Stocks are higher at midday as the market continues to benefit from optimism that the economy is on the mend, and perhaps at a faster pace than had been initially expected.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In U.S. data, the existing home sales report undershot estimates with a 9.7% May drop to a 10-year low pace of 3.91M units.
Meanwhile, the latest data from the Florida Department of Health showed 100,217 COVID cases, up from 97,291 cases yesterday. In New York, which had previously been seen as the "epicenter" of the outbreak in the U.S., Governor Andrew Cuomo has stopped holding daily briefings as other hot spots around the nation are now taking center stage in the COVID case count watches.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Apple (AAPL) are about 2% higher near noon ahead of the tech giant starting its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in an online-only format. Apple CEO Tim Cook is scheduled to hold the keynote address to kick off the event later this afternoon.
China suspended poultry imports from a Tyson Foods (TSN) plant where hundreds of employees tested positive for COVID-19, Bloomberg's Marion Dakers and Michael Hirtzer reported. All products from the plant in Springdale, Arkansas, where Tyson is based, that are about to arrive in China or have arrived at the country's ports will be seized by customs, the authors noted. The suspension is an about face from just a few days ago, when Chinese officials said food was unlikely to be responsible for a fresh virus outbreak in Beijing. Meanwhile, PepsiCo (PEP) said it shut a food plant in the Chinese capital after a case of the virus was confirmed earlier in the week, the publication added.
Shares of Virgin Galactic (SPCE) have surged 12% higher after the company announced the signing of a Space Act Agreement with NASA's Johnson Space Center to encourage commercial participation in orbital human spaceflight to the International Space Station. Virgin Galactic will develop a new private orbital astronaut readiness program that will include identifying candidates interested in purchasing private astronaut missions to the ISS, the procurement of transportation to the ISS, on-orbit resources, and ground resources.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Ideanomics (IDEX), which rose 71% after its MEG subsidiary secured a $3.2M electric vehicle order from the city of Neijang. Also higher was Invitae (NVTA), which gained 38% after it agreed to acquire ArcherDX in a deal valued at roughly $1.4B.
Among the notable losers was Livent (LTHM), which slid 16% after it announced a proposed private offering of $225M of convertible senior notes. Also lower was Luckin Coffee (LK), which fell 16% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company will hold a special meeting on July 5 to oust several directors, including chairman Charles Lu.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 22.15, or 0.09%, to 25,893.61, the Nasdaq was up 53.59, or 0.54%, to 9,999.71, and the S&P 500 was up 5.28, or 0.17%, to 3,103.02.
Apple
+5.99 (+1.71%)
Virgin Galactic
+1.84 (+12.28%)
Tyson Foods
-1.9 (-3.00%)
PepsiCo
+0.26 (+0.20%)
Ideanomics
+1.6 (+72.07%)
Invitae
+7.5 (+40.30%)
Livent
-1.135 (-14.82%)
Use LKNCY
-0.655 (-17.04%)