Stocks opened little changed and have remained that way throughout the morning. The market appeared to be headed for a higher open, but conflicting reports about a potential trade resolution with China moved the buyers to the sidelines. There has been little else for investors to key in on beyond trade negotiation headlines, and as a result the averages have drifted in a narrow range on fairly light volume, despite options scheduled to expire today. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., no market moving data was released this morning. The Baker Hughes weekly rig count is due out later this afternoon. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of PayPal (PYPL) rose 3% after it agreed to acquire iZettle, a small business commerce platform in Europe and Latin America, for $2.2B. Shares of Square (SQ), meanwhile, were down marginally near noon as analysts highlight that the iZettle acquisition could elevate the competitive landscape for the company, especially outside the U.S.... Nordstrom (JWN) shares fell 10% after the department store operator reported quarterly results last night, with comparable sales for the quarter rising 0.6% year-over-year. The company also raised its fiscal 2018 earnings guidance and reaffirmed its revenue and comps outlook for the year... Meanwhile, shares of Applied Materials (AMAT) slid 9% after it reported quarterly results that beat analysts' estimates and provided guidance for the next quarter. Following the report, several analysts cut their price targets on the stock, citing a soft smartphone sales outlook... In addition, Campbell Soup (CPB) shares fell 12% after it reported better than expected quarterly earnings but cut its earnings guidance for fiscal 2018 and announced the immediate retirement of CEO Denise Morrison. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Dell Technologies (DVMT), which rose 6% after it said it continues to evaluate potential business opportunities, including a potential public offering of shares of DHI Common Stock of Dell, a potential business combination between Dell and VMware (VMW), and a potential conversion of shares of Class V common stock of Dell into shares of DHI Common Stock of Dell. Also higher was Deere (DE), which gained 6% after reporting quarterly results. Among the notable losers was Baidu (BIDU), which fell 8% after it said that Qi Lu will no longer serve as COO of the company and the stock was downgraded at Credit Suisse. Also lower was Insys Therapeutics (INSY), which slipped 4% after the FDA posted documents in advance of an advisory committee meeting to discuss a new drug application from Insys for a sublingual spray formulation of buprenorphine. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 15.80, or 0.06%, to 24,729.78, the Nasdaq was down 11.44, or 0.15%, to 7,371.03, and the S&P 500 was down 3.02, or 0.11%, to 2,717.11.
