Stocks opened higher as investors returned from the Independence Day holiday. The early strength has been attributed to easing trade war concerns following reports that Germany and President Trump may find common ground to negotiate on tariffs. In the late morning, the buyers emerged and have pushed the Dow to triple-digit gains ahead of the minutes from the Fed's last meeting, which are set to be released at 2 pm ET. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., ADP reported private payrolls increased 177,000 in June, which was below expectations for 190,000 private job additions. Initial jobless claims rose 3,000 to 231,000 in the week ended June 30. Markit's services index fell 0.3 points to 56.5 in the final June print. ISM services index edged up 0.5 points to 59.1 in June, which was better than expected. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Micron (MU) advanced 2% after the company said the products affected by a preliminary injunction that enjoins its Chinese subsidiaries from manufacturing, selling, or importing in China make up slightly more than 1% of Micron's annualized revenues. The memory chip maker, which said it will comply with the ruling while requesting the court to reconsider or stay its decision, continues to expect fourth fiscal quarter revenue to be within the previously guided range of $8B to $8.4B... Boeing (BA) will take a controlling stake in the commercial aircraft unit of Brazil's Embraer (ERJ) as part of a new joint venture agreement. The JV deal values Boeing's 80% ownership stake in the venture at $3.8B and Embraer's total commercial aircraft operations at $4.75B, the companies said. Following the JV announcement, Boeing shares are flat near noon, while Embraer shares trading in New York initially moved higher but are now down 10%... Barnes & Noble (BKS) announced the termination of its CEO, Demos Parneros, after the close on Tuesday for unspecified violations of the company's policies. While the company gave little detail on the nature of the violations, it did say they were not due to any disagreement over financial reporting or any potential fraud. In other news regarding a top executive and allegations of improper conduct, The Wall Street Journal reported that two pilots and former employees have filed lawsuits alleging sexual harassment against National Beverage (FIZZ) Chairman and CEO Nick Caporella. In response, National Beverage and Caporella stated that they "completely and unequivocally deny the allegations," which they say were lifted from employment-related lawsuits filed by two former associates. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers were a number of semiconductor chip makers that were part of a relief rally in the space, including Qorvo (QRVO), Qualcomm (QCOM) and Intel (INTC). Among the noteworthy losers was Clean Energy (CLNE), which dropped 11% after Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov downgraded the stock to Underperform from Market Perform. Also lower were shares of TiVo (TIVO), which fell 4% after CEO Enrique Rodriguez resigned to assume a position as CTO at Liberty Global (LBTYA) in Europe. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 177.01, or 0.73%, to 24,351.83, the Nasdaq was up 55.57, or 0.74%, to 7,558.25, and the S&P 500 was up 18.22, or 0.67%, to 2,731.44.
