Nasdaq rebalance; Activision takeover ruling; BT CEO to go

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Nasdaq rebalance could boost these stocks

The Nasdaq 100 is up 37% year-to-date, largely on account of three companies who together comprise more than 30% of its value: Microsoft [MSFT], Apple [AAPL] and Nvidia [NVDA]. With Nasdaq last Friday announcing it will be rebalancing the index — only the third such adjustment in 52 years — Wells Fargo has shared its “top up-sizers” due to pop on the shift: Starbucks [SBUX], Mondelez [MDLZ] and Gilead Sciences [GILD] are among them. The new weightings will be announced 14 July and go into effect premarket on 24 July. Tech companies continue to reduce the size of their workforces

Activision jumps 10% on takeover ruling

Microsoft’s attempt to acquire Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard [ATVI] received a boost when a US judge rejected a plea from the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block the $69bn deal over competition concerns. Judge Scott Corley wrote in her decision that the FTC “has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation”. The ruling sent Activision’s shares up more than 10%.

BT CEO steps down on takeover rumours

BT Group [BT-A.L] CEO Philip Jansen has announced he will step down within the next year. The job was deemed “brutal” by his predecessor Gavin Patterson, who claimed his heart beat went “down five or six points” after he resigned. BT’s share price is down 19.5% in the past three months, after going up 38.8% since the start of the year. Deutsche Telekom [DTE.DE] is considering taking over the 177-year-old company.

Layoffs on the rise alongside share prices

Tech companies continue to reduce the size of their workforces, with 185,136 employees clearing their desks in the first four months of the year. Tech firms are keen to demonstrate that they have a handle on spending and can deliver sustainable growth despite high interest rates. Up to 28 April, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta — which cut 11,000 workers in November last year and a further 10,000 in March — added more than $1trn to their market caps year-to-date.

Nvidia in talks for Arm IPO

Nvidia might be one of the anchor investors when Arm IPOs, which could be as early as September, according to the Financial Times. Arm is hoping that Intel [INTC], another one of its partners, will also buy into a long-term stake when the UK chipmaker goes public. Elsewhere, Softbank’s [9434.T] telecom business is looking to list its mobile payments service PayPay in New York. The timeline is unknown, however, with Softbank emphasising the firm would first need to demonstrate its profitability.