Stocks faded into the close yesterday, though they’re trading mixed so far this morning. Gold is up again along with the dollar, while crude oil and Treasuries are down a bit.
The Federal Reserve will have its final gathering of 2024 next week. Markets are pricing in a high probability of policymakers cutting interest rates by another quarter point. But consumer and producer inflation reports due out on Wednesday and Thursday are the last major obstacles to a potential move. Economists expect the November Consumer Price Index (CPI) to rise 0.2%, or 0.3% excluding food and energy.
HSY, MDLZ, ORCL (YTD % Change)
Data by YCharts
Meanwhile, the global snack food giant Mondelez International Inc. (MDLZ) may make a play for “Big Candy” company Hershey Co. (HSY). HSY shares jumped as much as 19% yesterday after reports MDLZ could launch a $50 billion takeover bid. Mondelez reportedly considered buying HSY back in 2016 but was rebuffed by the company. The deal comes just a few months after Mars Inc. said it would buy Kellanova Co. (K) for $36 billion.
Oracle Corp. (ORCL) has had a great year, but it’s losing ground today after missing quarterly revenue targets. The database and cloud computing giant reported $14.06 billion in fiscal Q2 sales, up 9% from a year earlier but below Wall Street estimates. Shares fell about 6% in early trading, after rising 80% year-to-date.
Finally, police arrested Luigi Mangione, 26, in the recent assassination of Brian Thompson, a high-level executive at Unitedhealth Group Inc. (UNH) in New York City. He was later charged with second-degree murder, forgery, and a trio of gun charges after being spotted in a Pennsylvania McDonald’s restaurant and reported by a tipster. Thompson was killed while in Manhattan for a UNH investor meeting.
