12:10 PM EDT, 08/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up around midday Monday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were down, as investors looked to looming Federal Reserve rate cuts on the horizon.

In company news, PDD Holdings ( PDD ) reported Q2 non-GAAP earnings Monday of 23.24 Chinese renminbi ($3.20) per diluted American depositary share, up from 10.47 renminbi a year earlier and above the Capital IQ consensus analyst estimate of 20.02 renminbi. Second-quarter revenue was 97.06 billion renminbi, up from 52.28 billion renminbi a year ago but below the Capital IQ consensus estimate of 100.1 million renminbi. Looking ahead, revenue growth is expected to face ongoing pressure from "intensified competition and external challenges," co-Chief Executive Lei Chen said in a statement. PDD shares were down past 31% around noon.

Elliott Investment Management said Monday that intends to meet with Southwest Airlines ( LUV ) representatives on Sept. 9 to discuss leadership changes. The hedge fund said it is urging the company to adopt new outside leadership and preparing for a proxy fight if necessary. Also on Monday, Elliott raised its equity stake in Southwest ( LUV ) to 9.7%, according to a regulatory filing. An investor with a 10% stake can call a special shareholder meeting to vote on directors. Southwest ( LUV ) shares were down 0.2%.

McKesson (MCK) said Monday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Community Oncology Revitalization Enterprise Ventures, also known as Core Ventures, a business and administrative services organization established by the Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute. McKesson will spend about $2.49 billion in cash to acquire about 70% ownership in the organization. Following completion of the deal, Core Ventures will be part of the oncology platform, and its financial results will be reported within McKesson's US pharmaceutical segment, the company said. McKesson shares were down 0.6%.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, said Saturday that it will return Boeing's ( BA ) Starliner spacecraft back to Earth without astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. NASA and Boeing ( BA ) identified helium leaks and experienced issues with Starliner's reaction control thrusters as it approached the International Space Station in June, NASA said. While a "significant amount of work" has been completed on the spacecraft since, "uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence" means the spacecraft does not meet its human spaceflight requirements, NASA said. The space agency has opted instead to return the astronauts via SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which will launch no sooner than Sept. 24. Boeing ( BA ) shares were down nearly 1%.

Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) expects oil demand to plateau after 2030 but remain above 100 million barrels per day through 2050, the company said Monday in its 2024 global outlook presentation. Global oil production needs to be reduced to 24 million barrels per day from approximately 90 million barrels per day in 2020 to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions, according to the International Energy Agency. Exxon also said that if every new car sold in the world in 2035 is electric, oil demand will still be about 85 million barrels per day by 2050, the same as it was in 2010. Exxon Mobil ( XOM ) shares were up 1%.

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