U.S. strikes Iran nuclear sites, Novo terminates Hims & Hers deal: Morning Buzz

The major averages were fractionally higher near noon even as the U.S. got involved in Israel’s war over the weekend by conducting missile strikes on nuclear sites in Iran. Following the move, oil prices fell 1%, hovering around $73, while gold was fractionally higher, remaining above the $3,400 threshold.

Economic data including flash PMIs for manufacturing and services may influence market expectations around Fed policy. Broader sentiment remains cautiously bullish, with major indexes near all-time highs and some strategists forecasting further gains into year-end.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• President Trump(BK) approached Northern Trust (NTRS) over a possible merger, WSJ reports
• Tesla (TSLA) shares were rising as CEO Elon Musk called the company’s robotaxi launch “successful”
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) terminated its collaboration with Hims & Hers Health (HIMS), citing concerns over “illegal mass compounding”
• Commercial Metals (CMC) reported lower-than-expected Q3 results

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Raymond James upgraded DoorDash (DASH) to Strong Buy on Deliveroo synergies
• Melius upgraded AMD (AMD) to Buy on “sustainable surge” in inferencing
• Dow Inc. (DOW) downgraded to Underperform at BMO Capital, here’s why
• Scotiabank downgraded AST SpaceMobile (ASTS) on valuation after rally
• Oklo (OKLO) downgraded to Hold at Craig-Hallum on uncharted regulatory path

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Alibaba (BABA) will combine its food delivery platform Ele.me and online travel agency Fliggy into its core e-commerce business, Reuters reports
• Meta’s (META) WhatsApp is now banned from congressional staffers’ government devices, Axios says
• HSBC (HSBC) is estimating hundreds of millions in extra real estate costs as the company considers asking more employees to return to office, a move that would hinder the bank’s efforts to find $1.5B in annual cost savings, Bloomberg reports
• Mitsubishi Motors (MMTOF) plans to invest $3.9B to boost solar power generation in the U.S., Bloomberg says
• Apple (AAPL) is in last-minute talks with EU regulators over making changes to its App Store to avoid a series of escalating EU fines due to come into effect this week, FT reports

4. MOVERS:

• Cidara (CDTX) increases after announcing its Phase 2b NAVIGATE TRIAL met its primary and secondary efficacy endpoints
• SpartanNash (SPTN) gains after announcing it will be acquired by C&S Wholesale Grocers for $26.90 per share in cash
• Standard BioTools (LAB) higher after announcing it will sell its SomaLogic unit to Illumina for $350M
• Quantum Computing (QUBT) lower after selling 14M shares at $14.25 in a private placement
• Columbus Circle Capital I (CCCM) falls after announcing it will take ProCap Financial public

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Jerash Holdings (JRSH) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for Q1
• FactSet (FDS) reported Q3 results, with EPS missing consensus
• Ennis (EBF) reported Q1 results, with CEO Keith Walters commenting, “Our performance for the quarter met our expectations”
• CorMedix (CRMD) raised its guidance for Q2
• Grace Therapeutics (GRCE) reported results for FY25, with EPS beating consensus

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.06%, or 25.29, to 42,232.11, the Nasdaq was up 0.39%, or 75.62, to 19,523.03, and the S&P 500 was up 0.27%, or 15.95, to 5,983.79.