Stocks Close Higher as Banks Surge After Strong Earnings, Nvidia Rebounds

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday

20 minutes ago

Advancers

• United Airlines (UAL) shares jumped 12.4%, posting Wednesday’s top performance in the S&P 500, after the carrier reported better-than-expected sales and profits for the third quarter. United also announced plans to repurchase $1.5 billion worth in stock. Shares of rival carrier Delta Air Lines (DAL) climbed 6.8%.
• A strong earnings report also helped lift shares of Morgan Stanley (MS), which rose 6.5%. The financial services giant posted year-over-year gains in revenue and profits, exceeding analysts’ forecasts, with an uptick in net interest income (NII) versus the prior-year period. Morgan Stanley also reduced its provision for credit losses (PCL), distinguishing itself from some of its more consumer-focused banking rivals that have had to increase their cushion against potential losses.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) shares were up 6.2%, adding to gains posted in the previous session after the drugstore operator beat quarterly estimates and announced a turnaround plan, which includes closing 1,200 underperforming stores.

Decliners

• Shares of life sciences firm Agilent Technologies (A) dropped 3.8%, losing the most of any S&P 500 constituent on Wednesday. Although Barclays analysts raised their price target on Agilent stock to $145 from $135, they maintain an “underweight” rating. Analysts previously indicated that the laboratory diagnostics provider faces a difficult competitive environment and potential challenges related to integrating recently acquired contract drug manufacturer Biovectra.
• Shares of semiconductor equipment manufacturers extended losses after ASML (ASML) released underwhelming results and guidance Tuesday. Shares of KLA (KLAC) slid 3.6%. Applied Materials (AMAT) shares declined 3.4% as investment research firm Hedgeye added the stock as a new short idea, anticipating wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) growth could fall short of consensus expectations.

–Michael Bromberg

Bitcoin Surges to 3-Month High

1 hr 35 min ago

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) continued its ascent on Wednesday and was at its highest level since late July in recent trading, near $68,000.

The legacy cryptocurrency has outstripped the returns of the S&P 500 since the beginning of September, benefitting from investor optimism about the Federal Reserve‘s decision to start cutting interest rates and the U.S. presidential election, among other factors.

Since the beginning of September, bitcoin has gained more than 14%, while the S&P 500 has risen roughly 3%.

Read the full article here.

–Mrinalini Krishna

ASML Down Sharply Again, Leading Nasdaq Decliners

4 hr 1 min ago

ASML Holding (ASML) shares plunged again on Wednesday, a day after the company’s early earnings release disappointed investors. 

The Netherlands-based semiconductor-gear manufacturer lowered its 2025 net sales forecast to between 30 billion euros and 35 billion euros ($32.7 billion to $38.1 billiion.) That’s within the lower half of the company’s previously projected range and below the 36.1-billion-euro consensus estimate of analysts compiled by Visible Alpha. 

The third-quarter results were originally expected to be released Wednesday but appeared early on the company’s website due to a “technical error.”

Shares of ASML were down 7% Wednesday afternoon, leading Nasdaq Composite decliners, after plummeting 16% Tuesday following the early results. The stock fell into negative territory for the year Tuesday and now is down 10% year-to-date.

–Andrew Kessel

Apple Price Levels to Watch as Stock Near Record High

4 hr 49 min ago

Apple (AAPL) shares were down about 1% in afternoon trading Wednesday after the stock briefly touched a new record high yesterday, the same day the tech giant unveiled the latest version of its Apple Intelligence-compatible iPad Mini.

While Apple shares have gained 20% since the start of the year, the stock has traded mostly sideways over the past three months amid concerns that a delayed rollout of its highly anticipated Apple Intelligence could lead to softer demand for the company’s flagship iPhone 16, which launched last month.

The stock broke above the upper trendline of an ascending triangle on Tuesday on the highest trading volume since Sept. 20, suggesting institutional investing.

Investors should monitor key overhead levels on Apple’s chart around $237 and $270, while also watching crucial support levels during retracements near $233, $225, and $218. The stock was at around $231 in recent trading.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

US Bancorp Stock Jumps as Earnings Top Expectations

6 hr 33 min ago

U.S. Bancorp (USB) shares jumped Wednesday as its profit got a boost from higher-than-anticipated net interest income.

The bank reported third-quarter earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03, $0.04 more than estimates of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Revenue fell 2.4% year-over-year to $6.86 billion, slightly short of forecasts.

Net interest income (NII) of $4.17 billion was down 2.4% from 2023, but up 2.8% from the second quarter. It also exceeded expectations. Net interest margin increased to 2.74% from 2.67% in the previous quarter, although it was lower than last year’s 2.81%.

As with many of its rivals, U.S. Bancorp added to its reserves for credit losses, increasing them by 8.2% to $557 million year-over-year.

Shares of U.S. Bancorp rose nearly 5% Wednesday to their highest level since early last year. They’re up about 14% in 2024.

–Bill McColl

United Soars on Strong Earnings, Stock Buyback News

8 hr 6 min ago

United Airlines (UAL) shares soared after the carrier unveiled plans for a $1.5 billion share buyback, its first since the pandemic, and also reported quarterly results that beat analysts’ estimates.

Late Tuesday, United reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $3.33, ahead of its own guidance and expectations of analysts polled by Visible Alpha. It also projected adjusted EPS of $2.50 to $3.00 a share in the fourth quarter, with the midpoint below the $2.92-per-share Visible Alpha estimate.

The airline said the glut in airline capacity that had plagued the industry this year had been addressed.

“As predicted, unproductive capacity left the market in mid-August, and we saw a clear inflection point in our revenue trends that propelled United to exceed Q3 expectations,” United Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Scott Kirby said.

United’s $1.5 billion share buyback marks its first repurchase plan since it suspended its program in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The stock was up 9% in recent trading, at its highest level since early 2020.

–Nisha Goaplan

Morgan Stanley Stock Surges After Strong Results

8 hr 19 min ago

Morgan Stanley (MS) shares jumped Wednesday morning after the company became the latest bank to beat estimates for the third quarter, with revenue and profits rising year-over-year.

The bank reported $15.38 billion in revenue for the quarter, up from $13.27 billion last year and over a billion dollars more than analysts had expected, according to projections compiled by Visible Alpha. Morgan Stanley reported an increase in net interest income (NII) to $2.2 billion, up from $1.98 billion, which only some of its banking rivals have so far managed to do this quarter.1

Profits also came in well above estimates at $3.2 billion, above the $2.44 billion in net income Morgan Stanley reported last year.

Morgan Stanley shares rose more than 8% in morning trading, leaving them up roughly 30% this year, outpacing the gains for the S&P 500 over the period.

–Aaron McDade

Nvidia Levels to Watch After Tuesday’s Drop

9 hr 46 min ago

Nvidia (NVDA) shares moved higher in premarket trading Wednesday after falling sharply yesterday, just a day after setting a record closing high.

The decline Tuesday came as Bloomberg reported that the Biden Administration is mulling AI chip export curbs to some Middle Eastern countries. The news tempered optimism about surging demand for Nvidia’s chips from tech giants hyperscaling their AI infrastructure amid a backdrop of tight supply.

Nvidia shares broke out above a multi-month symmetrical triangle earlier this month, though the breakout occurred on below-average volume, indicating a lack of conviction behind the move.

Investors should watch key support levels on Nvidia’s chart around $125, $115, and $97, while also keeping an eye on a measured moved price target at $177. The stock was up 0.8% at $132.65 in recent premarket trading.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Futures Point to Slightly Higher Open for Major Indexes

10 hr 31 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up fractionally.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.2%.