QCOM QUALCOMM Inc

By Francesca Fontana 

Nvidia Corp.

Chip makers are holding out hope for a trade deal. Semiconductor stock Nvidia was among the day's top gainers Thursday after the U.S. and China said they would hold talks in Washington in October. The impending talks have rekindled hopes for progress after the two countries recently escalated tensions with fresh tariffs. Nvidia shares gained 6.5% Thursday, while peers Micron Technology Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. gained 4.7% and 2.5%, respectively.

Alphabet Inc.

Alphabet-owned YouTube agreed to pay a $170 million fine to U.S. authorities investigating alleged abuses of children's privacy on the widely viewed video platform. The Federal Trade Commission and the New York state attorney general announced the penalty Wednesday after a yearlong investigation. The probe was a response to complaints from consumer groups that YouTube illegally collected data on children to sell ads for products such as Barbie dolls and Play-Doh. The FTC said YouTube tracked internet activity for children under age 13, with the goal of keeping viewership high. Alphabet shares added 1.1% Wednesday.

Tapestry Inc.

Tapestry has a new leader. The handbag company that combined the Coach and Kate Spade brands ousted Victor Luis, who has been chief executive for five years, on Wednesday and said he would be succeeded by board Chairman Jide Zeitlin. Since Coach acquired Kate Spade & Co. and changed its name to Tapestry in 2017, the Kate Spade brand has struggled. Mr. Zeitlin, who will remain board chairman, said he wasn't planning any management changes at Kate Spade or elsewhere in the company. Mr. Zeitlin is a former Goldman Sachs executive who has been on the board since 2006. Tapestry shares gained 5.1% Wednesday.

CVS Health Corp.

Almost a year after the deal closed, the CVS-Aetna merger is finally official. A federal judge approved a Justice Department settlement late Wednesday that allowed CVS to acquire Aetna for nearly $70 billion. While the deal closed last November, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon has spent months questioning whether the settlement did enough to protect competition and consumers. On Wednesday, he said the health-care markets at issue in the case "are not only very competitive today, but are likely to remain so post-merger." CVS Health shares gained 1.8% Thursday.

Match Group Inc.

Investors are swiping left on Match Group. The stock fell 4.6% Thursday after Facebook Inc. announced it is launching a dating feature in the U.S., a competitor to Match's dating websites and apps. Facebook users over the age of 18 can opt in to Facebook Dating and create dating profiles that helps them find people with common interests, events and groups. The dating profiles will be separate from the users' main profile. The Facebook feature is already available in 19 other countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore and Thailand.

Kroger Co.

The largest U.S. supermarket chain is jumping on the meatless train. Kroger shares gained 0.7% after the company said Thursday it will roll out plant-based burger patties, grinds and other products. The announcement comes amid rising consumer interest in new meat replacements that have been added to menus at big fast-food chains and other restaurants. Kroger -- which also sells Beyond Meat Inc.'s meat-replacement products -- will put its own plant-based deli slices, sausages and other products on shelves at 1,800 of its 2,800 stores this fall. The company said those products will be priced below the offerings from Beyond Meat but wouldn't say by how much.

Fannie Mae

The Trump administration said late Thursday that it would support privatizing mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and said it wanted to curtail the firms' roles in housing finance. Left unresolved were several key questions, such as what to do with the government's large stakes in the firms, how to build up their capital so they can operate as private companies again and how to shrink Fannie and Freddie's footprint in housing. The two companies guarantee about half of the U.S. mortgage market. The process could take years. The lack of specifics and the murky timeline sent shares of Fannie Mae down 8.8% Friday, while Freddie Mac fell 8.2%.

Write to Francesca Fontana at francesca.fontana@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 06, 2019 17:37 ET (21:37 GMT)

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