Stocks continue to rise as as the better than expected earnings of the past two weeks have sparked an increase in risk appetite as investors await the Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to cut rates again later this week. Adding further fuel to the recent rally is the European Union's grant of another three-month extension to the Brexit deadline for the U.K.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the advance goods trade deficit narrowed to $70.4B in September from a revised $73.1B in August. The Chicago Fed's National Activity index declined -.60 point to -0.45 in September. The Dallas Fed manufacturing index dropped 6.6 points to -5.1 in October, which was weaker than expected.
In Europe, Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, announced on Twitter that the EU27 has agreed that it will accept the United Kingdom's request for a Brexit "flextension" until January 31, 2020.
COMPANY NEWS: Microsoft (MSFT) was named the winner in a competition for public cloud resources for the Defense Department, beating out Amazon's (AMZN) Amazon Web Services unit in a surprise decision. The contest was closely watched after President Trump, who has been a vocal critic of Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos, said he might intervene.
In M&A news, Tiffany & Co (TIF) surged after the luxury jeweler was approached by Louis Vuitton and Givenchy owner LVMH (LVMUY) about a potential acquisition. Though Tiffany said it would review the acquisition offer, many analysts believe it will reject the initial $120 per share offer as being too low. Additionaly, shares of Fitbit (FIT) were up by as much as 36% in morning trading after Reuters said Google's parent company Alphabet (GOOGL) had made an offer to buy the fitness tracker maker.
In earnings news, AT&T (T) reported mixed results for the third quarter. More importantly, the company, which has been in the sights of an activist, announced its three-year capital allocation plan and said its CEO transition is not expected in 2020. AT&T shares are up nearly 4% near noon. Meanwhile, Dow member Walgreens Boots (WBA) is flat following its own report.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Liberty Property (LPT), which surged 16% after it agreed to be acquired by Prologis (PLD) for $12.6B. Prologis shares were 4% lower after the news. Also higher was Spotify (SPOT), which gained 14% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was PG&E (PCG), which fell 16% after implementing a Public Safety Power Shutoff affecting approximately 940,000 customers, an increase of about 90,000 from previous estimates, in portions of 36 counties. The power cut was due to weather forecasts indicating potential for a historic wind event. Also lower was Central European Media (CETV), which slipped 5% after it announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by an affiliate of PPF Group in a cash transaction valued at approximately $2.1B.
INDEXES: Near 1 pm ET, the Dow was up 72.37, or 0.27%, to 27,030.43, the Nasdaq was up 79.31, or 0.96%, to 8,322.43, and the S&P 500 was up 15.60, or 0.52%, to 3,038.15.
Microsoft
+3.01 (+2.14%)
Amazon.com
+10.26 (+0.58%)
Tiffany
+30.72 (+31.16%)
LVMH
+ (+0.00%)
AT&T
+1.58 (+4.28%)
Walgreens Boots Alliance
-0.06 (-0.11%)
Liberty Property
+7.93 (+15.68%)
Prologis
-3.95 (-4.35%)
Spotify
+17.02 (+14.08%)
PG&E
-0.695 (-13.91%)
Central European Media
-0.21 (-4.52%)
Acquired by GOOGL
+0.955 (+22.11%)
Alphabet
+31.31 (+2.48%)
Alphabet
+32.47 (+2.57%)