Check out the companies making headlines before the bell. Talen Energy – The independent power company tumbled more than 8% after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a request to increase the amount of power the Susquehanna nuclear plant can dispatch to an Amazon data center campus. Talen owns the nuclear plant and sold the data center campus to Amazon earlier this year. Constellation Energy’s and Vistra’s stocks fell about 9% and 3%, respectively, in sympathy. Constellation and Vistra were expected by investors to announce similar arrangements with tech companies at some point. Viking Therapeutics – The drugmaker soared 7% after announcing promising results from its experimental VK2735 obesity pill, including weight loss of up to 8.2% within a four-week period. The drug is classified as a GLP-1, which could put the company in competition with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Berkshire Hathaway – Shares were marginally lower after Warren Buffett’s conglomerate revealed that operating earnings totaled $10.1 billion in the third quarter . This was slightly below what analysts had expected, according to FactSet. Apple — The iPhone behemoth saw shares dip 0.6% on heavy volume after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported its earnings Saturday morning and indicated that it dumped approximately a quarter of its stake , with just 300 million shares remaining in the holding. Berkshire Hathaway shares were marginally lower after operating earnings totaled $10.1 billion in the third quarter. This was slightly below the FactSet consensus. Peloton – Shares of the exercise equipment company popped 8% following an upgrade at Bank of America to buy from underperform . The bank said it sees “many miles” of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization growth under Peloton’s new CEO Peter Stern, who starts in January. Trump Media & Technology Group – Shares of former President Donald Trump’s media company pulled back more than 3% ahead of the U.S. election on Tuesday. The stock has been increasingly volatile in the days leading up to the election . Roblox – The online game stock jumped 3% after Morgan Stanley upgraded shares to overweight from equal weight . The investment bank cited Roblox’s growing audience and says the stock is at an inflection point. Vertex – Shares rose 2.5% after Jefferies upgraded Vertex to buy from hold , saying the tax software company has a runway for long-term growth. The firm also hiked its price target by $15 to $50, implying nearly 20% upside. Nvidia , Sherwin-Williams – Shares of Nvidia and Sherwin-William rose nearly 2% and more than 4%, respectively, following the announcement that both names are set to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average , effective Nov. 8. Nvidia is set to replace rival chipmaker Intel , and Sherwin-Williams will replace Dow Inc . Shares of Intel were more than 1% lower, while Dow Inc. shares were off 0.6%. — CNBC’s Hakyung Kim, Brian Evans, Sarah Min, Lisa Kailai Han, Spencer Kimball, Tanaya Macheel and Michelle Fox Theobald contributed reporting.
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: American Airlines — Shares slipped less than 1%, recovering from earlier losses, after the airline temporarily grounded all of its flights due to a technical issue. Broadcom — The semi stock added 2%, extending its December rally. Shares have surged more than 46% this month, propelling its 2024 gain above 112%. Big banks — Shares of some big bank stocks rose more than 1% amid news that a group of banks and business groups are suing the Federal Reserve over the annual stress tests, saying it “produces vacillating and unexplained requirements and restrictions on bank capital.” Citigroup , JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs shares gained more than 1% each. Arcadium Lithium — Shares rose more than 4% after the company announced its shareholders have approved the $6.7 billion sale to Rio Tinto . The deal is expected to close in mid-2025. International Seaways — The energy transportation provider surged 8% after an announcement that the company would be added to the S & P SmallCap 600 index, effective Dec. 30. The company will replace Consolidated Communications , which is soon to be acquired. Crypto stocks — Shares of stocks tied to the price of bitcoin rose as the cryptocurrency gave back recent losses amid a climb in tech names broadly. Crypto services provider Coinbase gained almost 3% and bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy gained more than 5%. Miners Riot Platforms and IREN gained 6% and 4%, respectively. U.S. Steel — The steel producer’s stock hovered near the flatline amid news that President Joe Biden will decide on the fate of its proposed acquisition by Japan’s Nippon Steel after a government panel failed to reach a decision . Apple — Apple shares gained 0.9% to notch a new all-time high. The stock has rallied nearly 34% year to date. — CNBC’s Sean Conlon, Lisa Han, Tanaya Macheel and Alex Harring contributed reporting.
A general view of the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, United States.
Samuel Corum | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
The biggest banks are planning to sue the Federal Reserve over the annual bank stress tests, according to a person familiar with the matter. A lawsuit is expected this week and could come as soon as Tuesday morning, the person said.
The Fed’s stress test is an annual ritual that forces banks to maintain adequate cushions for bad loans and dictates the size of share repurchases and dividends.
After the market close on Monday, the Federal Reserve announced in a statement that it is looking to make changes to the bank stress tests and will be seeking public comment on what it calls “significant changes to improve the transparency of its bank stress tests and to reduce the volatility of resulting capital buffer requirements.”
The Fed said it made the determination to change the tests because of “the evolving legal landscape,” pointing to changes in administrative laws in recent years. It didn’t outline any specific changes to the framework of the annual stress tests.
While the big banks will likely view the changes as a win, it may be too little too late.
Also, the changes may not go far enough to satisfy the banks’ concerns about onerous capital requirements. “These proposed changes are not designed to materially affect overall capital requirements, according to the Fed.
The CEO of BPI (Bank Policy Institute), Greg Baer, which represents big banks like JPMorgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, welcomed the Fed announcement, saying in a statement “The Board’s announcement today is a first step towards transparency and accountability.”
However, Baer also hinted at further action: “We are reviewing it closely and considering additional options to ensure timely reforms that are both good law and good policy.”
Groups like the BPI and the American Bankers Association have raised concerns about the stress test process in the past, claiming that it is opaque, and has resulted in higher capital rules that hurt bank lending and economic growth.
In July, the groups accused the Fed of being in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, because it didn’t seek public comment on its stress scenarios and kept supervisory models secret.