Stock market today: Live updates

UnitedHealth Group shares declined more than 4% Wednesday, making it the Dow’s biggest decliner.

The stock fell on the news that the U.S. Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into the company. The company has also been struggling with the fallout from a cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare’s systems last week.

Bitcoin continued its surge on Wednesday morning, crossing the $60,000 mark for first time since November 2021.

The largest cryptocurrency was up about 6% on Wednesday and is now up more than 40% year to date.

Here are some of the names moving in premarket trading:

• Beyond Meat — The plant-based meat company soared 56% one day after topping fourth-quarter revenue estimates and saying it would “steeply reduce” costs this year.
• Advance Auto Parts —The stock added 2% following the auto parts retailer’s upbeat guidance for the full year. AAP guided for 2024 earnings per share of $3.75 to $4.25, topping the $3.65 consensus estimate, per FactSet.
• Lemonade — Shares tumbled nearly 20% one day after the insurance company gave disappointing guidance for the first quarter and full year.

To see more stocks moving before the bell, read the full story here.

— Michelle Fox

The U.S. economy grew at a slightly slower pace in the fourth quarter of 20234 than previously reported, according to a revision the Commerce Department released Wednesday.

Gross domestic product accelerated at a 3.2% annualized rate adjusted for seasonality and inflation, 0.1 percentage point than the initial estimate. The downward revision came primarily due to smaller than expected private inventory investment, which offset upward revisions in local government and consumer spending.

On the inflation front, the personal consumption expenditures price increased 1.8% in the quarter on headline and 2.1% for core excluding food and energy, both 0.1 percentage point higher than the initial estimate.

—Jeff Cox

Chocolate-making raw material cocoa has soared 30.1% month to date, putting it on pace for its largest monthly gain since November 2021, when it gained 31.66%.

Cocoa futures reached a record-high of $6,648 per metric tonne on Monday. The rise in prices is due in part to news that Ghana’s 2023–2024 production season is estimated to come almost 40% below its target outpet

Chocolate producers Nestle and Hershey are down 5.5% and 3% this month, respectively.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

The rate of change of economic growth appears stable, per Wolfe Research.

“Overall momentum is steady/a bit softer, as capex gains steam, consumer momentum is fading, and housing is growing firm. We expect these trends to continue this year,” chief economist Stephanie Roth wrote in a Wednesday note.

A clearer outlook and an improving financial environment has contributed to the rise in momentum for capital expenditures, according to Roth.

— Hakyung Kim

Shares of First Solar rose more than 4% in the premarket after the solar panel maker reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations.

The company posted a profit of $3.25 per share, beating an LSEG estimate of $3.13 per share. Revenue came in at $1.16 billion, slightly below a $1.32 billion forecast.

— Fred Imbert

Shares of Boston Beer fell 10% in the premarket after the Sam Adams beer maker posted much weaker-than-expected results for the fourth quarter.

The company lost $1.49 per share on revenue of $394 million. Analysts expected a loss of 25 cents per share on revenue of $414 million. Full-year earnings guidance was also below analyst estimates, according to LSEG.

Hong Kong announced its budget on Wednesday and said it will scrap plans to tighten its property market with immediate effect.

The measures included cancellation of all buy-side property tightening measures for residential properties and waiving of stamp duties payable on the transfer of REIT units.

The Hang Seng Property index jumped nearly 2%, while the broader Hang Seng index dipped 0.3%. New World Development shares jumped nearly 6%, while Hysan Development added 1.4%.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan also said he expected the economy to grow in a range of 2.5% to 3.5% this year.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

The likelihood of achieving the Bank of Japan’s 2% inflation target is “not sufficiently high” yet, said the central bank’s executive director Seiichi Shimizu at a parliament session.

Shimizu added he would review the bank’s monetary easing when the achievement of the inflation target is in sight, and will continue to keep an eye on wage trends and price data.

Japan’s core consumer prices rose at a slower pace in January compared with a year earlier, but the reading was still above Reuters poll expectations of a 1.8% year-over-year increase.

—Reuters, Lee Ying Shan

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand kept its main lending rate steady on Wednesday, according to its monetary policy statement.

New Zealand’s central bank held its official cash rate at 5.50% — a 15-year high.

“Headline inflation remains above the 1% to 3% target band, limiting the committee’s ability to tolerate upside inflation surprises,” RBNZ governor Adrian Orr said in the statement.

Inflation in the fourth quarter of last year was at 4.7%, far above the central bank’s target range.

— Shreyashi Sanyal

Investors should turn their attention to alternative investments including small caps and emerging markets outside of the “Magnificent 7” stocks, according to Richard Bernstein Advisors chief Richard Bernstein.

“There’s no sound wealth building strategy that says put all of your eggs in seven stocks, there has to be some opportunities outside the U.S. and in some smaller cap stocks,” Bernstein told CNBC’s “Power Lunch” on Tuesday.

“It’s such an amazing bearish view of the world to say there’s only seven companies we can invest in,” he added.

— Brian Evans

The Russell 2000 captured its fourth consecutive winning day in what had been a very tepid session for the major averages.

The small-cap index advanced more than 1% on Tuesday, outpacing the S&P 500‘s roughly 0.2% gain and the Nasdaq Composite‘s nearly 0.4% jump.

The last time the Russell 2000 notched four straight winning sessions was in late December 2023.

Though the small-cap index has been having a strong month – up 5.6% in February – it remains sharply behind the three major averages on the year. In 2024, the Russell 2000 is up only 1.4%, while the S&P 500 has already gained nearly 6.5%.

–Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes

Check out some of the companies making headlines in extended trading.

• Beyond Meat — Shares skyrocketed more than 78% after the plant-based meat company beat revenue estimates in the fourth quarter. Beyond Meat reported revenue of $73.7 million, while analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv forecast $66.7 million.

• eBay — The online marketplace added 4% after announcing a dividend raise of 2 cents a share and an additional share buyback of $2 billion. Ebay’s fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street estimates on the top and bottom lines, while guidance for first-quarter earnings per share was above analysts’ estimates.

• First Solar — The solar company gained more than 3% after full-year guidance met Wall Street estimates. Fourth-quarter earnings of $3.25 per share beat analysts’ estimates of $3.13 per share, according to LSEG.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

First Solar‘s stock popped nearly 5% in extended trading after the company beat Wall Street’s earnings expectations.

The solar panel manufacturer booked net income of $349.2 million for the fourth quarter, an increase of 30% compared to the year-ago period.

First Solar posted a profit of $3.25 per share, beating Wall Street’s expectations of $3.13 per share. The company generated revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, missing Street expectations of $1.31 billion.

First Solar expects net sales of $4.4 billion to $4.6 billion in 2024 and adjusted earnings of $13 to $14 per share this year, which is largely in line with expectations.

— Spencer Kimball

Stock futures were little changed on Tuesday, with investors turning their attention to fresh inflation data later this week.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 32 points, or 0.08%. S&P 500 Futures hovered near the flatline, while Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.04%.

— Brian Evans