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The major averages were mostly lower near noon, with the Dow up fractionally but the Nasdaq down nearly 250 points amid mounting concerns about President Donald Trump’s upcoming announcement of promised new tariffs. Meanwhile, the S&P 500’s early losses brought the index to its lowest level since September.
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Looking to commodities, gold prices are sharply higher, continuing their rally to over $3,150, while oil prices are also up over 2.5%.
Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.
1. STOCK NEWS:
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Rocket Companies (RKT) agreed to acquire Mr. Cooper (COOP) in a $9.4B all-stock transaction
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Elon Musk said that xAI has acquired X, formerly Twitter, in an all-stock transaction that values xAI at $80B
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Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) sales in Canada are under scrutiny, NY Times reports
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GlobalFoundries (GFS) is exploring the possibility of merger with United Microelectronics (UMC), Nikkei reports
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Southern States (SSBK) and FB Financial (FBK) have entered into a definitive merger agreement
2. WALL STREET CALLS:
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KLA Corp. (KLAC) upgraded at Morgan Stanley, here’s why
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RBC downgraded Sarepta (SRPT) citing a “less bullish” stance after doctor checks
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BMO Capital downgraded U.S. Steel (X) to Market Perform
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Stephens downgraded Comerica (CMA) to Equal Weight
3. AROUND THE WEB:
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Harley-Davidson (HOG) has said its products are afflicted by unfair trade policies and if the European Union implements a 50% retaliatory tariff on its motorcycles in April, prices could reach astounding heights in the company’s second-largest market by sales, WSJ reports
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Thames Water announced that it chose U.S. private equity company KKR (KKR) as its preferred partner to lead its recapitalization, WSJ says
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Costco (COST) created store brand Kirkland Signature three decades ago and it is now a linchpin the company’s success that accounts for roughly a third of its approximately $254.5B in annual revenue, WSJ reports
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France’s competition regulator fined Apple (AAPL) EUR 150M due to concerns the company abused its dominant position through the privacy measures it imposes on app developers on its iPhone and iPads, WSJ says
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After Micron (MU), the world’s third-largest DRAM manufacturer, recently announced a price increase, the other two major DRAM players Samsung (SSNLF) and SK Hynix (HXSCL) are also expected to raise prices, DigiTimes reports