IQ News & Events

The major averages closed mixed, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ending lower despite earlier gains, as oil prices keep rising amid continued conflict in the Middle East. Of note, President Trump said the U.S. is in "serious discussions" with Iran to end its military operations. However, he added that if a peace deal is not reached "shortly" and the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, the U.S. will "conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.'" The comments came after the president stated that Tehran had accepted most of the U.S.'s 15-point plan to end the war.Additionally, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said during a discussion at Harvard University that even with rising energy prices, he views inflation expectations as "well anchored beyond the short term." Powell added that he is "optimistic" about the medium- and long-run outlook for the U.S. economy and that the Fed is watching private credit "super carefully."Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:SyscoJetro Restaurant Depot for a total enterprise value of $29.1BUberglobal chauffeur service leader BlacklaneAuriniaKezar Life Sciencesfor $6.955 per share in cash plus a non-transferable contingent value rightTJX'sboard raised itsand said it plans $2.5B-$2.75B of share repurchases for FY27Apollois near a deal to acquire Atlantic Aviation from KKR,2. WALL STREET CALLS:CrowdStriketo Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe ResearchExpediato Buy from Hold at JefferiesInstacartto Buy from Hold at JefferiesDole, Nomad Foodsto Hold at Deutsche BankStarbuckswith an Underperform at BNP Paribas3. AROUND THE WEB:JetBluetold CNBC it is increasing bag fees amid soaring fuel pricesGeneral Motorsis moving to a six days per week production schedule at its Flint plant, Reuters saysBanks led by JPMorganare dealing with pushback related to the terms of a $7.2B debt deal to fund Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's takeover of Sealed Air, Bloomberg reportsYouTubeemployees have admitted their goal was "viewer addiction" and shut down proposed safety tools for kids since they did not provide a sufficient return on investment, NY Post saysAn analysis of billions of anonymized credit card transactions by consumer transaction analysis company Indagari indicates that Claude is seeing record growth in paid subscribers, with subscriptions more than doubling this year according to Anthropic, TechCrunch says4. MOVERS:Compass Diversifiedadvanced after announcing it willto Archer for $292.5MiQiyigained in New York afteron HKEXViridiandeclined after announcing results from itsFermiclosed lower afterBoston Scientificfell after Raymond Jamesits rating on the stock5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Alaska AirprovidedUSA Rare Earth, with CEO Barbara Humpton commenting, "2025 was the year that USA Rare Earth set the foundation to execute our integrated rare earth growth strategy"Spirecut itsNeumora Therapeutics, with EPS missing consensusCBAK Energy Technology, with revenue higher year-over-yearINDEXES:The Dow rose 49.50, or 0.11%, to 45,216.14, the Nasdaq lost 153.72, or 0.73%, to 20,794.64, and the S&P 500 declined 25.13, or 0.39%, to 6,343.72.

The major averages were broadly higher near noon to start the week following last week's declines. Amid continued conflict in the Middle East and rising energy prices, President Trump said the U.S. is in "serious discussions" with Iran to end its military operations. However, he added that if a peace deal is not reached "shortly" and the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened, the U.S. will "conclude our lovely 'stay' in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!), which we have purposefully not yet 'touched.'" Following the comments, oil prices are rising once again past the $100 per barrel mark.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:SyscoJetro Restaurant Depot for a total enterprise value of $29.1BUberglobal chauffeur service leader BlacklaneAuriniaKezar Life Sciencesfor $6.955 per share in cash plus a non-transferable contingent value rightSpirewill sell itsto Boardwalk Pipelines for $215M in cashTJX'sboard raised itsand said it plans $2.5B-$2.75B of share repurchases for FY272. WALL STREET CALLS:CrowdStriketo Outperform from Peer Perform at Wolfe ResearchExpediato Buy from Hold at JefferiesInstacartto Buy from Hold at JefferiesDole, Nomad Foodsto Hold at Deutsche BankStarbuckswith an Underperform at BNP Paribas3. AROUND THE WEB:In a recently published report, Morpheus Research says that MakeMyTrip, a $3.5B online travel agency that is sometimes referred to as the "Booking.com of India" with 50% of the Indian OTA market, "openly defies regulators, scams customers, and pads profits through accounting tricksBanks led by JPMorganare dealing with pushback related to the terms of a $7.2B debt deal to fund Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's takeover of Sealed Air, Bloomberg reportsYouTubeemployees have admitted their goal was "viewer addiction" and shut down proposed safety tools for kids since they did not provide a sufficient return on investment, NY Post saysIQM Quantum Computers has secured $57.64M in venture financing from funds managed by BlackRockto accelerate growth, Reuters saysAn analysis of billions of anonymized credit card transactions by consumer transaction analysis company Indagari indicates that Claude is seeing record growth in paid subscribers, with subscriptions more than doubling this year according to Anthropic, TechCrunch says4. MOVERS:Compass Diversifiedincreases after announcing it willbusiness to Archer for $292.5MiQiyigains in New York afteron HKEXViridiandeclines after announcing results from its REVEAL-1 phase 3Fermilower afterBoston Scientificfalls after Raymond Jamesits rating on the stock to Outperform from Strong Buy5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Alaska AirUSA Rare Earth, with CEO Barbara Humpton commenting, "2025 was the year that USA Rare Earth set the foundation to execute our integrated rare earth growth strategy"Spirefor FY27Neumora Therapeutics, with EPS missing consensusCBAK Energy Technology, with revenue higher year-over-yearINDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was up 0.88%, or 395.42, to 45,562.06, the Nasdaq was up 0.29%, or 60.40, to 21,008.76, and the S&P 500 was up 0.48%, or 30.52, to 6,399.37.

Stock futures are modestly higher to start the week, indicating a potential rebound at the open following five consecutive weeks of declines across major indexes. Markets are stabilizing slightly after last week's sustained selloff, but the broader tone remains cautious as energy prices and geopolitical risk continue to dominate.The primary driver remains oil. Crude prices have surged back above $100 and, in some cases, are pushing toward the $110-$120 range as the Middle East conflict expands and supply concerns intensify. Disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz and the widening scope of the conflict, including additional regional involvement, are reinforcing expectations of prolonged tight supply.This is feeding into inflation expectations and interest rate outlooks. Markets are increasingly pricing out the likelihood of Federal Reserve rate cuts this year, as higher energy prices complicate the inflation trajectory. The result is continued pressure on equity valuations, particularly in rate-sensitive sectors.Global markets were mixed overnight, with sharp declines in parts of Asia but more stable trading in Europe and U.S. futures. This indicates that investors are beginning to adjust to elevated oil prices rather than reacting to each incremental move.Energy-related stocks are benefiting from higher crude prices, while broader equity markets continue to face headwinds from rising yields and slower growth expectations. Safe-haven demand is also re-emerging at the margins, with some support for assets like gold and the U.S. dollar.In pre-market trading, S&P 500 futures rose 0.79%, Nasdaq futures rose 0.78% and Dow futures rose 0.77%.Check out this morning's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.HIGHER -iQiyiup 10% after announcing a listing application form submission to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange for Class A ordinary sharesExpediaup 3% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold with a price target of $300, up from $240CrowdStrikeup 3% after Wolfe Research upgraded shares to Outperform from Peer Perform with a $450 price targetSpireup 1% after entering into an agreement to sell its gas marketing business, Spire Marketing, to Boardwalk Pipelines for $215M in cashUP AFTER EARNINGS -Bicara Therapeuticsup 7%USA Rare Earthup 1%LOWER -Viridian Therapeuticsdown 38% after reporting data from the elegrobart REVEAL-1 phase 3 clinical trial in patients with active thyroid eye diseaseSyscodown 6% after announcing it will acquire Jetro Restaurant Depot for total enterprise value of $29.1B