US EQUITY OPEN: Stocks little changed ahead of data and Trump

US EQUITY OPEN: US indices have returned from the long weekend little changed as participants await comments from US President Trump. A White House official told Axios the plan for a 45-day cease fire is one of many ideas being discussed but Trump has not signed off on it yet. Meanwhile, Trump has put a Tuesday 20:00 EDT deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz, noting if they do not do something they won't have any power plants or bridges left. Trump is expected to speak at 18:00BST/13:00EDT. Meanwhile, over the weekend the US managed to rescue the airman whose jet was shot down in Iran - Trump may speak on both of these topics. Regarding a cease fire, reports noted that the Pakistan proposal is being reviewed but others noted that Iran will not accept deadlines or pressure to make a decision and it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a temporary ceasefire. Meanwhile, explosions were heard at the Pars Petrochemical facility with mixed reporting around the impact of the strikes. Elsewhere, on Friday, NFP was much stronger than expected, helping quell some of the recent fears over the labour market, while attention turns to the US ISM Services PMI report at the top of the hour. Regarding price action, although indices are little changed, there is slight strength in the Nasdaq as memory names rebound while Russell also is in the green. Sectors are mixed with consumer discretionary outperforming while health care lags. Crude prices are slightly firmer with WTI outperforming Brent. In FX, the dollar is lagging to the support of G10 peers with Antipodes leading the gains. Gold and Silver are slightly lower while Bitcoin gains.

STOCK SPECIFICS

SanDisk (SNDK) / Micron Technology (MU): Memory names outperforming following a recent sell-off
Soleno Therapeutics (SLNO) / Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX): Neurocrine confirmed it is to acquire Soleno for USD 53/shr in cash, or USD 2.9bln
Netflix (NFLX): Upgraded to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' at Goldman Sachs
Dow Inc. (DOW): Downgraded to 'Underperform' from 'Neutral' at Bank of America
LyondellBasell Industries (LYB): Downgraded to 'Underperform' from 'Neutral' at Bank of America
Biogen (BIIB): Expects Q1 2026 results to include an acquired in-process R&D upfront and milestone cost of USD 34mln pre-tax
Paramount Skydance (PSKY): Nearing signed equity commitments of about USD 24bln from three sovereign wealth funds led by Saudi Arabia to help finance its USD 81bln takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery; Saudi Arabia’s PIF has agreed to provide about USD 10bln