Markets poised to open in the green
U.S. stocks are expected to open slightly higher on Friday after President Donald Trump said Thursday that stimulus talks with Democratic leaders have turned productive, just days after he ordered his representatives to walk away from the talks.
“I shut down talks two days ago because they weren’t working out. Now they are starting to work out,” the president said in an interview with Fox Business.
His comments helped to fuel optimism that Democrats and Republicans will deliver another coronavirus relief package following weeks of uncertainty. Earlier in the day, the Labor Department published a report showing that 840,000 workers filed for first-time unemployment claims last week, slightly down from 849,000 the prior week.
As of 5:30 a.m.ET, futures tied to the blue-chip Dow were indicated 95 points, or 0.34% to 28,405. The S&P 500 futures jumped 12.88 points, or 0.37% to 3,450.38 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 35.12 points, or 0.3% to 11,574.12.
AMD reportedly in advanced talks to buy Xilinx for more than $30 billion
Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) is reportedly in “advanced talks” to buy Xilinx (NASDAQ:XLNX) in a deal that could be valued at more than $30 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The newspaper, citing people familiar with the matter, reported late Thursday that talks between the two chipmakers have resumed after a recent pause, so it is not clear whether they will result in a successful acquisition. However, a decision could be announced as early as next week.
If the deal goes through, it would give AMD more products needed to compete with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) reprogrammable chip solutions in the data center as well as other markets.
Xilinx shares surged $18.01, or 16.99% to $124 apiece in the pre-market trading session Friday. AMD stock dropped $4.30, or 4.97% to $82.21 a share.
DOJ appeals injunction against TikTok ban
The Department of Justice has appealed a decision to prevent the Trump administration from enforcing its ban on TikTok. DOJ attorneys said in a filing to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit they were appealing the September 27 preliminary injunction.
The decision to appeal the injunction, which delayed the viral video app owned by the Chinese company ByteDance from being banned in U.S. app stores, further escalates the fight between the Trump administration and ByteDance.
The administration is trying to bar Americans from downloading the app on the grounds that Beijing could obtain their personal data, posing a security threat.
