Equity Indexes Wrap: Nike Drags Down the Dow and Apparel Stocks; Pharmaceuticals Gain on Bristol Myers Squibb's Karuna Acquisition

The Dow

Intel (INTC) led the index, risi🧔ng 2% to close at a new one-year high.&▨nbsp;

Amgen (AMGN) gained 1.7%, followed closely behind by fellow pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. (MRK), up 1.2%.

Walmart (WMT) rose 1.2%, making it one of several discount and low-cost retailers to outperform today.🍃

Nike (NKE) tumbled 11.8% after announcing a $2 billion cost-cutting plan and lowering its full-year sales outlook on softer-th🧸an-expect✃ed demand. 

Disney (DIS) shares fell 1.1%, followed by Apple (AAPL), down 0.6%.

The S&P 500

Engineering software firm Ansys (ANSS) rose 18.1% to lead the index higher following repor🍸ts it was consid𝔍ering several acquisition offers. 

Albemarle (ALB) stock rose 3.2% as the lith💎ium miner extended its rebound after hitting a three-year low ജin November.

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) rose 2% after it said it would acquire Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX) for about $14 billion. Karuna💃 shares surged 47.4%.

Dollar General (DG) and competitor Dollar Tree (DLTR) both rose 1.7%, following Walmart stock higher.

Gold miner Newmont (NEM) gained 1.5% as the price of gold tiꩵcked up. 

VF Corp (VFC), the owner of Vans and Timberland, fell 3.2%, weighed down by Nike’s grim outlook for the apparel sector. Clothing companies Ralph Lauren (RL) and Tapestry (TPR) slipped 1.7% and 1.4%, respectively. Beauty brands Ulta Beauty (ULTA) and Estée Lauder (EL) also lagged. 

Cummins (CMI) fell 2.9% after the engine maker agreed to pay nearly $1.7 billion in penalties for altering hundreds of thousands of pickup truck engines to circumvent air pollution regulations.

The Nasdaq 100

Moderna (MRNA) gained 4.1% as global health authorities warned of a new fast-spreading Covid variant, JN.1🌠.

Micron Technology (MU) continued to climb after yesterd♛ay’s earnings beat. The stock rose 1.2% Friday to finish the week more thꦇan 6% higher.

Synopsis (SNPS) shares fell 6.3% after R🔯euters repo𒀰rted it had submitted one of the aforementioned offers to acquire Ansys. 

The Trade Desk (TTD) fell 3.9%, par⛎t of a sluggish tech sector th🎐at finished the day flat.

Bristol Myers Squibb Boosts Its Neuroscience Re♛ach With $14 Billion Karuna Deal

Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX) 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:shares skyrocketed over 46% after Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) said itꦰ would buy the biopharmaceutical firm for $14 bil🎃lion to expand its neuroscience portfolio.

Bristol Myers Squibb said it would pay Karuna investors $330 in cash for every share they owned. That works out to a 53% premium to Karuna’s closing price yesterday.

The drug maker said that Karuna is developing medicines for those suffering from psychological or neurological conditio♔ns and that its lead asset, the antipsychotic KarXT, “represents a significant revenue contribution opportunity.”

Karuna Therapeutics shares were up 47% to $316.50 per share Friday afternoon. Shares of Bristol-🐈Myers Squibb also advanced and were 1.8% higher at $52.16 per share.

-澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Bill McColl

Midday Movers

Bristol Myers Squibb Co. (BMY): Shares of the pharmaceutical company rose about 3% after it said it would 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:pay $14 billion to acquire biopharma firm Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX) as it seeks to strengthen its neurology ওpipeline. Karuna shares jumped 47%.

Moderna Inc. (MRNA): The vaccine maker’s shares rose more t꧒han 5% as health authorities warned of a fast-spreading Covid variant, JN.1. Moderna shares have risen more than 10% this week. 

Nike Inc. (NKE): Shares fell 11% after the company 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:slashed its full-year sales outlook and anno🦄unced a $2 billion cost-cutting plan as it confronts weakening sales. 

Cummins Inc. (CMI): Shares sank more than 2% as the engine maker agreed to pay $1.675 billion in penalties related to allegations it altered truck engines to circumℱvent air pollution rules.🦩

Nike Plunges After Slashing Its Outlook and Announcing Co𝄹st Cuts as Demand Softens

Nike (NKE) was the worst-performing stock in the Dow and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:S&P 500 as shares tumbled after the athletic apparel retailer 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:slashed its full-year outlook because of “softer” sales in the second half. It also announced plans to reduce costs, wꦜhich could include layoffs.

The company now expects fiscal 2024 revenue to increase approximately 1%, down from its earlier forecast of rising by a mid-single-digit percentage.

CFO Matt Friend explained that the new guidance reflected “increased macro economic headwinds,” particularly in Greater China and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Friend added that the company plans to cut $2 billion in costs over the next three years, noting that savings would come from across the business, not just from 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:✤selling, general, an𝕴d administrative (SG&A) expenses.

Nike shares were down 11% Friday afternoon and were in negative territory fꦫor the𝓰 year.

-澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Bill McColl

Ansys Leads♊ S&P 500 Following Reports of Po🦹tential Acquisition

Simulation software developer Ansys (ANSS) was the best-performing stock in the S&P 500 Friday following reports that the company was considering a sale af🍌ter being approached by at least one interested buyer. 

The company’s management is in discussion with advisors, according to a Bloomberg report that cited unidentified people familiar with the matter. The company has not made a decision and could still decide to r𒅌ebuff the interest. 

Ansys makes engineering software that clients in industries ranging from aerospace and defense to semiconductors and medical tech use to design products and 🎐test them through simulations. 

Ansys shares jumped nearly 17% at the open to trade near a two-year high before retreating slightly. The stock was up about 9% i♔n midday trading, putting it nearly 40% higher for thꩵe year.

Fed's Preferred Inflation Measure Slows in November

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Federal Reserve's preferred gauge of inflation slowed aওs income and spending were strong in November, the latest indicator pointing toward a soft landing.

The 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:personal con🍬sumption expenditures (PCE) price index dropped 0.1% in its first decline since April 2020. The index was up 2.6% from t✨he same time last year but is nearer to the Fed's 2% goal and ꦐdown from 2.9% in the prior month. That is the lowest rate since early 2021.

The core price index which excludes food and energy prices grew only 0.1%, the same as the month prior. Core PCE was up 3.2% from the same time last year, down from 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:3.4% the month prior.

The slowdown could bolster confidence that the Fed's anti-inflation rate hikes have delivered their desired outcome. It could also raise the odds that Fed officials will follow through with the ൩澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:interest rate cuts they forecasted for next year at their December meeting.

-澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Naomi Buchanan

Video Game Stocks🍌 Sink on China’s Proposed Gaming🎶 Regulations

Chinese gaming stocks tumbled Friday morning after regul♈ators proposed new rules designed to curb the amount of time and money spent on video games. 

The rules, proposed by China’s National Press and Publication Administration, include an unspecified cap on how much players can spend within a game and banning developers from rewarding players for daily logins. The rules build on China’s already strict gaming regulations, which limit minors to playing video games between the hours of 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and statutory holidays.

Friday’s announcement came as a surprise to China’s gaming industry, which serves one of the world’s largest video markets. Chinese video game sales topped 300 billion yuan ($42.6 billion) in 2023.

Shares of Chinese gaming giants plummeted on the news. Shares of Tencent Holdings (TCEHY) trading over the counter fell more than 11%, while American depositary receipts of NetEase (NTES) slumped 17%. 

E-commerce companies Meituan (MPNGF) and Alibaba (BABA) fell 5% and 1%, respectively, amid concer♚ns that Friday’s rules could signal the resumption of a government crackdown on big tech that started in 2020 and had seemed to w꧋ane in the last year.

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

Gains: 

• Karuna Therapeutics Inc. (KRTX): Shares of the biopharmaceutical company jumped nearly 50% to about $318 after Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) said it would buy the company for $330 a share, or about $14 billion. Bristol Myers Squibb shares slipped about 0.5% in early trading. 
• Ansys Inc. (ANSS): Shares rose 22% amid reports the software company was considering a sale after receiving takeover interest from several potential buyers.
• Rocket Lab USA Inc. (RKLB): Shares of the aerospace company gained more than 15% after it said it had won a $515 million contract from a government buyer.
  

Losses: 

• NetEase Inc. (NTES): American depositary receipts of the Chinese gaming company fell more than 20% after Chinese regulators proposed new curbs on online gaming. Gaming and Chinese stocks followed NetEase lower on the news. 
• Nike Inc. (NKE): Shares of the apparel company fell about 12% after it cut its sales outlook for the fiscal year and said it would implement a cost-cutting plan to save $2 billion in the next three years. Shoe retailer Foot Locker (FL) fell 7% alongside other apparel and sporting goods stocks. 

Stock Futures Rise as Data Shows✤ Inflation Slowed Again in November

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were 💟0.3% lower in early trading Friday.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures traded about 0.2% higher.