Trending Market News

The FDA has placed a clinical hold on two of Regenxbio's experimental gene therapy programs targeting rare childhood diseases after discovering a brain tumor in one treated patient. The announcement was made on January 28, halting ongoing trials while safety concerns are investigated.

• The clinical hold affects two gene therapy programs designed to treat rare pediatric conditions
• A brain tumor was identified in one patient who received the experimental treatment, triggering the FDA action
• The hold prevents Regenxbio from enrolling new patients or dosing existing participants until safety issues are resolved

Corning forecast first-quarter 2026 sales of $4.2-$4.3 billion, above analyst estimates of $4.23 billion, driven by strong demand for fiber-optic products that account for nearly 40% of its revenue. The company is benefiting from increased investment by technology companies in data-center infrastructure to support AI workloads, including a recently announced multi-year supply deal with Meta Platforms.

• Corning's optical communications division generated $1.70 billion in Q4 net sales, meeting estimates, as tech companies expand AI-focused data center infrastructure
• The company announced a multi-year deal with Meta Platforms to supply fiber-optic cables for AI data centers, reinforcing its position as a key supplier to major tech firms including Apple
• Q4 core sales beat expectations at $4.41 billion versus the $4.35 billion estimate, reflecting resilient demand for optical connectivity hardware

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries reported fourth-quarter profit of 96 cents per diluted share, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of 64 cents. The strong results were driven by increased sales of branded drugs and a milestone payment related to a late-stage study for ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease treatment.

• Q4 earnings of 96 cents per share beat analyst forecasts of 64 cents by 50%
• Revenue growth was boosted by branded drug sales and a milestone payment for inflammatory bowel disease drug development
• Company projects 2026 revenue of $16.4-$16.8 billion and adjusted EPS of $2.57-$2.77, both lower than 2025 figures of $17.3 billion revenue and $2.93 EPS

Bank of America will match the U.S. government's $1,000 pilot contribution to Trump Accounts for all eligible U.S. employees, according to an internal memo. The Trump Account program is part of President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act and functions as a custodial retirement account.

• Each eligible BofA employee will receive $2,000 total: $1,000 from the government and $1,000 matching contribution from the bank
• Trump Accounts are custodial retirement accounts created under Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act
• The initiative represents corporate participation in a new government-sponsored retirement savings program

German federal police raided Deutsche Bank offices in Frankfurt and Berlin on Wednesday as part of a money laundering investigation targeting unnamed bank employees. Prosecutors confirmed the searches while Deutsche Bank stated it is fully cooperating with authorities but declined further comment.

• The investigation by Frankfurt prosecutors focuses on money laundering activities involving unspecified Deutsche Bank employees
• Searches were conducted simultaneously at multiple Deutsche Bank locations in Germany's two major financial centers
• Deutsche Bank confirmed full cooperation with the public prosecutor's office but provided no additional details about the probe

Starbucks is set to report fiscal first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with Wall Street expecting revenue of $9.67 billion. The company is in the middle of a U.S. business turnaround under CEO Brian Niccol, who reported the company's biggest-ever North American sales day during the holiday menu launch in November.

• Same-store sales are projected to have risen 2.3% in the quarter, which would mark the second consecutive quarter of growth and signal Niccol's turnaround plan is gaining traction
• November saw the company achieve its biggest-ever sales day in North America on the holiday menu launch day, indicating a successful holiday season
• Investors will receive more details about the turnaround strategy at an investor day scheduled for Thursday in New York City

Eli Lilly signed a deal worth up to $1.12 billion with Germany-based Seamless Therapeutics to develop gene-editing treatments for hearing loss. The agreement gives Lilly access to Seamless's proprietary enzyme technology that corrects gene mutations, marking another expansion of Lilly's genetic medicines pipeline beyond its blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drugs.

• The deal includes an upfront payment, R&D funding, and milestone-based payments, with Lilly overseeing development from preclinical testing through commercialization
• Seamless uses 'programmable recombinases' - engineered enzymes that make precise DNA changes without relying on the cell's own repair pathway - to target genetic hearing loss
• This follows Lilly's recent genetic medicine acquisitions, including Verve Therapeutics for cholesterol gene-editing and Akouos in 2022 for gene-therapy hearing loss treatments that showed positive results in 2024 trials

The UK government will provide a £20 million ($27.56 million) grant to Danish company Vestas to save its Isle of Wight wind turbine plant and approximately 300 jobs. The funding will enable the facility to transition from offshore blade production to manufacturing onshore wind turbines, supporting Britain's goal to decarbonize its electricity sector by 2030.

• The plant faced closure after demand ended for its offshore blades and logistical constraints prevented production of larger next-generation turbines
• The grant supports Labour government's clean energy strategy to strengthen domestic manufacturing, enhance energy security, and reduce dependency on fossil fuels
• Approximately 300 jobs will be preserved through the facility's repurposing for onshore wind turbine development

Walmart announced a major pharmacy workforce initiative, promoting 3,000 pharmacy technicians to operations team lead positions with wages increasing from $22 to $28 per hour on average. The move supports the retailer's expansion of digital healthcare services and pharmacy operations across 4,600 locations, as competition intensifies with Amazon's growing pharmacy presence.

• Promoted pharmacy technicians will earn an average of $28 per hour, up from $22, with potential wages reaching up to $42 per hour depending on location and role
• The expansion aims to strengthen pharmacy teams as Walmart scales digital offerings including Better Care Services, Eli Lilly's LillyDirect program, and expanded delivery services
• Amazon is aggressively competing in the pharmacy space with same-day delivery expansion and offering Novo Nordisk's Wegovy weight-loss medication at $149 per month through insurance plans

Britain's competition regulator proposed measures to improve Google search services, focusing on ensuring publishers receive fairer treatment for content used in AI overviews. Google responded by stating it is exploring opt-out controls for its search generative AI features while expressing concerns about maintaining a cohesive user experience. This action follows Google being designated as having 'strategic market status' under the regulator's new powers to address big tech dominance.

• Google was the first company targeted under the UK regulator's new powers after being designated as having 'strategic market status'
• The proposed measures aim to give publishers more control over how their content appears in Google's AI-powered search features
• Google stated it is exploring new controls allowing sites to opt out of search generative AI features while warning against creating a 'fragmented or confusing experience' for users

Boeing projects that airlines in India and South Asia will add 3,290 commercial jets to their fleets over the next 20 years, driven by strong economic growth, an expanding middle class, and increasing numbers of first-time air travelers. This represents a 16% increase from Boeing's previous 20-year forecast of 2,835 aircraft for the region.

• Boeing raised its 20-year demand forecast for India and South Asia from 2,835 jets to 3,290 jets, an increase of 455 aircraft
• The projected growth is fueled by resilient economic expansion, a burgeoning middle class, and a wave of first-time flyers in the region
• The upward revision signals Boeing's increased confidence in South Asian aviation market growth potential over the next two decades

ASML reported record fourth-quarter bookings of 13.2 billion euros, more than double analyst expectations, and issued strong 2026 sales guidance of 34-39 billion euros, signaling at least 20% revenue growth. The Dutch chipmaking equipment giant is benefiting from surging AI infrastructure demand and an anticipated memory chip capacity expansion, though the company announced layoffs of around 1,700 positions to improve operational agility.

• Q4 bookings reached a record 13.2 billion euros ($15.8 billion), vastly exceeding the 6.32 billion euro analyst estimate, driven by AI demand and memory chipmakers expanding capacity
• 2026 revenue guidance of 34-39 billion euros implies at least 20% growth versus 2024, with EUV machine sales expected to 'significantly go up' as customers invest in advanced chip production
• China revenue is projected to drop to 20% of total sales in 2026 from 33% in 2025 due to export restrictions, while the company plans net headcount reduction of 1,700 positions mainly in the Netherlands

SpaceX is considering a mid-June 2026 IPO that would raise up to $50 billion at a $1.5 trillion valuation, according to the Financial Times. This would be the largest IPO in history by deal size, surpassing Saudi Aramco's $29 billion offering in 2019. CFO Bret Johnsen has been in talks with existing investors since December, marking a shift from Elon Musk's longstanding preference to keep the company private.

• The proposed $50 billion raise would exceed Saudi Aramco's record $29 billion IPO, though Aramco's $1.7 trillion market cap remains the only completed deal above $1 trillion valuation
• SpaceX's growing valuation and success of its Starlink satellite-internet service have prompted reconsideration of going public, with four Wall Street banks lined up for leading roles
• The timing aligns with a broader rebound in U.S. equity markets in 2025 after three years of limited activity, with AI firms Anthropic and OpenAI also preparing potential IPOs

ASML, Europe's most valuable company, manufactures $250 million extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines that are essential for producing the most advanced AI chips. The company holds a monopoly on EUV technology used by chipmakers like TSMC, which supplies Nvidia and other AI chip manufacturers. Surging AI demand and data center expansion are driving record orders for these bus-sized, 150-ton precision machines.

• ASML's EUV machines use 13-nanometer wavelength light to pattern circuitry on silicon wafers with unprecedented precision, blasting tin droplets 50,000 times per second with powerful lasers to generate the light
• Each machine requires 40 shipping containers and 747 cargo planes for delivery to customers including TSMC (Taiwan), Samsung and SK Hynix (South Korea), and Intel and Micron (U.S.)
• ASML shipped 44 EUV systems in 2025, with analysts forecasting significant production increases needed in 2026-2027 to meet AI chip demand

Enterprise AI software provider C3.AI is reportedly in merger discussions with privately held startup Automation Anywhere. According to The Information, the deal would involve Automation Anywhere acquiring C3.AI and subsequently going public through the transaction.

• Automation Anywhere would be the acquiring company despite being privately held, while C3.AI is currently publicly traded
• The merger would serve as a vehicle for Automation Anywhere to go public through a reverse merger structure
• Reuters could not independently verify the report, and no financial terms or timeline were disclosed

Amazon mistakenly sent a commiseration message to many Amazon Web Services employees on Tuesday, prematurely alerting them to layoffs planned for Wednesday morning. Reuters previously reported that Amazon intends to lay off thousands of corporate employees starting this week, though the company has not confirmed the plan or officially notified affected workers. The erroneous internal communication disrupted the company's planned layoff execution.

• AWS employees received a premature message in Slack channels that was intended to be sent after official layoff notifications on Wednesday
• Amazon plans to lay off thousands of corporate employees starting this week, according to Reuters reporting, but has not confirmed the plan publicly
• The message acknowledged 'changes like this are hard on everyone,' inadvertently revealing the layoff timeline before official communications

Delta Air Lines announced the purchase of 31 Airbus widebody jets (16 A330-900s and 15 A350-900s) with deliveries starting in 2029, as part of its strategy to modernize its international fleet and focus on premium travel demand. The order combines new purchases with converted options and includes options for 20 additional aircraft, supporting Delta's shift toward fuel-efficient planes and more premium seating configurations.

• The deal expands Delta's A330-900 fleet to 55 aircraft and A350 fleet to 79 total jets, including 20 larger A350-1000s arriving in 2027
• New aircraft will serve medium and long-haul routes to destinations like Taipei, Melbourne, Hong Kong, and Riyadh, configured with expanded premium cabins
• The purchase follows Delta's earlier order of 30 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners and reflects industry-wide fleet renewal driven by strong demand for premium international travel

Intel announced it will match the Trump administration's $1,000 contribution to 'Trump Accounts' for children of eligible U.S. employees. This benefit program strengthens ties between Intel and the federal government, which became Intel's largest shareholder last year with a 10% stake through $8.9 billion in funding.

• The Trump Accounts program (530A) provides $1,000 in seed funding from the government for children born between 2025 and 2028, with employer contributions up to $2,500 being tax-free
• Intel joins companies including Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, and Starbucks in matching federal contributions to employee children's accounts
• The U.S. government holds approximately 10% ownership in Intel following an $8.9 billion investment made last year

The U.S. dollar plunged 1.3% on Tuesday, marking its worst single-day decline since April 10, 2025, and hitting its lowest level since February 2022. The drop came after President Trump said he thought the weaker dollar was 'great' when asked if he was comfortable with its current value following a 10% decline over the past year.

• Trump declined to express concern about the dollar's weakness, stating 'I think it's great' and referencing how China and Japan historically wanted to devalue their currencies to compete
• The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. currency against six major trading partners, fell as much as it did on April 10, 2025, when it dropped nearly 2% amid trade disputes and threats of 145% tariffs on China
• On that previous April 10 decline, the S&P 500 fell 3.5% and the Nasdaq Composite sank 4.3%, highlighting the market impact of sharp dollar movements

Seagate Technology forecast third-quarter revenue of $2.90 billion and profit above Wall Street expectations, driven by strong demand for data storage devices from enterprises scaling AI infrastructure. The company's hard disk drives are benefiting from massive investments by tech firms in data centers needed to train and run large language models. Second-quarter revenue of $2.83 billion also beat estimates of $2.73 billion.

• Seagate forecast Q3 revenue of $2.90 billion (plus or minus $100 million), exceeding analyst estimates of $2.77 billion
• Tech firms are investing hundreds of billions of dollars into AI data centers, creating demand for storage solutions that combine performance and cost-efficiency at exabyte-scale
• Morningstar analysts expect the hard disk drive industry to grow at a low-teens average rate over the next several years as prices fall but storage volume shipped increases