2 results, with CEO John Gibson commenting, “We delivered solid second quarter results”
• Lamb Weston (LW) reported Q2 results and backed its guidance for FY26
• Winnebago (WGO) reported Q1 results and raised its guidance for FY26, with CEO Michael Happe commenting, “Winnebago Industries performed ahead of our expectations in the first quarter and demonstrated clear progress on our priorities”
• BlackBerry (BB) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for Q4 and FY26
• Compass Diversified (CODI) reported Q1 results and backed its guidance for FY25

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.57%, or 275.27, to 48,227.12, the Nasdaq was up 1.01%, or 231.88, to 23,238.24, and the S&P 500 was up 0.76%, or 51.81, to 6,826.57.