Stocks opened higher and have been mostly quiet since, though the Dow is still holding a triple digit gain. The move is broad-based, with the S&P also higher by roughly 0.3%. The strength is being attributed to optimism surrounding the trade talks with China amid reports that the U.S. and China are nearing a deal that would ease ZTE (ZTCOY) restrictions in return for China removing tariffs on U.S. soybeans, pork and ginseng. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., no economic data of note was reported. COMPANY NEWS: Shares of Xerox (XRX) are down 7% after the company announced the termination of its combination deal with Fujifilm (FUJIY) and a new settlement agreement with billionaire investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason… Class B shares of Viacom (VIAB) are down 6% after CBS (CBS) announced that it has filed a lawsuit in Delaware Court of Chancery alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by National Amusements, the parent of both companies which is pushing for a merger of the two… Shares of several casino operators and gaming stocks are rising after the U.S. supreme court struck down a federal law that bans gambling on sporting events in most of the country. Deciding a case brought by the state of New Jersey, the high court ruled a federal law called the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act is unconstitutional. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Tandem Diabetes (TNDM), which rose 17% after Piper Jaffray analyst JP McKim upgraded the stock to Overweight from Neutral, saying the company is about to enter a “Goldilocks Period” where they have a “superior” closed loop system for several years. Also higher was Sears (SHLD), which gained 9% after the company announced it has initiated a formal process to explore a potential sale of assets. Among the notable losers was Perrigo (PRGO), which dropped 4% after the company’s announcement on Friday that it expects to receive a complete response letter from the FDA regarding its application to market a generic version of the product ProAir. Also lower was Dean Foods (DF), which fell 4% after Deutsche Bank analyst Rob Dickerson downgraded the stock to Sell from Hold. INDEXES: Near midday, the Dow was up 125.81, or 0.51%, to 24,956.98 , the Nasdaq was up 34.57, or 0.47%, to 7,437.45, and the S&P 500 was up 8.44, or 0.31%, to 2,736.16.
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