12:30 PM EDT, 06/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The top three major US stock indexes were down at midday, while a technical issue with industrywide price bands on the New York Stock Exchange Monday morning triggered halts on several stocks. The price bands issue has been resolved and impacted stocks have since reopened or are in the process of reopening, NYSE Equities said in a statement at 11:08 a.m. ET.

In company news, Waste Management (WM) agreed to acquire medical waste disposal company Stericycle ( SRCL ) in a $7.2 billion deal, including $1.4 billion in debt. Stericycle ( SRCL ) investors will receive $62 per share in cash, a 24% premium to Stericycle's ( SRCL ) 60-day volume-weighted average price as of May 23. The transaction is expected to be completed as early as Q4. Waste Management shares were down more than 4%, while those of Stericycle ( SRCL ) were up 15%.

Paramount Global ( PARAA ) and Skydance have agreed to the terms of a merger that is expected to be announced in the coming days, CNBC reported Monday. The proposed deal is awaiting a response from Shari Redstone, Paramount's controlling shareholder. Redstone is set to receive $2 billion from the deal for National Amusements. Paramount shares were up 7%.

GameStop ( GME ) shares soared before the opening bell Monday and were up 24% at midday, after trader Keith Gill posted on his "Roaring Kitty" Reddit account a screenshot showing that he bought 5 million shares at $21.27 each for a total value of $115.7 million. Gill, the person behind the 2021 meme stock craze, returned to social media in the week of May 13. His reappearance triggered a fresh demand frenzy for meme stocks.

Spotify ( SPOT ) announced plans to raise its premium subscription prices for the second time in about 12 months. The company's individual plan was raised by a dollar to $11.99 after the company raised the price to $10.99 in July 2023. The new price will be reflected in US subscriber bills beginning next month, according to Spotify ( SPOT ). The price was raised to $16.99 from $14.99 for Premium Duo and to $19.99 from $16.99 for the family plan. Spotify ( SPOT ) shares were up nearly 5%.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) Chief Executive Jensen Huang said Sunday the company's next-generation artificial intelligence chip platform Rubin will be introduced in 2026, according to media reports. Rubin will include new Versa graphics and central processing units as well as networking chips, Reuters reported. Huang said the company plans to release a new AI chip platform annually, CNBC reported. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares were up 3%.

GSK (GSK) will face trials over allegations that its heartburn medicine, Zantac, causes cancer, a Delaware court ruled Friday. The company said it will immediately seek an appeal. Shares were down 9%.

MicroStrategy ( MSTR ) and its co-founder and chairman, Michael Saylor, agreed to pay $40 million to settle a tax fraud suit brought by the Washington, D.C. attorney general, according to media reports. The lawsuit alleged that Saylor knowingly evaded more than $25 million in income taxes by claiming to be a resident of lower tax states like Virginia and Florida despite living in Washington, D.C. for more than a decade, according to a CNBC report. MSTR shares were up 5%.

Tesla (TSLA) on Monday defended Chief Executive Elon Musk's proposed pay raise following objections raised by top proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services. In a regulatory filing, Tesla emphasized that Musk met the challenging targets of the 2018 CEO Performance Award in under six years. Tesla shares were down nearly 1%.

Suntory, the Japanese company that owns Jim Beam, over the weekend denied reports that it was having talks to acquire Boston Beer ( SAM ) , the maker of Samuel Adams, according to media reports. Boston Beer ( SAM ) shares were down 4.1%.

Price: 201.65, Change: -9.08, Percent Change: -4.31