Stock Market Today: Dow Jones, S&P 500 Rise, VMware Stock In Focus On Potential Broadcom Acquisition

Stock Market Today Mid-Morning Updates

On Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up by 240 points, after it posted its first eight-week losing streak in more than 80 years. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 have also posted their seven straight losing weeks. Notably, the S&P 500 closed on Friday down by 18.7% from its January 5, 2022 record closing high. This is incredibly close to shifting to a bear market, defined as an index closing at least 20% lower from a recent all-time closing high.

Shares of Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and partner BioNTech (NASDAQ: BNTX) are up today after reporting that three doses of their coronavirus vaccine offered strong protection for children under 5-years old, according to preliminary data. A third dose of the vaccine was able to elicit a strong immune response and was also well tolerated by the kids. Also, Motorola Solutions (NYSE: MSI) is up today after Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) upgraded the company's stock to Overweight from Equal-weight. It cites a number of favorable trends for the company that includes video surveillance.

Among the Dow Jones leaders, shares of Apple are up by 1.60% today while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is also up by 1.33%. Meanwhile, Disney (NYSE: DIS) and Nike (NYSE: NKE) are trading lower by 0.41% and 1.88% respectively on Monday. Among the Dow financial leaders, Visa (NYSE: V) is up by 2.18% while JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is also up by 3.60%

Shares of EV leader Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) are down by 2.78% on Monday. Rival EV companies like Rivian (NASDAQ: RIVN) are also down by 6.52%. Lucid Group (NASDAQ: LCID) is down by 3.06% today. Chinese EV leaders like Nio (NYSE: NIO) and Xpeng Motors (NYSE: XPEV) are trading lower today.

Dow Jones Today: U.S. Treasury Yields Trades at 2.8% As Biden Says U.S. Willing To Use Force To Defend Taiwan

Following the stock market opening on Monday, the S&P 500 and Dow are trading higher at 0.41% and 0.87%. The Nasdaq, however, is trading lower at 0.27%. Among exchange-traded funds, the Nasdaq 100 tracker Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ: QQQ) is down by 0.19% while the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY) is up by 0.44%.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yield currently trades at 2.8%, under the key psychological level of 3%. The treasury yield has breached 3% for the first time since late 2018 in early May. Since then, it has been moving back and forth through this 3% mark on concern that the Federal Reserve's gradual approach to slow down the economy with interest rate hikes and balance sheet run-off is not enough to get inflation under control.

In rising tensions between the U.S. and China, President Joe Biden today says that he is willing to use military force to defend Taiwan. China has been stepping up military provocations in recent years. The President's remarks have prompted thanks from the democratic, self-ruled island but also received criticism from China.

[Read More] Top Stock Market News For Today May 23, 2022

VMware Stock Gains Following News Of Potential Broadcom Takeover

Shares of VMware (NYSE: VMW) are front and center at today's opening bell. By and large, this is likely thanks to the latest news regarding the cloud computing tech firm and Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO). According to sources from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the semiconductor titan is currently in talks to acquire VMware. In particular, WSJ sources indicate that the duo are considering a cash and stock deal for any potential purchases. Furthermore, the report also notes that we could possibly see an agreement soon. As you can imagine, such news would put VMW stock in the spotlight as investors pick up the story. In fact, the company's shares are now gaining by over 16% at today's opening bell.

For starters, it is important to note that things could still fall through at the current stage of negotiations, according to the reports. Even so, to put things into perspective, VMware has a market capitalization of over $40.3 billion and Broadcom is valued at over $220 billion. While the current deal may seem rather aggressive, it would not be Broadcom's biggest play in recent years. Back in 2017, the company did make a takeover offer worth over $100 billion for Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM). Sure, the company did pull back its bid amidst growing pressures from the Trump administration. However, it would indicate that Broadcom is willing to spare no expense when it comes to expanding its tech portfolio. As such, VMW stock could be worth keeping track of in the stock market today.

[Read More] Best Stocks To Invest In Right Now? 5 Value Stocks To Watch This Week

Emergent BioSolutions In Focus Following Growing Mentions Of Potential Monkeypox Outbreak

Shares of Emergent BioSolutions (NYSE: EBS) are on the rise in the stock market today. This is apparent seeing as EBS stock is now up by over 5% at today's stock market opening. For the most part, the current movement in the company's shares is likely thanks to growing global health concerns. Namely, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), more cases of monkeypox will likely surface globally. This comes at a time where over 92 confirmed cases have been identified from 12 U.N. member states. Moreover, WHO also adds that, "Available information suggests that human-to-human transmission is occurring among people in close physical contact with cases who are symptomatic."

What would all this have to do with EBS might you ask? In essence, the biopharmaceutical firm's smallpox vaccine seems to be the focus of investors now. With monkeypox and smallpox being closely related, current research notes that there is some form of cross-protection against the earlier. Overall, WHO describes monkeypox as an infectious disease that is mild and endemic in parts of West and Central Africa. Similar to COVID-19, the key means of transmission is close contact. By extension, such similarities would put government officials and health care agencies on high alert amidst the current pandemic. As a result of all this, investors looking to get ahead on potential monkeypox stocks would be eyeing EBS today.

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