Investing.com – Ford, Zayo Group and Nio offered a semblance of safety heading into the close Monday in the midst of broad-based selling.
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) rose 2% after German automaker VW confirmed the two brands would jointly develop electric vehicles or autonomous driving, but denied rumours that a merger between the two companies was in the making.
VW CEO Diess said Monday the joint development of commercial vehicles was "core to the alliance", but denied the partnership would lead to a full merger with Ford, claiming "that was never the objective of our talks".
Fibre optic provider Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO) shares surged 10% following a Bloomberg report that an investor group led by Blackstone (NYSE:BX) and Stonepeak may be interested in making an offer for the company.
The uptick in Zayo comes after a prolonged period of mostly sideways action in the wake its quarterly results, which fell short of consensus estimates, though Wells Fargo said the weakness was somewhat overdone.
"While we understand the company fell short of the September quarter expectations and management credibility is at an all time low, the market's reaction seems a bit extreme given that Zayo remains the largest independent owner of North American fiber assets," Wells Fargo said in a note to clients.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rival NIO Inc (NYSE:NIO) rose 7% after Citron Research Andrew Left delivered an upbeat assessment of the electric automaker, claiming it is "not just a car company," but a lifestyle and brand that is "ready to disrupt."
“NIO is not just a car company, it is a lifestyle and a brand that is ready to disrupt and the implications for the stock price cannot be ignored,” Left said.
Nio recently guided for about 7,000 vehicle deliveries in fourth-quarter, up 100% from a year earlier.