12:01 PM EDT, 06/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- All three major US stock indexes were up in late-morning trading after new private payroll data from ADP showed that hiring in May came in far below consensus expectations.

In company news, Boeing's ( BA ) Starliner on Wednesday lifted off with astronauts aboard for the first time. The flight, which is headed to the International Space Station, is ongoing. Shares of the company were down 0.1% near noon.

The National Basketball Association is closing in on television deals with Comcast's ( CMCSA ) NBC, Disney's ( DIS ) ESPN ( DIS ), and Amazon.com ( AMZN ) that would bring in roughly $76 billion in media revenue over 11 years, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the discussions. NBC is expected to pay $2.5 billion annually for roughly 100 games per season, with half airing on its Peacock streaming service. Amazon's ( AMZN ) $1.8 billion-per-year deal would cover regular-season and playoff games, the new in-season tournament, and the "play-in" games, the report said. It would also have a share of the conference finals, according to the report. Disney's ( DIS ) deal, which would have an average cost of $2.6 billion a year, will allow ESPN ( DIS ) to retain NBA Finals coverage as well as stream games on its new service starting in 2025, though with fewer games than its current contract, the people reportedly told The WSJ. Shares of Comcast ( CMCSA ) and Disney ( DIS ) were down 0.3% and 1.5%, while Amazon ( AMZN ) shares were up 0.8%.

The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday struck down the US Securities and Exchange Commission's rules mandating that hedge funds and private equity firms disclose quarterly fees and expenses to investors, according to media reports. The court, in support of the private funds industry's stance, said that the agency exceeded its jurisdiction and that regulations were unnecessary for the "highly sophisticated" investors who invest in private funds, Bloomberg reported.

Alphabet (GOOG) announced the appointment of Anat Ashkenazi as the new chief financial officer and senior vice president of Alphabet and Google LLC, effective July 31, according to a regulatory filing. Ashkenazi previously served as CFO and executive vice president for Eli Lilly (LLY), according to the filing. Shares of Alphabet were up 0.3%.

HanesBrands ( HBI ) said Wednesday it agreed to sell certain operating assets and the intellectual property of its global Champion business to Authentic Brands Group in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. The deal value could reach up to $1.5 billion via additional cash considerations of up to $300 million subject to the achievement of performance thresholds, Hanes said. The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year. Shares of Hanes were up 5%.

Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) lowered its full-year earnings outlook on Wednesday due to costs stemming from tornado damage to its distribution center in Oklahoma, and the company also announced it's considering selling its Family Dollar segment. Shares of Dollar Tree ( DLTR ) were down 4.4%.

Deere (DE) will cut an unspecified number of production and salaried positions to "meet its strategic priorities while reducing overlap and redundancy in roles and responsibilities," the company said in a Wednesday regulatory filing. The layoffs are expected to take place in the company's fiscal Q3, according to the filing. Deere shares were up 0.1%.

SAP SE ( SAP ) said Wednesday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WalkMe Ltd. (WKME), a digital adoption platform company, for an equity value of about $1.5 billion. The executive and supervisory boards of SAP and the board of directors of WalkMe have approved the all-cash transaction at $14 per share. SAP shares were up 1.3%.

The European Central Bank is reviewing the risk management strategies of the continent's biggest banks in their lending to private equity firms, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The review may result in the central bank demanding that bans increase provisions for potential loan losses or hold more capital, the sources reportedly told Bloomberg.

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