12:03 PM EST, 12/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were both up in midday trading Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was about flat, as the latest round of consumer price index data largely matched economists' expectations.

The seasonally adjusted CPI rose by 0.3% in November, as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg as of 7:30 a.m. ET, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose by 0.3%, as expected and the same as in October.

In company news, Albertsons ( ACI ) said Wednesday it terminated its merger agreement with Kroger ( KR ) and filed a lawsuit against the company for allegedly breaching the agreement after a federal judge in Oregon blocked the deal on Tuesday. Albertsons ( ACI ) said it is seeking billions of dollars in damages from Kroger ( KR ) and is entitled to an "immediate" $600 million termination fee. The grocer also said that its board intends to raise its quarterly cash dividend to $0.15 from $0.12 per share, expected to take effect starting with the next quarterly dividend declaration. Its board also approved a stock buyback program of up to $2 billion, including the existing authorization, Albertsons ( ACI ) said. Shares of Albertsons ( ACI ) were down 0.9% at noon, while those of Kroger ( KR ) were up 1.2%.

Macy's (M) lowered its full-year earnings outlook on Wednesday after it completed its investigation into an accounting issue that delayed the release of its complete fiscal Q3 results. The company found that a single employee hid about $151 million of cumulative delivery expenses from Q4 2021 through Q3 2024. Following the completion of its probe, Macy's determined that there was no material impact on any of its past or current reporting periods, but it revised its financial statements to reflect the impact of the delivery expense misstatement. The company now expects adjusted earnings to be between $2.25 and $2.50 per share for fiscal 2024, down from its previous expectation of $2.34 to $2.69, which was adjusted for the delivery expense. In August, Macy's said it expected adjusted EPS between $2.55 and $2.90 for the full year. Sales are now expected to be between $22.3 billion and $22.5 billion for the fiscal year, compared to the previous forecast of $22.1 billion to $22.4 billion. Shares of Macy's were down 5.9%.

President Joe Biden will wait to see the results of an ongoing national security review of Nippon Steel's bid to acquire US Steel (X) before deciding whether to block it, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing a statement from the White House. Biden still opposes the deal, Reuters reported, citing a White House spokesperson. US Steel shares were up 2.2%.

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the writ of certiorari as "improvidently granted" for Nvidia's ( NVDA ) appeal of a lower court's ruling that allowed a 2018 class action alleging securities fraud to proceed. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares were up 2.4%.

Hershey Trust, which holds about 80% of the voting power at Hershey (HSY), rejected a preliminary takeover offer from Mondelez International ( MDLZ ) because the bid was too low, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. Hershey shares were down 2.8%, while those of Mondelez ( MDLZ ) were up 2.9%.

Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) said Wednesday it is looking to raise capital spending next year, with plans to invest $27 billion to $29 billion, followed by an increase to between $28 billion and $33 billion annually through 2030. The energy giant is aiming to generate an additional $20 billion in earnings potential and $30 billion in cash flow over the next six years, it said. Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) shares were down about 1%.

Patterson (PDCO) agreed to be acquired and taken private by health care investment firm Patient Square Capital in a deal worth $4.1 billion, including the refinancing of the dental and animal health equipment distributor's receivable facilities. Patterson shares jumped past 34%.

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