META News & Events

The major averages closed broadly higher as traders brace for another week of corporate earnings reports, including from big names Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla, as well as the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision slated for later this week.Investors are also monitoring even more tariff news, as President Trump over the weekend threatened 100% tariffs on all Canadian goods and products if the country reaches a trade agreement with China. However, Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada has "no intention" of pursuing such a trade deal. Additionally, rising tensions in Minnesota remain in focus following another fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by an ICE officer over the weekend. Amid all the news coming out of the state, a group of more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies called for an "immediate de-escalation of tensions."Looking to commodities, gold continues to soar to record highs, surpassing the $5,000 mark for the first time.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:A group of more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies, including 3M, Target, UnitedHealth, and Best Buy, called for anin the stateNvidiaisin CoreWeaveUSA Rare Earthentered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with the U.S. government forMerckis no longer in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines,IonQSkyWater Technologyfor $35 per share in cash and stock2. WALL STREET CALLS:Meta Platformsto Buy at Rothschild & Co RedburnCiscoto Outperform at Evercore ISIBTIGof Fannie Maeand Freddie Macwith Buy ratings and $20 price targetsVaronisto Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan StanleyPiperIO Biotech, sees no assurance strategic alternatives process will pan out favorably3. AROUND THE WEB:Oil majors that operate the Karachaganak field in Kazakhstan, including Eniand Shelllost an international arbitration case, leaving them liable to pay as much as $4B, Bloomberg reportsNikeis looking into a potential data breach, Reuters saysA foreign investment fund is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli medical aesthetics firm InModefor about $1.1B, or a 25% premium to its $882M valuation, which would result in the company being delisted, Calcalist reportsGooglehas acquired Common Sense Machines, which offers AI models that create 3D assets from 2D images, The Information saysMeta'sdecision to deprioritize VR in favor of AI and internet-connected glasses has chilled the VR industry, leading to concerns about its future, CNBC reports4. MOVERS:Land's Endhigher after announcing an agreement with WHP Global toTronoxincreases after providing Q4 guidance and announcing theSareptagains after reporting topline three-yearSatellogicfalls after pricing 7.4M shares at $4.73 inBlackRock TCP Capitallower after5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCESteel Dynamics, with EPS beating consensusBank of Hawaii, with CEO Peter Ho commenting, "Bank of Hawai'i completed 2025 with strong financial performance"Velocity Financialprovidedand FY25Trade Deskreaffirmed itsLakeland Financial, with CEO David Findlay commenting, "The Lake City Bank team produced a very strong fourth quarter with exceptional performance metrics"INDEXES:The Dow rose 313.69, or 0.64%, to 49,412.40, the Nasdaq gained 100.11, or 0.43%, to 23,601.36, and the S&P 500 advanced 34.62, or 0.50%, to 6,950.23.

The European Commission has formally designated Meta's WhatsApp as a Very Large Online Platform under the Digital Services Act, as its 'Channels' feature reaches the designation threshold of at least 45M users in the EU. WhatsApp is a hybrid service comprising features of private messaging and of an online platform. WhatsApp Channels, the feature of WhatsApp that allows recipients to disseminate information, updates and announcements to a broad audience of WhatsApp users, falls under the definition of an online platform service and is therefore already subject to the general DSA obligations that online platforms in the EU must respect. WhatsApp's private messaging service enabling users to send text messages, voice notes, photos, videos, documents, and make voice and video calls to other users remains explicitly excluded from the application of the DSA. Following the designation, Meta, the provider of WhatsApp, has four months, i.e. by mid-May 2026, to ensure WhatsApp complies with the additional DSA obligations for VLOPs. These obligations include duly assessing and mitigating any systemic risks, such as violations of fundamental human rights and freedom of expression, electoral manipulation, the dissemination of illegal content and privacy concerns, stemming from its services. Following its designation as a very large online platform, the Commission will be competent to supervise WhatsApp's compliance with the DSA, in cooperation with Coimisiun na Mean, the Irish Digital Services Coordinator.

The major averages were broadly higher near noon following last week's losses. Traders are bracing for another week of corporate earnings reports, including from big names Microsoft, Apple, and Tesla, as well as the latest Federal Reserve interest rate decision slated for later this week.Meanwhile, investors are also monitoring even more tariff news, as President Trump over the weekend threatened 100% tariffs on all Canadian goods and products if the country reaches a trade agreement with China, though Prime Minister Mark Carney said that Canada has "no intention" of pursuing such a trade deal. Additionally, rising tensions in Minnesota remain in focus following another fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by an ICE officer over the weekend. Amid all the news coming out of the state, a group of more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies called for an "immediate deescalation of tensions."Looking to commodities, gold continues to soar to record highs, surpassing the $5,000 mark for the first time. Oil prices were lower near noon, meanwhile, as traders await more news coming out of Venezuela.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:A group of more than 60 CEOs of Minnesota-based companies, including 3M, Target, UnitedHealth, and Best Buy, called for anin the stateNvidiaisin CoreWeaveUSA Rare Earthentered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with the U.S. government forMerckis no longer in talks to acquire Revolution Medicines,IonQSkyWater Technologyfor $35 per share in cash and stock2. WALL STREET CALLS:Meta Platformsto Buy at Rothschild & Co RedburnCiscoto Outperform at Evercore ISIBTIGof Fannie Maeand Freddie Macwith Buy ratings and $20 price targetsVaronisto Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan StanleyPiperIO Biotech, sees no assurance strategic alternatives process will pan out favorably3. AROUND THE WEB:A foreign investment fund is in advanced talks to acquire Israeli medical aesthetics firm InModefor about $1.1B, or a 25% premium to its $882M valuation, which would result in the company being delisted, Calcalist reportsGooglehas acquired Common Sense Machines, which offers AI models that create 3D assets from 2D images, The Information saysMeta'sdecision to deprioritize VR in favor of AI and internet-connected glasses has chilled the VR industry, leading to concerns about its future, CNBC reportsSome LVMHshareholders are looking for clarity on how and to whom CEO Bernard Arnault plans to hand over leadership of the company, Reuters saysSnowcap Research is short Patria Investmentsas its investigation suggests the company may be overstating performance and concealing losses within its flagship private equity and infrastructure funds4. MOVERS:Land's Endhigher after announcing anto form a new joint ventureTronoxincreases afterand announcing the closure of its pigment plant in ChinaSareptagains after reporting topline three-yearSatellogicfalls after pricing 7.4M shares at $4.73 inBlackRock TCP Capitallower after5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCESteel Dynamics, with EPS beating consensusBank of Hawaii, with CEO Peter Ho commenting, "Bank of Hawai'i completed 2025 with strong financial performance"Velocity Financialfor Q4 and FY25Trade Deskfor Q4Lakeland Financial, with CEO David Findlay commenting, "The Lake City Bank team produced a very strong fourth quarter with exceptional performance metrics"INDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was up 0.32%, or 155.73, to 49,254.44, the Nasdaq was up 0.67%, or 157.46, to 23,658.71, and the S&P 500 was up 0.56%, or 38.67, to 6,954.28.