Stocks have been higher from the open after an upbeat appearance by U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin on CNBC brightened the mood around the U.S.-China trade standoff. He said during the interview that the trade negotiating teams "were about 90% of the way there" and he thinks "there's a path to complete this." Stocks have slipped from their early highs and the major averages may continue to be mostly on hold ahead of the G20 summit, where Presidents Trump and Xi are due to meet in Japan this Saturday to discuss trade.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., durable orders declined another 1.3% in May after falling a revised 2.8% in April. The goods trade deficit widened to $74.5B in the advance report for May.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Micron (MU) surged 14% after the company reported better than expected results for its fiscal third quarter and said it plans a reduction in capital expenditures in fiscal year 2020. Analysts were mixed on the results, with Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill upgrading the stock to Buy and Morgan Stanley's Joseph Moore reiterating an Underweight rating.
In other earnings news, FedEx (FDX) shares were 1% higher after the parcel delivery company reported better than expected quarterly earnings. Of note, the company said on its quarterly call that its lawsuit against the U.S. government is "only peripherally" related to Huawei packages, adding that the suit is more about import and export controls administered by the Department of Commerce.
Meanwhile, shares of General Mills (GIS) fell 4% after it reported quarterly results and provided guidance for fiscal 2020.
In M&A news, Extreme Networks (EXTR) agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Aerohive (HIVE) common stock at a price of $4.45 per share in cash, or an aggregate of roughly $272M. Aerohive shares skyrocketed 39% after the news, while Extreme was up 6%.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Western Digital (WDC), which rose 7% after Craig-Hallum analyst Christian Schwab upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold following Micron commentary that he viewed as positive. Also higher was Plug Power (PLUG), which gained 7% after reporting the company is on track to deliver a "record quarter" in Q2 and meet FY19 guidance.
Among the notable losers was Care.com (CRCM), which slid 19% after the company announced that CFO Michael Echenberg is resigning. Also lower was AeroVironment (AVAV), which fell 7% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 72.70, or 0.27%, to 26,620.92, the Nasdaq was up 54.25, or 0.69%, to 7,938.96, and the S&P 500 was up 6.72, or 0.23%, to 2,924.10.
Micron
+4.78 (+14.61%)
FedEx
+1.83 (+1.17%)
General Mills
-2.34 (-4.36%)
Extreme Networks
+0.39 (+6.81%)
Hive Digital
+1.25 (+39.31%)
Western Digital
+2.91 (+7.08%)
Plug Power
+0.15 (+7.35%)
Care.com
-2.58 (-18.26%)
AeroVironment
-4.61 (-7.51%)