Stocks spent most of the morning in the green but have turned mixed near midday after the Federal Reserve laid out a new framework for how it will approach monetary policy and its dual mandates regarding inflation and employment.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve has announced the unanimous approval of updates to its Statement on Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy, which "articulates its approach to monetary policy and serves as the foundation for its policy actions." On price stability, the FOMC adjusted its strategy for achieving its longer-run inflation goal of 2% by noting that it "seeks to achieve inflation that averages 2% over time."
In domestic data, the estimate of second quarter GDP was revised up to a 31.7% contraction rate versus the 32.9% contraction rate posted in the advance report. Initial jobless claims dropped 98,000 to 1.006M in the week ended August 22. An index of pending home sales rose 5.9% to 122.1 in July.
TOP NEWS: Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) have moved 2% higher after sources told CNBC that TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer's exit indicates that a deal, likely a sale to Microsoft, could come in the next 48 hours. Microsoft confirmed on August 2 that it has held talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok in the U.S. Oracle (ORCL) has also reportedly shown interest in acquiring the U.S. business of TikTok. After those early reports, Walmart (WMT), which was previously said to have been working with SoftBank (SFTBY) on a potential acquisition of TikTok's U.S. business, confirmed its involvement in a potential TikTok deal in partnership with Microsoft, according to CNBC's Alex Sherman. The news of the possible joint bid has sent Walmart shares up 6% at noon as well.
Meanwhile, the most notable competitor to both Walmart and Microsoft - Amazon (AMZN) - is making its own headlines this morning with a new foray into the health space. Amazon has introduced Amazon Halo, which it calls a "new service dedicated to helping customers improve their individual health and wellness," along with the Amazon Halo Band, a smartband with sensors to "provide the highly accurate information necessary to power Halo insights."
In COVID-19 news, Abbott Laboratories (ABT) announced that the FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorization for its BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card rapid test for detection of COVID-19 infection. The test, which can deliver results in just 15 minutes, will sell for $5, the company said. Shares of Abbott are up over 7% following the approval news, while shares of several competing diagnostic test makers - including Beckton Dickinson (BDX), Quidel (QDEL), Hologic (HOLX) and Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) - have moved lower.
In earnings news, Dollar General (DG) and Dollar Tree (DLTR) are both trading lower following the companies' earnings reports, while Box Inc. (BOX) has gotten an 8% boost from its own quarterly update.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was AMC Entertainment (AMC), which rose 10% after announcing a plan to reopen another 170 locations. Also higher was NetApp (NTAP), which gained 4% after reporting quarterly results.
Among the notable losers was Fluidigm (FLDM), which dropped 32% as it was among the COVID-19 diagnostic test makers sliding following the $5 Abbott test approval. Also lower was Williams-Sonoma (WSM), which fell 7% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 94.79, or 0.33%, to 28,426.71, the Nasdaq was down 68.63, or 0.59%, to 11,596.43, and the S&P 500 was down 1.92, or 0.06%, to 3,476.81.
Microsoft
+5.14 (+2.32%)
Walmart
+7.82 (+5.98%)
Amazon.com
-31.88 (-0.93%)
Oracle
-0.44 (-0.77%)
Abbott
+7.65 (+7.41%)
Becton Dickinson
-6.99 (-2.75%)
QuidelOrtho
-75.3 (-33.76%)
Hologic
-4.61 (-7.00%)
Thermo Fisher
-8.8 (-2.07%)
Dollar General
-2.745 (-1.34%)
Dollar Tree
-6.81 (-6.53%)
AMC Entertainment
+0.57 (+10.18%)
Box
+1.47 (+7.62%)
NetApp
+1.74 (+4.12%)
Fluidigm
-3.7 (-32.40%)
Williams-Sonoma
-7.165 (-7.24%)