Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) were both higher in Monday’s premarket driven by stronger oil prices, though there were other headlines for the former – including more on Friday’s shale takeover rumour and, more recently, the sacking of its shale head amidst allegations.
As crude oil rose by 3.7% to $87.74, Exxon was up 2.86 at $110.23 in early deals and Chevron was 2.3% higher at $166.
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) unveiled plans to buy Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRTX) (Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRTX)) in a deal that values the cancer drug developer at up to $5.8 billion.
This acquisition aims to diversify Bristol's cancer treatment offerings and mitigate anticipated revenue losses due to upcoming patent expirations.
Airlines Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) were notable losers in early deals, along with others in the sector, amid fears over international travel due to escalation of violence in the middle east and Israel. Like other airlines Delta and American has grounded flights on certain routes to the region.
Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) and RTX (NYSE:RTX), formerly Raytheon, were meanwhile trading higher amidst the heightened conflict with the defence sector stocks each rising 5%, to $420.50 and $72.90 respectively.
Lookheed was also supported by Frisday’s bolstered stock buyback, which was expanded with a further $6 billion added to the programme, and, at the same time its dividend was lifted to $3.15 (from $3.00).
Birkenstock Holding is expecting to price its initial public offering (IPO) at the top end of its range after garnering enough investor commitments to reach a US$10 billion valuation, reports revealed on Monday.
Listing at between US$44 and US$49 per share, the sandal company is expected to finalise its pricing on Tuesday, before the shares debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, according to Reuters. If listed at the top of the range, the German company could expect to raise as much as US$1.58 billion.
Management at The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) up 1.1% at $83.85, is under fresh pressure to grant board seats to Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Management after the activist investor amassed a $2.5 billion stake in the company, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
Trian has taken advantage of weakness in Disney’s share price this year to buy additional stock, taking its stake to more than 30 million shares from roughly 6.4 million at the end of March, the WSJ reported.