Stock Futures Mostly Rise as August Retail Sales Grow Higher Than Expected; Two-Day Fed Meeting Begins

Webtoon Stock Jumps 30% on Disney Investment, Collaboration

1 minute ago

Shares of Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN) soared 30% in premarket trading as the digital comic platform said that Walt Disney (DIS) would be taking a stake in the firm as they collaborate in creating a new outlet for Disney’s comic franchises.

Webtoon said the companies have agreed on a “non-binding term sheet for the development of an all-new digital comics platform that will feature current comic book runs and include decades of past comics from across Disney’s portfolio including Marvel, ‘Star Wars,’ 20th Century Studios and more.” The comics “will be available in a single digital comics service with one convenient subscription, adding more stories than ever before in one location,” Webtoon said.

As part of the deal, Disney will acquire a 2% equity interest in Webtoon. Both the Disney investment and collaboration agreement are still to be finalized.

Webtoon Founder and CEO Junkoo Kim called the partnership “a powerful next step for our growing global business, and a strong foundation for even greater collaboration with Disney in the years ahead.” 

Webtoon Entertainment shares spent most of 2025 in negative territory before spiking last month after announcing another collaboration with Disney.

 Shares of Walt Disney are also higher year-to-date.

–Bill McColl

Rocket Lab Shares Fall on Stock Sale Plan

13 minutes ago

Shares of Rocket Lab (RKLB) fell 4% about 30 minutes before the opening bell after it said in a regulatory filing late Monday that it plans to sell up to $750 million worth of stock.

The Long Beach, Calif.-based firm said it terminated its sales agreement of March 11 to sell up to $500 million worth of shares.

Rocket Lab shares entered Tuesday having more than doubled this year.

Oracle Stock Surges as Tech Giant Seen Involved in US-China TikTok Deal

1 hr 3 min ago

Oracle (ORCL) shares are surging in premarket trading Tuesday on a report that the software firm is among a consortium of companies that would let Chinese-owned TikTok to continue operating in the U.S.—if a “framework deal” between Beijing and Washington is finalized.

According to CBS, which cited sources with knowledge of the negotiations, the final deal over TikTok will include multiple companies. It wasn’t immediately clear who will control TikTok’s recommendation algorithm or what role parent company ByteDance will play, the report said.

Oracle shares, which entered Tuesday up 80%, are rising 5% in premarket trading. TikTok parent ByteDance has until Wednesday to agree to sell the social media platform to a U.S.-based owner or be banned in the country, unless President Donald Trump extends the deadline. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison has close ties to Trump and his software firm has frequently been reported as a potential bidder for the social media app.

The CBS report comes a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. has reached a “framework for a TikTok deal” following two days of trade talks between Beijing and Washington in Madrid. Trump also suggested a deal had been reached on Monday.

Oracle shares soared earlier this month after it reported a substantial backlog that suggested the AI spending boom has legs. The surge lifted Ellison’s net worth above that of Elon Musk, according to Bloomberg, for a while making the 81-year-old database pioneer the richest person in the world.

–Nisha Gopalan

US Stock Futures Edge Mostly Higher as Fed Meeting Begins

1 hr 34 min ago

Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were little changed early Tuesday.

S&P 500 futures advanced 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 contracts were up 0.3%.