Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading: Drugmakers — Pharmaceutical stocks bounced back from earlier losses after an executive order aimed at bringing down drug prices was deemed not as bad as feared for the industry. Merck jumped 5.9%, while Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb each added more than 3%. Eli Lilly all rose about 2.9%. However, pharmacy chain CVS Health tumbled 3.2% as part of the order called for a platform that allowed Americans to buy products directly from manufacturers. Tech stocks — Shares of megacap technology companies saw a broad rally on Monday after the U.S. and China agreed to suspend most tariffs on each other’s goods. Shares of Tesla and Amazon , which have both seen declining China sales, rose 6.8% and 8.1%, respectively. Apple , which makes the majority of its iPhones in China, gained 6.3%. Meta Platforms jumped roughly 8%. Semiconductor stocks Nvidia , Broadcom and ON Semiconductor also rose. Chegg — Shares popped 7.5% on Monday after the educational technology company said it would lay off 22% of its workforce . The cuts come as the company contends with declining web traffic as students favor artificial intelligence tools when utilizing education tech services. China stocks — U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies moved higher on the heels of the tariff agreement between the U.S. and China. Shares of e-commerce giants PDD Holdings and Alibaba rose 6.1% and 5.8%, respectively, and fellow e-commerce name JD.com also jumped about 6.5%. Tech giant Baidu also surged about 5.1%. KindlyMD — The health-care company surged about 251% on news that it is merging with Nakamoto , a bitcoin investment company founded by David Bailey, who is a key cryptocurrency advisor to President Donald Trump. Retail stocks — Retailers sensitive to tariffs on Chinese imports jumped after the U.S. and China came to a temporary agreement to slash levies. Five Below and RH both soared about 21% and 16%, respectively, while Nike , Estée Lauder and Best Buy rose about 7%. Shares of Lululemon and Williams-Sonoma gained about 8%, while E.l.f Beauty jumped about 10.8%. NRG Energy — Shares of the energy company popped about 26% after the company announced on Monday that it will acquire a power portfolio from LS Power for $12 billion. The deal for the portfolio, which includes several natural gas generation facilities across nine states, is expected to close in the first quarter of next year. Las Vegas Sands , Wynn Resorts — Casino stocks surged on Monday, outpacing the broader markets, after the U.S. and China announced a 90-day pause on most of the tariffs between the two countries. Shares of Las Vegas Sands rose 6.5%, while Wynn Resorts jumped 8.2%. Both companies have significant exposure to the Chinese economy through their properties in Macao. — CNBC’s Alex Harring, Sean Conlon, Jesse Pound and Michelle Fox contributed reporting.
