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%, while Pfizer , Bristol-Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly all rose more than 2%. However, pharmacy chain CVS Health tumbled 5% 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, each rose about 7%. Apple , which makes the majority of its iPhones in China, gained more than 5%. Meta Platforms jumped 7%. Semiconductor stocks Nvidia , Broadcom and ON Semiconductor also rose. Chegg — Shares popped 2% 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 each rose more than 6%, as did fellow e-commerce name JD.com . Tech giant Baidu also surged 5%. KindlyMD — The health-care company surged about 300% 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 17%, while Nike , Lululemon and Estée Lauder added about 7%. E.l.f Beauty and Williams-Sonoma gained nearly 8%, and Best Buy moved 5% higher. NRG Energy — Shares of the energy company popped about 23% 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 5.9%, while Wynn Resorts jumped 7.8%. 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.
