Key Takeaways
- Intel led the Dow higher on news it would sell $1.5 billion shares of self-driving car spin-off Mobileye.
- Merck & Co. fell after challenging the federal government’s new price negotiating powers.
- Boeing dips on another production delay, this time for its 787 Dreamliner.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the session essentially flat, with tech and financial stocks helping give the index a 0.03% boost. Other indexes fared slightly better, with the Nasdaq up about 0.4% and the S&P 500 up around 0.2%.
Financials were the day’s best-performing sector, rising more than 1% amid a surge in regional bank stocks that pushed the KBW Regional Banking Index (KRX) up by more than 6%. Dow financial components rode the wave, with American Express (AXP) moving higher by 2.7%, Goldman Sachs (GS) up by 1.6% and Visa (V) up 0.6%.
Shares of Intel (INTC) jumped 4% after it said it would sell about $1.5 billion in shares of Mobileye (MBLY), the self-driving car company it spun off last year. Intel will retain an 88% stake in the company that it bought for $15.3 billion in 2018. Mobileye shares have gained almost 30% this year as investors have pumped money into AI companies of all sorts, but its shares dropped about 1% on the news.
Merck & Co. (MRK) was the Dow’s worst-performing stock, with shares falling nearly 2% after the company sued the federal government over a rule, included in the Inflation Reduction Act, that allows Medicare to negotiate drug prices with manufacturers. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) followed its healthcare peer lower, falling 2.1%.
Consumer staples stocks lost ground, with McDonald’s (MCD) and Procter & Gamble (PG) moving about 1.3% and 1% lower, respectively. Coca-Cola (KO) fell 0.7%.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT) fell 0.5% after it settled a $20 million Federal Trade Commission charge that the software maker improperly collected children’s information through its Xbox gaming system.
Boeing (BA) plunged midday after the company warned a defect would delay near-term deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner, potentially slowing 90 deliveries. The stock ended the day down 0.7%.