AA News & Events

The major averages closed lower as markets gauged the likelihood of a Fed rate hike this year and how much room is left on the AI trade. Markets kicked off the second half of 2026 with a bit of a cautious tone after a powerful second-quarter rally. Semiconductor names such as Micron, SanDisk, Nvidia, and Broadcom slid to start the quarter after their massive year-to-date rallies as investors took some profits and rotated to other areas.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Nikereportedbut guided for Q1 revenue to declineBloombergthat Metais building a cloud business to sell access to AI computing, while NPR reported that Meta had explored buying prediction market app KalshiAlcoaSouth32'sbauxite, alumina, and aluminum assets for $4.1BKrogerGiant Eagle for $1.65BQualcommbriefly jumped after thethat SpaceXhas a prototype of a handset-like AI device, though Elon Musk called the report "utterly false," resulting in Qualcomm giving up the gains2. WALL STREET CALLS:GuggenheimSalesforce, ServiceNowand Check Pointto Buy, calling the fatal AI bear case on software a "hallucination"RBCDow Inc.to Sector Perform on falling polyethylene pricesWedbush sees SpaceXas "major hyperscaler,"coverage with an Outperform rating and $190 price targetLockheed Martinto Buy at CitiSimon Propertyto Peer Perform at Wolfe3. AROUND THE WEB:South Korea's antitrust regulator is alleging that Googleabused its dominant position in the Android app marketplace to restrict competition, affecting an estimated 14.16 trillion won in revenue and potentially resulting in corrective measures and financial penalties from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Reuters saysCMA CGM is close to a deal to buy FedEx'sthird-party logistics business for $1.4B in cash, FT reportsParamount Skydancehas offered remedies to address EU concerns related to its acquisition of Warner Bros, Reuters saysOpenAI engineers earlier this month told some colleagues they had figured out a way to more than halve the cost of inference, The Information reportsMicrosoftintends to announce layoffs soon as it continues efforts to lower costs, Business Insider says4. MOVERS:Evolvincreases afterof its hardware and software subscription agreement with TD GardenDLocalgains in New York after UBSthe stock to Buy from NeutralGrindrhigher after Morgan Stanleythe stock to OverweightOptimumlower after its subsidiarypreliminary results of its tender offerShutterstockfalls after Getty Imageswith the company5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:General Millsreported, provided guidance for FY27, and said it is targeting $3B in cost savings by FY30FactSetand backed its guidance for FY26Genius Group, with revenue higher year-over-yearMSC Industrial, with EPS and revenue beating consensusProgress Software, provided guidance for Q3, and raised its outlook for FY26INDEXES:The Dow fell 13.96, or 0.027%, to 52,305.24, the Nasdaq lost 173.69, or 0.66%, to 26,040.03, and the S&P 500 declined 16.13, or 0.22%, to 7,483.23.

B. Riley reiterated a Buy rating and $92 price target on Alcoa (AA) after the company announced the acquisition of South32's (SOUHY) bauxite, alumina, and aluminum assets. The firm believes the initial selloff in Alcoa shares is a reflection of investors' preference for near-term shareholder returns and aversion to incremental leverage, especially to acquire alumina assets while market fundamentals remain weak. In addition, the firm views the selloff as entirely overdone and sees the transaction as more favorable than immediate shareholder returns for a number of reasons, including meaningful synergies unlocked over the medium to long erm, the greater scale strengthening Alcoa's commercial capabilities, and debt issuance being meaningfully offset through a combination of near-term cash flow from the existing footprint, asset sales, any cash from the lockbox should metal prices remain high, and the monetization of the Ma'aden shares.

The major averages were mixed near noon as investors weigh renewed uncertainty in the Middle East against continued strength in the broader economy. Markets are starting the second half of 2026 with a bit of a cautious tone after a powerful second-quarter rally. Semiconductor names such as Micron, SanDisk, Nvidia, and Broadcom are slipping to start the quarter after their massive rallies year-to-date as investors look to take in some profits following strength in the sector.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Nikereportedbut guided for Q1 revenue to declineBloombergthat Metais building a cloud business to sell access to AI computing, while NPR reported that Meta had explored buying prediction market app KalshiAlcoaSouth32'sbauxite, alumina, and aluminum assets for $4.1BKrogerGiant Eagle for $1.65BGeneral Millsreported, provided guidance for FY27, and said it is targeting $3B in cost savings by FY302. WALL STREET CALLS:GuggenheimSalesforce, ServiceNowand Check Pointto Buy, calling the fatal AI bear case on software a "hallucination"RBCDow Inc.to Sector Perform on falling polyethylene pricesWedbush sees SpaceX as "major hyperscaler,"with an Outperform rating and $190 price targetLockheed Martinto Buy at CitiSimon Propertyto Peer Perform at Wolfe3. AROUND THE WEB:South Korea's antitrust regulator is alleging that Googleabused its dominant position in the Android app marketplace to restrict competition, affecting an estimated 14.16 trillion won in revenue and potentially resulting in corrective measures and financial penalties from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Reuters saysCMA CGM is close to a deal to buy FedEx'sthird-party logistics business for $1.4B in cash, FT reportsParamount Skydancehas offered remedies to address EU concerns related to its acquisition of Warner Bros, Reuters saysOpenAI engineers earlier this month told some colleagues they had figured out a way to more than halve the cost of inference, The Information reportsMicrosoftintends to announce layoffs soon as it continues efforts to lower costs, Business Insider says4. MOVERS:Evolvincreases after announcing aof its hardware and software subscription agreement with TD GardenDLocalgains in New York after UBSthe stock to Buy from NeutralGrindrhigher after Morgan Stanleythe stock to OverweightOptimumlower after its subsidiary announced preliminary results of itsShutterstockfalls after Getty Imageswith the company5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:FactSetand backed its guidance for FY26Genius Group, with revenue higher year-over-yearMilestone Scientific, with CEO Eric Hines commenting, "We are highly encouraged by our preliminary second-quarter top-line results"MSC Industrial, with EPS and revenue beating consensusProgress Software, provided guidance for Q3, and raised its outlook for FY26INDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was up 0.59%, or 308.43, to 52,627.63, the Nasdaq was down 0.32%, or 82.93, to 26,130.79, and the S&P 500 was up 0.18%, or 13.86, to 7,513.22.