LabCorp operates one of the largest global clinical laboratory networks, managing more than 160 million patient encounters each year, or more than 3 million patient specimens per week. LabCorp businesses also support clinical trial activity in approximately 100 countries. LabCorp has a market cap of about $18 billion. The company is a component of the S&P 500.

At midday Tuesday, all of the major indices were flashing red, though the losses were moderate at under 0.40% for all but the Russell 2000 (which was off a steeper 1.1%). Trading is cautious as fears of slowing economic growth in the U.S. are in play. Friday's nonfarm payrolls report is the big news for the week -- and traders seem unwilling to buy into (or sell) stocks before that data hits the tape. Elsewhere, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was down another five basis points to 4.36%, oil was down 1% to $73 per barrel, and Bitcoin was up 1%.

Stocks were little changed on Friday morning amid mixed earnings reports and new housing market and consumer sentiment data. The University of Michigan said that its preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 73.2 in July from 78.1 in June, reflecting concerns about the impact of rising coronavirus cases. The consensus estimate had called for a higher reading of 79.0. Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported that U.S. housing starts rose 17.3% on an annualized basis to 1.186 million in June, slightly below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 1.19 million. Building permits rose 2.1% to an annualized 1.241 million, also below the consensus forecast. On the earnings front, Netflix shares fell more than 6% after the company posted mixed 2Q results and forecast relatively weak subscriber growth in the third quarter. The Dow fell 0.2%, the S&P rose 0.1%, and the Nasdaq rose 0.1%. Crude oil fell slightly to $40.50 per barrel, while gold rose $12 to $1812 per ounce.

Charting the Path Forward