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Top Midday Stories: Meta Launches Muse Personal AI Agent; Dow Said to Consider Exiting $20 Billion Chemicals JV With Saudi Aramco
All three major US stock indexes were down in late-morning trading Wednesday, as oil prices climbed, stoking investor fears of rising inflation and a potential corresponding rise in interest rates.The US Treasury Department said Wednesday it will buy back up to $6 billion of longer-dated government debt, triple the amount initially communicated to market participants, according to media reports.In company news, Meta Platforms (META) has launched a new personal artificial intelligence agent called Muse AI, which can send emails, book travel plans, take on goals and continue working after users close the app. Meta shares were up 6.3% around midday.Dow (DOW) is considering plans to exit its $20 billion chemicals joint venture with Saudi Aramco, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Dow held a 35% stake in the venture, known as Sadara Chemical, as of last year, with Aramco holding the remainder, the report said. Saudi Aramco could acquire Dow's stake, or other strategic or financial investors could place bids for it, the report said, citing the people. Dow shares were down 1.2%.Chewy (CHWY) reported fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings Wednesday of $0.36 per diluted share, up from $0.33 a year earlier and matching the FactSet consensus analyst estimate. Fiscal Q2 net sales were $3.33 billion, up from $310 billion a year ago and above the FactSet consensus of $3.32 billion. An unidentified Chewy executive said on an earnings call with analysts that the company reset its expectations to reflect more cautious consumers earlier this year, and it is "not assuming a meaningful consumer recovery for the balance of this fiscal year," according to a FactSet transcript of the call. Chewy shares were down 9%.Apple (AAPL) is expected to unveil its first foldable phone, potentially called the iPhone Ultra, as well as the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max at 1 pm on Wednesday at an event, multiple media outlets reported. Separately, Apple, Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) and other major technology platforms will be required to stop children from taking, sharing or viewing nude images on their phones and tablets under proposed UK legislation, said Lisa Nandy, UK secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, Tuesday in a speech to Parliament. Apple shares were down 1.3%, while Alphabet's Class C and Class A shares were down 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively.UnitedHealth Group (UNH) sold an interest in some of its Optum Health operations in Florida to TPG (TPG), Bloomberg reported Wednesday. UnitedHealth shares were down 2.5%, while TPG shares were down 3.4%.Price: $652.46, Change: $+38.98, Percent Change: +6.35%
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