Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Hershey , Mondelez International — Hershey shares jumped roughly 13% after Bloomberg News reported that Cadbury and Oreo maker Mondelez is again trying to buy the chocolate company. News of the attempted takeover put Hershey shares on pace for their best day since June 2016, when Hershey previously publicly disclosed a $23 billion bid from Mondelez. Mondelez fell 2%. China-based stocks — U.S.-listed shares of stocks PDD Holdings , JD.com and Trip.com each skyrocketed more than 10% after China’s Politburo pledged to ease its monetary policy stance to boost domestic growth in 2025. Alibaba and Tencent shares gained 9% and 5% on the news, respectively, while automaker Nio rallied more than 14%. Macy’s — The stock gained 1% following activist investor Barington Capital’s call for the department store chain to cut spending and reevaluate alternatives for its Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury operations. Workday , Apollo Global Management — Shares of software firm Workday jumped 5% after S & P Dow Jones Indices announced that the stock would be added to the S & P 500 later this month. Apollo Global Management was also announced as a new S & P 500 addition and hit a new 52-week high on Monday, but the stock was down about 2%. Warner Bros. Discovery , Comcast — Warner Bros. shares added 2% after the media company signed a wide-ranging, multiyear cable distribution deal with Comcast, which allows for the European launch of the Max streaming service and resolves a legal dispute over the “Harry Potter” television series rights. Comcast shares fell 9%. Stellantis — Shares of automaker Stellantis edged nearly 2% higher after CNBC reported that well-known executive Tim Kuniskis is returning to the automaker effective immediately to again lead the company’s Ram Trucks brand. The decision comes just about a week after Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares unexpectedly resigned amid the company’s problems with its North American market. Nvidia — Shares slid about 2%. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation launched an investigation into the chipmaker over its potential violations of the country’s antimonopoly law, particularly in relation to Nvidia’s acquisition of Mellanox. Advanced Micro Devices — The chipmaker slid about 4% on the back of a Bank of America downgrade to neutral from buy. The firm cited higher competitive risks in artificial intelligence given Nvidia’s market dominance, and growing preference for custom chips from other chipmakers that could limit AMD’s market share gain potential. Dow — The chemical maker climbed 3% after announcing it would sell a 40% equity holding in some of its U.S. Gulf Coast infrastructure assets to a Macquarie Asset Management-run fund. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025. Interpublic Group of Companies , Omnicom Group — Interpublic gained 7%, while Omnicom lost more than 8%. Both companies announced that Omnicom will acquire Interpublic in a stock-for-stock transaction . The deal is expected to close in the second half of 2025. Super Micro Computer — Shares of the beleaguered server maker rose about 5% after Super Micro was given an extension from Nasdaq that allows the company to publish its delayed annual report . The company now has until February to maintain its listing on the exchange. SoFi Technologies — Shares dipped almost 2% after Bank of America Global Research downgraded the fintech company and lender to underperform from neutral, saying the stock is overvalued after more than doubling over the past three months. Shares had rallied in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election victory, as investors figured the company would benefit from more stringent student loan forgiveness policies expected under Trump. SolarEdge Technologies — Shares jumped 16% after the solar energy company announced it has started shipping its “USA Edition” home battery . This product was designed to qualify for the domestic content bonus tax credit , a provision that is part of the Inflation Reduction Act that incentivizes the development of green technology that is built with specified percentages of steel, iron or manufactured products that were domestically produced. Disclosure: Comcast’s NBCUniversal is the parent company of CNBC. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Jesse Pound, Sarah Min and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.
