All three major US stock indexes hovered around flat in late-morning trading Friday as a weaker-than-expected consumer sentiment reading dented investor enthusiasm.

In company news, Novo Nordisk (NVO) said Friday that Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen is stepping down as the company's chief executive. Jorgensen has agreed to continue as CEO amid a search for his successor, the company said. Shares of Novo Nordisk were down 4% around midday.

Charter Communications (CHTR) and Cox Communications said Friday they have agreed to merge in a $34.5 billion deal. Following the deal close, Charter will absorb Cox's commercial fiber and managed IT and cloud business, while Cox will receive $4 billion in cash, $6 billion in preferred units and $11.9 billion in common units in Charter's existing partnership, giving it a 23% stake in the merged company. Charter shares were up 1.3%.

Boeing (BA) has reached a tentative non-prosecution agreement with US prosecutors in a fraud case stemming from two fatal 737 MAX plane crashes, Reuters reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal would stave off a June 23 trial date in which the company faces a charge it misled US regulators about a flight control system on the plane. The agreement would require a judge's approval, according to the report. Boeing shares were down 0.5%.

Nvidia (NVDA) is looking to build a research and development center in Shanghai as the chipmaker looks to stay competitive in China amid tighter US export controls, the Financial Times reported Friday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter. A Nvidia spokesperson told MT Newswires the company is "not sending any GPU designs to China to be modified to comply with export controls." Separately, Nvidia will have new US production facilities, built by Wistron, ready by 2026 to build artificial intelligence servers, Reuters reported Friday, citing Wistron CEO Jeff Lin. Nvidia shares were up 0.2%.

Verizon Communications (VZ) is ending its diversity, equity and inclusion programs as it seeks US Federal Communications Commission approval of its acquisition of Frontier Communications (FYBR), according to a letter sent to Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr shared with MT Newswires. Verizon shares were up 0.5%, while those of Frontier were up 0.1%.

Price: 426.32, Change: +6.75, Percent Change: +1.61