In midday trading, semiconductor stocks rallied as the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) is poised for a remarkable 70% increase in the second quarter, with notable gains from companies like Astera Labs (up 7%), KLA Corp (up 8%), and Applied Materials (up 5%).
Watts Water Technologies also saw a 7% rise after Barclays upgraded its rating to overweight, citing its strong position to benefit from data center capital expenditures. Abivax's shares surged 40% following the release of new data on its ulcerative colitis treatment, indicating that over 37% of previously non-responsive patients achieved clinical remission after treatment.
SolarEdge gained 7% amid reports of a potential ban on foreign inverter imports by the Trump administration, while Air Products and Chemicals rose over 8% after deciding not to proceed with its Louisiana Clean Energy Complex, which will result in up to $2.9 billion in pretax charges.
Conversely, Zimmer Biomet's shares fell 7% after announcing the acquisition of Pacira BioSciences' Iovera pain therapy system for $140 million. AeroVironment's stock jumped about 17% after exceeding earnings expectations, reporting $1.84 per share on $642 million in revenue.
Digital Realty Trust's shares declined nearly 5% following its agreement to purchase a stake in three data centers for $7.8 billion. Merck and AbbVie each saw minor declines after a U.S. House committee began investigating their involvement in trials in China. Strategy, a crypto proxy stock, lost roughly 7% after a prior surge, while Bitcoin fell over 3% to around $58,430.
Sellas Life Sciences' shares dropped 4% after a brief rally, following changes to executive severance agreements that could suggest a potential takeover