Toplines Before US Market Open on Monday

• Stock futures pointed to a sharply higher open Monday morning.
• Apple’s App Store goes on trial in threat to so-called walled garden.
• Verizon is considering selling the remnants of AOL and Yahoo.
• Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket: Estee Lauder, Meredith Corp., DraftKings & more.

(May 3) U.S. stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade after the Dow Jones dipped 185 points in the previous session. However, Wall Street recorded gains for the month of April.

At 7:52 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 211 points, or 0.65%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 23.25 points, or 0.56% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 45.75 points, or 0.33%.

The 30-stock average dropped 185 points, or 0.5%, on Friday but still closed out April with a monthly gain of 2.7%. TheS&P 500andNasdaqfared worse than theDowon Friday but each turned intomore than 5% gainsfor all of April. The Wall Street adage, "sell in May, go away," does not appear to be materializing Monday, but it's a historic trend investors will be watching as May plays out. Stocks tied to the economic comeback from Covid were higher in the premarket, includingNorwegian Cruise LineandCarnivaland the major U.S. airlines.

Most of the Blockchain stocks rose.

GameStop stock rises after eliminating its long-term debt. Shares of GameStop Corp. $(GME)$ rose nearly 2.0% in premarket trading Monday, after the videogame and consumer electronics retailer said Monday it has effectively eliminated its long-term debt. The company said it completed its voluntary early redemption of $216.4 million of its 10.0% senior notes due 2023. The voluntary redemption covered all of the outstanding 10.0% notes, which represented all of its long-term debt. The stock had rallied 14.8% last week but lost 8.6% for the month of April. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 5.2% in April.

Stocks making the biggest moves in the premarket:

1) Estee Lauder(EL) – The cosmetics maker reported quarterly earnings of $1.62 per share, 30 cents a share above estimates. Revenue came in slightly below forecasts, however, as sales of Estee Lauder’s higher-end products were impacted by people continuing to work from home. Estee Lauder’s shares lost 3.5% in premarket trading.

2) Meredith Corp.(MDP) – Meredith surged 11.5% in premarket action following a Bloomberg report that it is in advanced talks to sell its 17 local TV stations toGray Television(GTN) for an estimated $2.5 billion. People familiar with the matter say a deal could be announced as soon as this week.

3) DraftKings(DKNG) – The sports betting firm was upgraded to "outperform" from "market perform" at Cowen, which points to a "robust" path to legalization for the industry and upbeat prospects for both growth and increases in market share. The stock rose 1.5% in premarket trading.

4) Verizon(VZ) – Verizonis close to a dealto sell media assets like AOL and Yahoo toApollo Global Management(APO), according to multiple reports. The transaction is said to be worth as much as $5 billion and could be announced as soon as today.

5) Berkshire Hathaway(BRK.B) – Berkshire shares added 1% in the premarket and is set to hit a record high in today’s trading followingits annual meeting over the weekend. CEO Warren Buffett said Berkshire’s earnings are rebounding from the effects of the pandemic, and the company is also extending its stock buybacks by an additional $6.6 billion.

6) Moderna(MRNA) – The drugmaker’s shares jumped 2.9% in premarket action after it struck a deal to provide 500 million Covid-19 vaccine dosesto low- and middle-income countriesthrough a United Nations-backed program.

7) Canadian Pacific Railway(CP) – Canadian Pacific filed an objection to a ruling which exempts rivalCanadian National Railway(CNI) from tougher merger rules based on its smaller size. The objection stems from Canadian National’s attempt to outbid Canadian Pacific in their quest to buy U.S. rail operatorKansas City Southern(KSU).

8) Dell(DELL) – Dell announced the sale of its Boomi cloud business to private equity firms TPG and Francisco Partners for $4 billion including debt.

9) Align Technology(ALGN) – The company behind the Invisalign dental braces announced a $100 million accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs. The transaction will complete the $600 million repurchase program announced by Align in May 2018.

10) Li Auto(LI),Nio(NIO),XPeng(XPEV) – The China-based electric vehicle makers announced their April delivery figures, with Li Auto deliveries up 111% vs. a year ago, Nio up 125%, and XPeng up 285%. Li Auto rose 2.3% in the premarket, while XPeng gained 1.2%.

11) Novartis(NVS) – The Swiss drugmaker’s Sandoz division began enrollment in a late-stage trial of a biosimilar version ofRegeneron’s(REGN) Eylea, designed to treat age-related macular degeneration. Novartis gained 1% in the premarket.

12) Tilray(TLRY) – The Canada-based cannabis producer saw its shares rise 1% in premarket trading after it announced it has completed its merger with rival Aphria.

Big News

1、When Warren Buffett is no longer Berkshire CEO, Greg Abel will succeed him

Berkshire Hathaway'sCharlie Mungerinadvertently revealed who would succeedWarren Buffettas CEO. In response to a question on Saturday about whether the company would eventually be too complex to manage, the 97-year-old Berkshire vice chairman said: "Greg will keep the culture."CNBC confirms it would be Vice Chairman Greg Abel. "If, heaven forbid, anything happened to Greg tonight then it would be [Vice Chairman Ajit Jain]," Buffett, 90, told CNBC'sBecky Quickafter this weekend’s annual Berkshire shareholders meeting. Abel, 59, and Jain, 69, had been seen as being in the running for the top job since they were promoted to vice chairmen of the company in 2018. Buffett told CNBC that age was a determining factor for the board. “They’re both wonderful guys. The likelihood of someone having a 20-year runway though makes a real difference.”

2、Apple’s App Store goes on trial in threat to so-called walled garden

Apple faces the start of one of its most serious legal threats in recent years. A federal court case,going to trial Monday, was brought by Epic Games, maker of the popular video game Fortnite. Epic wants to topple the so-called walled garden of Apple App Store. Privately held Epic charges that the $2.2 trillion market cap Apple has transformed a once-tiny digital storefront into an illegal monopoly. Apple takes a commission of 15% to 30% on purchases made within apps. Apple denies Epic’s claims.

3、 Verizon is considering selling the remnants of AOL and Yahoo

Verizonwill sell its media group to private equity firm Apollo Global Management for $5 billion,the companies announced Monday. The sale allows Verizon to offload properties from the former internet empires of AOL and Yahoo. Verizon will keep a 10% stake in the assets, which will be rebranded to just Yahoo. Verizon bought AOL in 2015 for $4.4 billion and Yahoo in 2017 for $4.5 billion. The sale by Verizon will see the online media brands under the former Yahoo and AOL umbrellas — such as  TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and Engadget — go to Apollo.