11:58 AM EDT, 05/29/2024 (MT Newswires) -- All three major US stock indexes were down in mid-morning trading Wednesday as even artificial intelligence darling Nvidia (NVDA) was in the red as noon approached.

In policy news, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland said Wednesday it has named Beth Hammack as its next president and chief executive, effective Aug. 21. Hammack, who most recently served as cohead of global financing at Goldman Sachs ( GS ) , will succeed Loretta Mester, whose tenure ends June 30. Cleveland Fed First Vice President Mark Meder will serve as interim president and CEO until Hammack's start date. Hammack will become a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee upon taking office.

In company news, BHP Group ( BHP ) said it will not make a firm offer for Anglo American before Wednesday's 5 p.m. UK deadline after Anglo said earlier Wednesday that its board unanimously decided not to further extend the cutoff time, Bloomberg reported. Consequently, BHP will walk away from the negotiating table for at least six months. Shares of the company were up 0.2% around midday.

ConocoPhillips ( COP ) agreed to acquire Marathon Oil ( MRO ) in an all-stock deal worth about $22.5 billion, including $5.4 billion of debt. Under the terms of the deal, Marathon investors will receive 0.2550 COP shares for each share owned. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter. COP shares were down 3.9%, while those of Marathon were up 8.3%.

American Airlines ( AAL ) lowered its Q2 outlook late Tuesday and also announced its chief commercial officer will leave the company next month. American Airlines ( AAL ) now expects per-share adjusted earnings to be in a range of $1 to $1.15 for the quarter, down from its prior guidance of a range of $1.15 to $1.45, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Total revenue per available seat mile is now slated to decline by about 5% to 6% on a yearly basis. The carrier previously forecast the metric to be down about 1% to 3% in Q2. Cost per available seat mile, excluding fuel, is now expected to be in a range of flat to 1% versus previous expectations for a range of 1% to 3% increase. Shares of the company were down 14.7%.

Merck ( MRK ) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Eyebiotech, a privately held biotechnology company, for up to $3 billion, the companies announced Wednesday. Through its subsidiary, Merck ( MRK ) said it will make an upfront payment of $1.3 billion in cash and a further potential $1.7 billion in developmental, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. Merck ( MRK ) shares were down 0.2%.

Sony Group's ( SONY ) Sony Music is in talks, along with another invest, to acquire Queen's music catalog in a deal that could potentially total $1 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Shares of Sony ( SONY ) were down 1.2%.

Shell (SHEL) and Exxon Mobile (XOM) are nearing a deal to sell their jointly-owned gas fields in the North Sea to Viaro Energy for around $500 million, Reuters reported, citing three industry and banking sources. Shell shares were down 0.7%, while those of Exxon were down 1.5%.

Goldman Sachs ( GS ) has raised $21 billion for the latest version of its private credit fund, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The bank recently closed the latest version of the direct-lending Loan Partners fund series, which began in 2008. Goldman raised $13.1 billion of equity capital as well as long-term financing and funds from its own balance sheet, according to the report. Shares of Goldman Sachs ( GS ) were down 0.9%.

Boeing ( BA ) and the union representing the company's firefighters have reached a tentative agreement, the International Association of Fire Fighters said Tuesday. Shares of Boeing ( BA ) were down 0.7%.

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