(Updated with index futures, Merck and Chinese tech groups)
PARIS, December 23 (Reuters) – Top stocks to watch Thursday on Wall Street where futures on major indexes suggest an open up around 0.3% for the Dow Jones and the Standard & Poor’s 500, while that the Nasdaq could gain 0.2%:
* NOVAVAX – The U.S. lab said on Wednesday that preliminary data showed its COVID-19 vaccine triggered an immune response against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
* MERCK & CO – The Philippines on Thursday approved the US laboratory’s COVID-19 antiviral treatment for adults at risk of developing severe forms of the disease.
* INTEL – The US semiconductor maker apologized to its customers, partners and the Chinese public on Thursday after a letter was published asking its suppliers not to source products or labor works in the western region of Xinjiang.
* TESLA – Credit Suisse expects the automaker to deliver 290,000 vehicles in the fourth quarter against a consensus of 267,000 units. Tesla shares rise slightly on the pre-stock market.
* JD.COM, WALMART – Chinese video game and social media group Tencent announced on Thursday that it will pay its shareholders a dividend of $ 16.4 billion (14.4 billion euros), constituting the essential part of its stake in JD.com, a Chinese e-commerce company. At the end of this transaction, Tencent’s stake in JD.com will drop from 17% to 2.3%, making Walmart now the main shareholder of the Chinese e-commerce group. JD.com shares fell 8.3% pre-market.
* Chinese technology groups listed on Wall Street ALIBABA, WEIBO, BAIDU and PINDUODUO fell 0.7% to 2.8% on the pre-market. A Chinese consumer protection organization summoned these four platforms for broadcasting live content deemed illegal during Singles’ Day, a period marked by major promotions.
* TWITTER – A Russian court announced Thursday that it had imposed a new fine on Twitter of three million rubles (36,161 euros) for not removing content deemed illegal.
* EXXON – The oil group has reported a fire at its site in Baytown, Texas, which houses a chemical plant and an oil refinery of 560,500 barrels per day.
(Written by Claude Chendjou, edited by Blandine Hénault)