MARKET WRAPS
STOCKS: Stocks rose as traders awaited confirmation of a ceasefire extension between the U.S. and Iran.
TREASURYS: Treasury yields were mostly lower as traders weighed mixed economic data and developments in the Middle East.
FOREX: The U.S. dollar slipped against rivals as inflation concerns subsided.
COMMODITIES: Oil futures fell, completing their biggest monthly net decline in New York since March 2020.
HEADLINES
Universal Music Group Rejects $65 Billion Buyout Offer From Bill Ackman
Universal Music Group rejected Bill Ackman-led Pershing Square Capital's bid to buy the world's largest music company for about $65 billion Friday, after Universal's largest shareholder voiced opposition.
UMG's board of directors assessed Pershing Square's unsolicited offer and found that it "fundamentally and materially undervalues UMG and will not deliver superior value creation."
"UMG has built an unrivalled position in the music industry through clear vision and execution," said board Chairman Sherry Lansing in a statement, adding that the board has "full confidence" in Chief Executive Lucian Grainge and his team.
Trump Administration Wants Autos Under USMCA to Be at Least 50% Made in America
The Trump administration is expected to propose a change to the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement that would require half of the components and materials in an automobile to come from U.S. sources in order to qualify for lower tariffs under the pact, according to people familiar with the plans.
The rule would greatly increase the amount of U.S. content required in cars made under the so-called USMCA, measured by the dollar value of the components. The pact currently requires three-quarters of a vehicle's materials to come from North American sources, but has no U.S.-specific content requirement.
The new proposal was prepared ahead of negotiations over how to restructure the USMCA, which President Trump signed in 2020 and is up for review this year, according to the people familiar with planning. A U.S. delegation is in Mexico City this week for a first round of formal discussions on the pact with the Mexican government.
Chicago Business Activity Surges in May
Business activity in the Chicago area accelerated well past expectations this month, a monthly survey showed Friday.
The Chicago Business Barometer, compiled by MNI Indicators, rose to 62.7 in May from 49.2, a level of contraction in April. The barometer is now at its highest since January 2022, the survey said.
Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected a reading of 50.8. A measurement above 50 indicates an expansion in activity.
CVC to Buy IFF's Food-Ingredients Unit in $4.3 Billion Deal
International Flavors & Fragrances has agreed to sell its food-ingredients business to buyout firm CVC Capital Partners in a deal that values the division at $4.3 billion including debt.
IFF said Friday that it will retain a 10% stake in the division, partly to ensure continued cooperation between the company and the food-ingredients business. The stake will also allow IFF shareholders to benefit from any increase in the division's value under CVC's ownership, the company said.
Kalshi Launches First Perpetual Futures in the U.S.
Kalshi has launched the country's first perpetual futures contracts, which will give U.S. investors access to crypto trading on the prediction market's platform.
The company said Friday that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has given its blessing for Kalshi to offer perpetuals, a type of crypto-native futures contract that doesn't expire and allows investors to bet on whether the price of an asset will go up or down.
Perpetuals trading overseas has grown to over $90 trillion in volume last year from $28 trillion in 2023, according to Kalshi. The market was previously closed off to U.S. institutions.
UnitedHealth to Reduce Pediatric Prior Authorizations
UnitedHealth Group plans to stop requiring doctors to get approvals for an array of pediatric procedures, tests and services, further cutting back on a process that has long been detested by physicians and patients.
UnitedHealth, parent of the biggest U.S. health insurer, on Friday said that the changes will eliminate roughly two-thirds of prior-authorization requirements for members under the age of 18 by the end of the year.
UnitedHealthcare said it will stop requiring signoffs for many diagnostic services, routine surgical procedures and specialty care services across pediatric subspecialties such as cardiology, neurology, pulmonology and orthopedics.
Replimune Gets Third Try at FDA Approval After Makary Departure
Replimune Group said Friday it has reached an agreement with the Food and Drug Administration on a path to resubmit its application for its experimental treatment for advanced melanoma.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Replimune would submit new clinical data or additional analyses of existing trial results to help secure approval.
The company plans to resubmit the application in the coming days, the company said. Replimune shares were up more than 70% in premarket trading.
SpaceX Gets $4.16 Billion Contract From U.S. Space Force to Target, Track Airborne Threats
SpaceX was awarded a $4.16 billion contract by the U.S. Space Force to develop a space-based program to track and target airborne threats.
The contract with Elon Musk's aerospace company is designed to accelerate the delivery of a space-based sensing layer as part of the Space-Based Airborne Moving Target Indicator program, Space Force's Space Systems Command said Friday.
The program incorporates space-based sensors, secure communication links and ground processing. The Pentagon is currently at work on a shield system known as Golden Dome, a complex network of satellites and other technologies to shoot down missiles.
TALKING POINT You Won the Battle on Investment Fees. You're Losing the War Against Taxes.
Investing can cost almost nothing nowadays-until Uncle Sam comes calling.
In an index fund, you can own the entire stock market for no more than 0.03% annually, or $3 on a $10,000 investment-a figure so low it would have sounded absurd as recently as 20 years ago. At the same time, taxes could be eating up at least a third of the wealth your investments generate.
When people consider any investment, they tend to look first at performance, then (maybe) at fees and last (if at all) at taxes. That makes no sense.
With fund fees approaching zero, taxes matter more than anything else. Your biggest unfinished task is to figure out how to get Uncle Sam's mitts off your money.
Consider these numbers: Between 1926 and the end of 2025, the total U.S. stock market returned an annualized average of almost 10.5%. After tax, however, that return drops to 7%.
Since the 1980s, federal tax rates have fallen. But taxes still hacked away between 1.6 and 1.8 percentage points of the market's roughly 10% annual performance-more than one-sixth of the total return! For most investors, no other cost comes close.
These figures come from new research by Andrew Ang, formerly a managing director at BlackRock. He assumed you bought and held a total stock-market index fund for 30-year periods starting in 1926 and paid federal taxes at the rates that applied in each of those years.
--Jason Zweig
Expected Major Events for Monday
00:30/JPN: May Japan Manufacturing PMI
05:00/JPN: May Auto sales
06:00/GER: Apr Retail Trade
06:00/UK: May Nationwide House Price Index
06:00/RUS: May Russian Manufacturing PMI
06:45/FRA: Apr Housing starts
07:45/ITA: May Italy Manufacturing PMI
07:50/FRA: May France Manufacturing PMI
07:55/GER: May Germany Manufacturing PMI
08:30/UK: May S&P Global UK Manufacturing PMI
13:30/CAN: May Canada Manufacturing PMI
13:45/US: May US Manufacturing PMI
14:00/US: May ISM Report On Business Manufacturing PMI
14:00/US: Apr Construction Spending - Construction Put in Place
15:00/US: May Global Manufacturing PMI
23:50/JPN: May Monetary Base
All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.
Expected Earnings for Monday
Aberdeen International Inc (AAB.T,AABVF) is expected to report for 1Q.
Credo Technology Group Holding Ltd (CRDO) is expected to report $0.78 for 4Q.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co $(HPE)$ is expected to report $0.15 for 2Q.
Lyra Therapeutics Inc $(LYRA)$ is expected to report for 1Q.
Science Applications International Corp $(SAIC)$ is expected to report $1.70 for 1Q.
Uranium Energy Corp (UEC) is expected to report for 3Q.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 29, 2026 16:45 ET (20:45 GMT)
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