Warner Bros. Discovery to split up, Qualcomm buying Alphawave Semi: Morning Buzz

The major averages were mixed near noon as investors are eyeing more details on the latest trade negotiations between the U.S. and China. The two sides are set for talks in Monday in London as they hope to resolve an ongoing trade dispute exacerbated by President Trump’s tariff announcement earlier this year. Meanwhile, the key data event on the calendar is the May CPI report, which traders are watching closely to see if it supports the case for the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady despite political pressure for cuts. Former President Trump has openly called for a 1% rate cut, but Fed officials have shown no sign they’re prepared to shift course based on politics.

Looking to commodities, the price of gold is little changed, while oil prices are trading higher, adding to last week’s sharp gains following months of volatility.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Warner Bros. Discovery will separate into two publicly traded media companies
• Meta Platforms (META) is in talks to make a $10B investment in Scale AI, Bloomberg reports
• EchoStar (SATS) is weighing a potential bankruptcy filing, WSJ reports
• Qualcomm (QCOM) agreed to acquire Alphawave Semi in a $2.4B transaction
• Eyes are on Apple’s (AAPL) Worldwide Developers Conference keynote at 1:00 pm ET

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Tesla (TSLA) downgraded at Baird and Argus following “war of words” between Musk and Trump
• Seaport upgraded Oklo (OKLO) to Buy on progress with NRC
• McDonald’s (MCD) downgraded at Morgan Stanley, here’s why
• Deutsche downgraded Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) to Sell on I&A segment risk
• Wall Street rolled out coverage of eToro (ETOR) with predominantly Buy-equivalent ratings

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Apple (AAPL) is struggling to deliver upgrades to its AI voice assistant for the iPhone, with the company facing challenges with updating the software, FT says
• Starbucks (SBUX) China will lower the prices of some of its iced drinks by an average of 5 yuan, or 70c, across the country as consumers become more cautious about spending, Reuters reports
• UnitedHealth (UNH) is considering multiple bids for its Latin American operations, Reuters reports
• A takeover rumor regarding Akero Therapeutics (AKRO) was highlighted in Ben Harrington’s M&A-focused Betaville blog, contacts tell The Fly
• Renault (RNLSY) has held discussions with the French defense ministry over producing drones in Ukraine, Bloomberg reports

4. MOVERS:

• Metsera (MTSR) gains after announcing data from its Phase 1 trial of MET-233i
• Cameco (CCJ) higher in New York after reporting an expected increase of its share of Westinghouse Electric Company Q2 and annual adjusted EBITDA
• Sealsq (LAES) increases in New York after announcing unveiling its quantum-resilient security framework for robotics with WISeKey (WKEY)
• Robinhood (HOOD) lower after Redburn Atlantic downgraded the stock to Sell
• Mobileye (MBLY) falls in New York after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to Neutral

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• 51Talk Online Education (COE) reported Q1 results, with EPS and revenue higher year-over-year
• ACI Worldwide (ACIW) reaffirmed its guidance for Q1
• Graham (GHM) reported Q4 results, with CEO Daniel Thoren commenting, “We closed fiscal 2025 with strong momentum”
• Alarum (ALAR) raised its guidance for Q2
• Motorcar Parts (MPAA) reported Q4 results and provided guidance for FY26

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.09%, or 39.05 to 42,723.82, the Nasdaq was up 0.36%, or 70.29, to 19,600.24, and the S&P 500 was up 0.12%, or 7.50, to 6,007.86.