Midday Fly By: Warner Bros. urges investors to reject Paramount bid

The major averages were broadly lower near noon following several mixed sessions. Concerns remain about the Federal Reserve’s future policy path as commodity prices, especially oil, are pushing higher due to geopolitical headlines. Of note, Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller, who was reportedly interviewed by President Trump to be the next Fed chair, said he still favors additional rate cuts.

Energy markets are notable, with oil climbing following a U.S. order to block sanctioned Venezuelan tankers, a development that has lifted energy stocks and contributed to broader risk-asset support. Silver and gold have also moved higher as precious metals benefit from expectations of easier monetary policy and ongoing economic uncertainty.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) board unanimously recommended investors reject Paramount Skydance’s (PSKY) offer for the company, saying the terms of the Netflix (NFLX) deal are “superior”
• Coursera (COUR) agreed to combine with Udemy (UDMY) in an all-stock transaction
• General Mills (GIS) reported better-than-expected Q2 results and reiterated its FY26 outlook
• Jabil (JBL) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q1
• Lennar (LEN) reported mixed Q4 results

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Telsey Advisory upgraded Victoria’s Secret (VSCO), Gap (GAP) and Urban Outfitters (URBN) as part of a year-ahead note for the retail group
• Jefferies upgraded Procter & Gamble (PG) and Church & Dwight (CHD) upgraded to Buy
• Airbnb (ABNB) upgraded to Outperform at RBC Capital
• Fortinet (FTNT) downgraded to Underweight at JPMorgan
• Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) and Constellation Brands (STZ) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Waymo business is in talks to raise over $15B at a valuation close to $100B in a round led by its parent company, Bloomberg says
• Blue Owl Capital (OWL) will not proceed with backing a planned $10B, 1-gigawatt Oracle (ORCL) data center in Michigan intended to serve OpenAI after negotiations stalled amid concerns over Oracle’s rising debt and AI spending, FT reports
• As a penalty for misleading consumers about driver-assistance technology, California sales of Tesla (TSLA) will be suspended for 30 days, Bloomberg reports
• BBVA (BBVA) is considering large share buybacks as it seeks to return capital to shareholders following its failed bid for Banco Sabadell, Bloomberg reports
• Coupang (CPNG) CEO and Chairman Bom Kim failed to appear before a parliamentary hearing in Seoul on Wednesday over the company’s recent data breach, Reuters says

4. MOVERS:

• DBV Technologies (DBVT) increases in New York after reporting VITESSE trial met its primary endpoint
• Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX) gains after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight
• Hut 8 (HUT) higher after announcing a partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack for AI infrastructure
• Kyverna (KYTX) falls after announcing a 13.3M share offering
• Immunome (IMNM) lower after announcing an 18.625M share offering

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• ABM (ABM) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26
• Toro Company (TTC) reported Q4 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• SCHMID (SHMD) reported results for 1H, with EPS lower year-over-year
• Steel Dynamics (STLD) provided guidance for Q4
• Progressive (PGR) reported November results, with EPS lower year-over-year

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.18%, or 86.44, to 48,027.82, the Nasdaq was down 1.25%, or 288.31, to 22,823.15, and the S&P 500 was down 0.79%, or 53.79, to 6,746.47.