11:53 AM EDT, 09/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average were down slightly in late-morning trading Monday while the Nasdaq was edging higher as investors prepare to close out a winning month.

In company news, AT&T ( T ) reached an agreement to sell its remaining 70% ownership stake in DirecTV to TPG (TPG), the companies said Monday. The deal is expected to close in H2 2025, the companies said. Relatedly, DirecTV will acquire Dish TV and Sling TV from EchoStar ( SATS ) . DirecTV will pay a nominal consideration of $1 to buy Dish DBS and will assume about $9.75 billion of its debt. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2025, the companies said. Shares of AT&T ( T ), TPG and EchoStar ( SATS ) were down 0.1%, down 0.6% and down 12.1%, respectively.

The US Federal Trade Commission said Monday it has approved a proposed consent order prohibiting Chevron ( CVX ) from appointing Hess (HES) Chief Executive John Hess to its board as part of Chevron's ( CVX ) deal to acquire Hess. The Hess CEO allegedly communicated privately and publicly with officials from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, and Saudi Arabia, stressing the importance of oil market stability and inventory management, the FTC said. Should the Hess CEO be appointed to the Chevron ( CVX ) board, his messaging of market stability would be amplified, "increasing the likelihood that Chevron ( CVX ) could align its production with OPEC's output decisions to maintain higher oil prices," the FTC said. Shares of Chevron ( CVX ) and Hess were up 0.3% and up 0.8%, respectively.

The leadership of CVS Health ( CVS ) is facing a potential challenge from shareholder Glenview Capital, according to media reports. The hedge fund will meet with CVS officials, including Chief Executive Karen Lynch, to discuss proposed changes, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. CVS shares were up 1.9%.

JPMorgan Chase ( JPM ) shares fell in morning trading Monday after a Morgan Stanley analyst downgraded the bank to equal-weight from overweight in a note to clients. Betsy Graseck said in the note that she and her team "see more room for positive [net interest margin] surprises elsewhere in our coverage, model negative operating leverage next year and are taking some chips off the table after outperformance." JPMorgan ( JPM ) shares clawed back some of their early losses and were down 0.5% near noon.

Marsh & McLennan ( MMC ) said Monday it reached an agreement to buy McGriff Insurance Services for $7.75 billion. The deal is expected to close by the end of this year, pending regulatory approvals. Marsh & McLennan ( MMC ) shares were down 0.4%.

Verizon Communications ( VZ ) agreed on Monday to a $3.3 billion deal to give Vertical Bridge exclusive rights to lease, operate and manage thousands of its wireless communications towers across the US. The deal is structured as a prepaid lease with upfront proceeds of about $2.8 billion in cash, the companies said in a joint statement. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year. Verizon shares were up 0.3%.

Stellantis ( STLA ) said Monday it lowered its 2024 adjusted operating income margin forecast to between 5.5% and 7% from the previous double-digit guidance due to increased remediation efforts in North America and challenges in the global market. Shares of the automaker were down 13.7%.

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