11:46 AM EST, 12/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- All three major US stock indexes were down slightly around midday Thursday as markets reopened after the Christmas break.

In company news, Nippon Steel said Thursday it extended the closing date for its pending takeover of United States Steel ( X ) to Q1 2025 from Q3 or Q4 2024. The Japanese steelmaker revised the bid terms after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US failed to agree on whether to approve the deal and referred it to President Joe Biden. Shares of US Steel were down 1%.

Starbucks ( SBUX ) employees returned to work Wednesday after a five-day strike in 43 states, closing hundreds of stores, Starbucks Workers United said. The union said the labor action was the biggest in the company's history and vowed in an Instagram post to "keep fighting until Starbucks ( SBUX ) presents workers with a serious economic proposal at the bargaining table." Starbucks ( SBUX ) shares were up 2%.

KKR (KKR) and Bain Capital have each offered over $5 billion in first-round bids for the non-core assets of Japan's Seven & i Holdings, Reuters reported Wednesday. KKR offered about 800 billion Japanese yen ($5.06 billion) for York Holdings, a Seven & i division set to be spun off, two sources reportedly told Reuters. Meanwhile, Bain offered about 1.2 trillion yen, another source said. KKR shares were down 0.5%.

Alibaba Group Holding ( BABA ) has agreed to merge its South Korean operations with E-Mart's e-commerce platform, Gmarket, media outlets reported Thursday. AliExpress International and Gmarket will form a 50-50 joint venture, and they plan to make further investments in the new company, Bloomberg News reported. Alibaba ( BABA ) shares were up nearly 1%.

Uber Technologies' ( UBER ) $950 million acquisition offer for Foodpanda's Taiwan delivery business has been blocked by the country's antitrust regulator, news outlets reported Thursday, citing a statement. Uber ( UBER ) shares were fractionally down.

Price: 31.61, Change: -0.36, Percent Change: -1.13