Today’s Stock Futures: Live Updates

Major stock market indices opened higher on Wednesday.

— Biya Singh

Shares of both dialysis service providers DaVita and Fresenius Medical Care fell 15% in premarket trading after news of Ozempic’s effectiveness in a kidney disease treatment trial.

Novo Nordisk announced late Tuesday that it was stopping the study early after an independent panel monitoring the trial met criteria to show its effectiveness.

Baxter, which makes products for chronic dialysis treatment, also suffered, falling 8%.

Shares of Novo Nordisk rose 3.5% before hours.

– Michael Fox

Here’s a look at some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading.

DaVita, Novo Nordisk – Shares of the dialysis service provider fell 15% on news of Ozempic’s performance in Novo Nordisk’s kidney disease treatment study. Shares of Novo Nordisk rose 3.1%.

Exxon Mobil, Pioneer Natural Resources – Shares of Exxon Mobil were 1% premarket lower after the company agreed to buy Pioneer for nearly $60 billion, or $253 a share, by combining all its shares. Meanwhile, Pioneer shares rose 2.5%. Exxon said production in the Permian Basin will double after the deal closes.

Humana – Shares fell slightly after Bruce Broussard’s comments The CEO will step down in the second half of 2024.

Read the full list here.

– Brian Evans

ExxonMobil is buying shale driller Pioneer Natural Resources for $253 a share in an all-stock deal valued at $59.5 billion, giving the oil company a dominant position in the Permian Basin.

The expected deal was confirmed by the companies on Wednesday morning. Pioneer shares added about 1.5% in pre-market trade. They rose about 10% last week on reports that a deal was close. Exxon shares fell about 1.3% in early trading.

The merger, the biggest on Wall Street this year, is expected to close in the first half of 2024, the companies said.

– John Melloy, Fred Imbert

European stock markets were active in early trade, with the Stoxx 600 swinging between losses and gains.

England’s FTSE 100 was flat at 9:30 a.m. in London, while Germany’s DAX fell 0.2% and France’s CAC 40 fell 0.96%.

Consumer spending in China is not growing as fast as it was before the pandemic, analysts said.

Retail for the holiday season from September 29 to October 5 9% up A year ago, according to state media reports from the Ministry of Commerce. The figures exclude the final day of the Golden Week holiday.

Analysts pointed to the impact of the property slump – as most of household wealth is in real estate – and a decline in government spending due to local debt problems as contributing factors to the slowdown in consumer spending.

Read the full story here.

– Evelyn Cheng, Shreyashi Sanyal

Confidence among major Japanese manufacturers was subdued in October, according to a Reuters Tankan survey that measures business sentiment among major Japanese companies.

A Reuters poll, tracking the Bank of Japan’s closely watched Tangen quarterly survey, saw manufacturers’ sentiment up +4 index points in October, although it was expected to pick up in the coming three months.

Sentiment in the services sector rose as buoyant domestic demand helped offset some of the damage to the economy from the global downturn.

The services sector index rose to +24 in October, a slight improvement from +23 the previous month.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

South Korean stocks rose about 2%, hitting a two-week high on a boost from chip giant Samsung Electronics.

Samsung expects a 78% decline in operating profit As per guidance issued by the company, in the quarter ended September. The operating profit forecast was slightly higher than analyst expectations. Shares of the company rose 3.77 percent.

Rival SK Hynix rose about 3%.

– Shreyashi Sanyal

German shoemaker Birkenstock is expected to price its initial public offering at $46 a share on Tuesday, CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The pricing would put Birkenstock near the midpoint of its $44 to $49 per share range and give it a valuation of roughly $8.64 billion.

The company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker “BIRK”.

– Leslie Picker, Gabriel Fonrouge

Small-cap companies posted their fifth straight advance on Tuesday, with the Russell 2000 index rising 1.14%, more than double the 0.52% gain in the S&P 500.

The Russell 2000 is up 2.8% since Oct. 3 while the S&P 500 is up 3.0%.

The smallcap benchmark is 11.5% below its 52-week high hit on Feb. 2, while the S&P 500 is 5.4% below its 52-week high from July 27. In the first two trading days of this week, smallcaps rose 1.7%. versus the S&P 500’s 1.2% gain.

– Scott Schnipper