Dow Jones Today: Stocks Pare Losses as Bitcoin Charges Above $72K

Boeing Stock Falls Following Reports of DOJ Investigation, LATAM Flight Injuries

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Boeing (BA) shares fell Monday following reports of injuries from a “technical problem” on a LATAM flight involving a Boeing aircraft and a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into a Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines (ALK) flight where a door panel came loose from a plane.

The Justice Department has begun interviewing pilots and flight attendants who were on the plane and has taken steps to contact passengers, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Separately, a LATAM Airlines flight arriving in Auckland, New Zealand, on Monday reportedly experienced a “technical event” that caused a “strong movement.” The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner landed safely, but an estimated 50 passengers and crew were treated for injuries by first responders at the airport.

Boeing shares were 2.9% lower at $192.83 early Monday afternoon. They’ve lost about 26% of their value since the start of 2024 amid concerns about ongoing investigations and other issues.

–Aaron McDade

EQT Buys Equitrans Midstream To Expand Its Natural Gas Operations

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EQT Corp. (EQT) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 midday Monday after the natural gas producer announced it was buying midstream infrastructure provider Equitrans Midstream Corp. (ETRN) for approximately $5.5 billion.

EQT explained that the deal gives Equitrans investors 0.3504 share of EQT stock for every share of Equitrans they own. It added that this equaled an implied value of $12.50 per share based on the volume-weighted average of Equitrans stock for 30 days ending on Friday. Equitrans shares closed then at $11.15, while EQT shares finished at $37.52.

EQT said the merger creates “America’s first large-scale, integrated natural gas producer.” The combined company is expected to be valued at more than $35 billion.

Shares of Equitrans Midstream pared early gains and were up 2.4% as of 12:20 p.m. ET Monday, but were still trading near their best levels in more than two years. EQT shares were down 8.2% to $34.45 and have lost more than 10% so far in 2024.

–Bill McColl

Choice Hotels Ends $7.8 Billion Takeover Bid for Wyndham

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Choice Hotels International (CHH) has ended its roughly $7.8 billion takeover bid for competitor Wyndham Hotels & Resorts (WH), as it accused Wyndham’s board of a “refusal to constructively and substantively engage on terms.”

The acquisition attempt began nearly a year ago, and Choice’s attempts to buy Wyndham transformed over time from an acquisition offer to a takeover attempt in December. Choice said it generated some support among Wyndham’s shareholders, but has determined that there is no “path towards a transaction” available at this time.

For now, Choice said it will refocus on its own operations, and also announced that its board has authorized an increase in its stock buyback program by 5 million shares, which would be worth about $632 million at Choice’s current price.

Choice Hotels shares were up 4.3% at $126.64 late Monday morning, while Wyndham shares were up 1.2% to $76.94.

–Aaron McDade

Reddit Plans To Raise Up To $748 Million in IPO

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Reddit aims to raise up to $748 million in its upcoming initial public offering (IPO), according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday.

The social media company said it plans to sell 22 million shares for $31 to $34 each, with 1,760,000 shares, or 8% of shares offered, reserved for its users and moderators.

Reddit previously announced its user share program is set to come in six phased priority tiers, with each eligible participant assigned a tier “based on that participant’s contributions to Reddit” measured by Redditors’ karma, the metric of a user’s community contributions to the platform.

The company had filed for its IPO to trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol “RDDT” at the end of February.

–Naomi Buchanan

Bitcoin Extends Bull Run, Climbing to Record High Above $72K

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Bitcoin (BTCUSD) climbed to a record high of more than $72,000 on Monday morning, extending a major rally over the last month as money has rushed into bitcoin ETFs ahead of a much-anticipated halving event. 

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies got a boost Monday from the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority after the regulator said it would not object to exchanges listing crypto-backed exchange-traded notes (ETNs). 

The move comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January approved the listing of several spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), a major milestone for the cryptocurrency and its backers within mainstream finance. That decision and Monday’s notice by the U.K. have aided the crypto community’s claims of legitimacy and lowered the bar to investing in cryptocurrencies. 

Since the SEC’s decision in January, money has poured into the new ETFs. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) exceeded $10 billion in assets under management last week. It reached the milestone in a record two months, boosted by both billions of dollars of inflows and the soaring price of Bitcoin.

Bitcoin has gained nearly 50% in the last month alone. The gains have been driven by interest in ETFs and anticipation of an upcoming halving, which is expected to take place next month and will reduce the reward for mining Bitcoin to 3.125 BTC. 

Bitcoin’s gains on Monday morning also buoyed the stocks of crypto-related companies such as major U.S. exchange Coinbase (COIN), which gained 3%.

Shares of MicroStrategy (MSTR), the software company led by Bitcoin bull Michael Taylor, surged more than 9% to a record high after Saylor said the company had purchased 12,000 bitcoins at an average price of $68,477. The addition brings MicroStrategy’s total holdings to about 205,000 bitcoins, valued at more than $14.8 billion.

Stocks Making the Biggest Moves Premarket

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Gains:

• MicroStrategy Inc. (MSTR): Shares of the software company, which has sizable Bitcoin holdings, surged more than 9% after its CEO Michael Saylor said the company had acquired another 12,000 bitcoins, bringing its total holdings to 205,000 coins worth nearly $15 billion.
• Equitrans Midstream Corp. (ETRN): Shares rose more than 5% after EQT (EQT) offered to buy the company for about $5.5 billion. EQT shares were down more than 5% in premarket trading.
• Linde Plc (LIN): Shares of the gas company rose more than 2% after it was added to the Nasdaq 100 index effective March 18. 

Losses:

• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. (WH): Shares fell 5% after Choice Hotels (CHH) walked away from its efforts to acquire the hotel operator. Choice shares jumped more than 6%.
• Boeing Co. (BA): Shares of the plane manufacturer fell more than 2% after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into this year’s Alaska Airlines incident.
• Nvidia Corp. (NVDA): Shares of the semiconductor maker fell more than 1%, extending Friday’s 5% slide, as three authors sued the company for copyright infringement related to the use of their work as training materials for its AI platform.

Stock Futures Fall To Start the Week

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Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.4% in premarket trading on Monday.

S&P 500 futures were about 0.5% lower.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.6% about an hour before markets opened.