Midday Fly By: PNC reports Q4 beat, Regions reports quarterly miss

The major averages were mostly unchanged near noon following yesterday’s rally as the S&P 500 reaches for 7,000. Bank earnings have had a mixed week, and strength in semiconductors hasn’t completely pushed back concerns around mixed macro signals.

Looking to commodities, oil prices have eased after the chance of a U.S. strike on Iran receded, tempering energy sector pressure, while gold dipped on stronger U.S. data boosting the dollar and reducing near-term rate-cut bets.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy (CEG) were slipping after the White House reached an agreement with a number of U.S. states to curb electricity costs, according to Reuters
• PNC Financial (PNC) reported better-than-expected Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1 and FY26
• Regions Financial (RF) reported downbeat Q4 earnings and revenue, with Wells Fargo downgrading the stock
• J.B. Hunt (JBHT) reported mixed Q1 results, saying the “freight market feels fragile” entering 2026
• Drugmakers are concerned about legal risk with the FDA’s expedited review program, Reuters says

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• BioNTech (BNTX) upgraded to Buy at Goldman Sachs on cancer potential
• Susquehanna upgraded Seagate (STX) to Neutral on HDD industry growth
• Kraft Heinz (KHC) downgraded to Underweight at Morgan Stanley
• Tractor Supply (TSCO) downgraded to Hold at Truist
• HP Inc. (HPQ) downgraded to Underweight at Barclays

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• The European Patent Office appeals board has revoked one of Arbutus Biopharma’s (ABUS) patents, which is likely to affect its case against Moderna (MRNA) in Switzerland and one Unified Patent Court case, Bloomberg says
• Hershey (HSY) has increased its marketing budget for the Hershey’s brand by 20% to launch its first new advertising campaign in eight years, with the new strategy including influencer campaigns on TikTok and live events, WSJ reports
• Alibaba (BABA) plans to link its online shopping and travel services to its AI app, Qwen, to build it into a one-stop artificial intelligence platform for consumers, Bloomberg says
• The BBC plans to produce programs for Google’s (GOOGL) YouTube for the first time, FT reports
• The proposed merger between Rio Tinto (RIO) and Glencore (GLNCY) may require asset sales to win approval from China, which has concerns about resource security and market concentration, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• ImmunityBio (IBRX) higher after announcing updated results from its ongoing QUILT-206 study
• AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) increases after being awarded a SHIELD contract by Missile Defense Agency
• Riot Platforms (RIOT) gains after announcing a land acquisition and data center lease with AMD (AMD)
• Sasol (SSL) lower after in New York JPMorgan downgraded the stock to Underweight
• Endeavour Silver (EXK) falls in New York after providing 2026 production guidance

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE

• Ondas (ONDS) provided guidance for FY25 and raised its outlook for FY26
• WaFd (WAFD) reported Q1 results, with revenue missing consensus
• Wipro (WIT) reported Q3 results, with CEO Srini Pallia commenting, “In Q3, we delivered broad based growth in line with our expectations”
• QXO (QXO) reported preliminary Q4 results
• State Street (STT) reported Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.05%, or 22.82, to 49,419.62, the Nasdaq was up 0.12%, or 27.82, to 23,557.84, and the S&P 500 was up 0.11%, or 7.64, to 6,952.11.