China’s posts positive manufacturing data
China’s official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – a gauge of sentiment among state-owned and larger factory operators – came in at 49.8 in September up from 49.5 in August, according to data released by the Chinese government on Monday.
That was slightly ahead of expectations, but below the 50-point level that separates expansion from contraction in sector activity.
Meanwhile, the Caixin/Markit factory PMI rose to 51.4 last month from 50.4 in August, and was also above expectations. The Caixin/Markit factory PMI is a private manufacturing activity gauge that focuses on small, private firms in China.
Analysts, however, warned that China’s economy remains precarious because of the escalating trade tensions with the United States.
Higher open tipped for U.S. stock market
Wall Street is tipped to open modestly higher on Monday, buoyed by the better-than-expected Chinese manufacturing figures. At 5:16 p.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures were up 97 points, or about 0.36% to 26,893.
The S&P 500 futures rose 11.87 points, or around 0.4% to 2,975.62 while tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures were seen gaining 40.25 points, or roughly 0.52% to 7,741.50.
Google faces antitrust scrutiny over its new Internet protocol
Congressional antitrust investigators are reportedly looking to investigate whether Google’s plan to use a new Internet Protocol could give the tech giant an unfair competitive advantage over its rivals.
According to the Wall Street Journal, investigators for the House Judiciary Committee want to know how the company will use any data collected when it implements DNS-over-HTTPS in Chrome, in a move aimed at enhancing Internet privacy and security by encryption. The protocol is likely to deprive cable and wireless companies of access to precious DNS browsing data.
The Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) subsidiary plans to start testing the new protocol with about 1% of Chrome browser users in October, the paper said. Shares of Alphabet were up 0.47% to $1,231.72 in premarket trade on Monday.
Dova Pharmaceuticals agrees to be acquired by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum
Shares of Dova Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: DOVA) skyrocketed before the opening bell after the company agreed to be acquired by Swedish Orphan Biovitrum in a deal worth more than $900 million.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sobi will pay $27.50 per share in cash for Dova, plus an additional $1.50 per share if the FDA approves Doptelet for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia.
The upfront consideration of $27.50 per share represents a premium of 36% to the closing price of Dova shares on Friday. At the time of writing, shares of Dova were up 38.04% to $27.87.
