The daily business briefing: June 20, 2016

1. Stocks surge as Brexit support weakens

Global stocks rose on Monday and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 200-point gain, or 1.2 percent, as the latest polls indicated that British voters were leaning toward deciding to remain in the European Union in a June 23 referendum. As recently as last week the "Leave" camp was ahead. Campaigning was suspended for three days at the end of last week following the murder of British lawmaker Jo Cox, an outspoken advocate of remaining in the EU. Global markets have been rattled this month due to concerns about potential economic fallout of "Brexit."

Reuters MarketWatch

2. Finding Dory posts best open ever for an animated film

Finding Dory made $136.2 million over its opening weekend, setting a record for an animated film. The previous record of $121.6 million was set in 2007 by Shrek the Third. Pixar's Finding Nemo sequel also set a new high mark for a PG-rated opening (also previously held by Shrek the Third), and for a Pixar opening weekend, beating the $110.3 million hauled in by 2010's Toy Story 3. Finding Dory came out 13 years after Dory (voiced by Ellen DeGeneres) helped a clownfish named Marlin find his son, Nemo.

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USA Today

3. Gold'n Plump parent recalls 27 tons of chicken

GNP Co. on Sunday said it was recalling more than 27 tons of chicken after contaminants were detected in some of its Gold'n Plump and Just Bare brands distributed to food service and institutional customers. The company, the Upper Midwest's leading chicken manufacturer, made the announcement after disclosing that sand and black soil had been found in some chicken in the company's own inspections. The company said it believed an employee who has since been fired was behind the contamination. No illnesses have been linked to the problem.

Star Tribune

4. Companies cut back on wellness benefits

Fewer employers are offering certain workplace wellness benefits, according to a new survey from the Society for Human Resource Management. Companies have experimented with programs such as on-site flu shots, 24-hour nurse hotlines, health coaching, and insurance-premium discounts for weight loss as a way to cut their health costs, but they "may be taking a step back" after analyzing cost-effectiveness and participation figures, said Evren Esen, director of survey programs at SHRM. Only 37 percent of employers now offer health coaching, down from nearly half last year, and the number offering flu shots fell to 54 percent from 61 percent.

The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch

5. China leads list of world's fastest supercomputers

China dominated a biannual ranking of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers released Monday. China had the fastest machine in the world (for the seventh straight year), as well as the most computers of any nation to make the list. That marked a first for any country other than the U.S. In another first, the fastest supercomputer was powered by Chinese-made microprocessor chips rather than chips from Intel. Supercomputers are considered an indicator of a nation's technology leadership, so the report signals a narrowing of the technology gap between the U.S. and China.

The New York Times