First Republic, UBS, Credit Suisse fall premarket; PepsiCo, Foot Locker rise

By Peter Nurse

Investing.com -- Stocks in focus in premarket trade on Monday, March 20th. Please refresh for updates.

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  First Republic Bank (NYSE: FRC) stock fell over 18.8% following a report by the New York Times that said the regional bank was in talks to raise more funds despite a $30 billion rescue last week, suggesting it needed more capital. S&P also cut its credit rating to B+ from BB+ on Sunday.

  
  


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  UBS (NYSE: UBS) stock fell 3.96% after the banking giant acquired its Swiss rival Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS), down 58%, for around $3.3B. Oddo downgraded its rating of UBS to 'underperform' from 'neutral', citing "very limited due diligence" around the deal, while KBW lowered its rating to 'underperform' from 'market perform', noting in particular the suspension of UBS share buybacks, which were a key part of the investment thesis.

  
  


• Foot Locker (NYSE: FL) stock rose 1.75% after the sporting goods retailer reported a strong fourth quarter and unveiled plan to relaunch its core brand.


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  PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) stock rose 0.5% after Bernstein upgraded its stance on the soft drinks giant to 'market perform' from 'underperform', citing strong organic growth.

  
  


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  United States Steel (NYSE: X) stock rose 1.1% after Wolfe Research upgraded its stance on the steel producer to 'peer perform' from 'underperform', citing the low valuation and the sharply higher sheet steel prices in recent weeks.

  
  


• Barrick Gold (NYSE: GOLD) stock rose 0.8% after the price of gold topped $2,000 for the first time in 11 months on Monday, as fears of wider financial instability drove investors to haven assets.


• Karuna Therapeutics (NASDAQ: KRTX) stock rose 11.6% after its schizophrenia drug met its main goal in a late-stage trial.

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