Eli Lilly and J&J bounce on new data, as software stocks give up last week's gains

U.S. stocks opened lower Monday as artificial-intelligence component stocks advanced. Micron and SanDisk extended recent gains, while Corning, Marvell Technology and Coherent rallied. Hyperscalers, which fund much of the technology buildout, faced pressure. Software stocks declined after enthusiasm over Silver Lake’s reported discussions to acquire enterprise-software provider Workday began fading. Workday posted its best session since 2016 after the report, while Salesforce rose as short sellers covered positions. With no new deal developments, the group gave back some gains. CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks also fell, despite management commentary that artificial-intelligence advances are accelerating rather than disrupting their businesses. The 10-year Treasury yield moved above 4.7% ahead of Wednesday’s minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July FOMC meeting. Investors will seek monetary-policy clues before next week’s Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium. Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson shares rose after Leerink’s review of weekly U.S. prescription data from healthcare analytics provider IQVIA. For the week ended Aug. 7, Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy led with approximately 163,000 prescriptions, although volume fell 5% week over week. Lilly’s oral GLP-1 drug Foundayo increased prescriptions 14% to about 38,900. The gains align with Lilly’s August earnings-call commentary that marketing was ramping and consumer awareness growing. Wegovy provides slightly greater weight loss, but Foundayo has no time-of-day or food-and-water restrictions, potentially supporting weight-loss maintenance. Leerink also reported accelerating prescriptions for J&J’s Icotyde, an oral IL-23 inhibitor approved for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, as payers expand coverage. Icotyde is considered the company’s most promising potential blockbuster among recent launches. No major earnings are scheduled after Monday’s close. Home Depot, Baidu and Klarna report before Tuesday’s opening bell. Investors will focus on Home Depot’s Pro customer and its integration of GMS into SRS Distribution, amid high rates and limited housing turnover. TJX Companies, Target and Lowe’s report Wednesday, followed by Walmart Thursday.