Josh Giddey #3 of the Chicago Bulls grabs a rebound during the second half against the Detroit Pistons on October 22, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

(Melissa Tamez/Getty Images)

Stocks erase morning losses in volatile trading session

The S&P 500 posted a small gain, the Nasdaq 100 posted a small loss, and the Russell 2000 finished flat.

Stocks bounced back from morning losses as the S&P 500 posted a modest gain, the Nasdaq 100 posted a modest loss, and the Russell 2000 finished flat. The real estate sector was the best performer while consumer staples was the worst performer.

An agreement between the US and Iran on a “set of guiding principles” sent oil prices lower and lifted shares of airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Air, JetBlue, and Delta Air Lines.

Stocks that moved higher:

Masimo skyrocketed as Danaher closed in on a $9.9 billion deal to acquire the medical device maker.
Compass Pathways surged after reporting encouraging late-stage trial results for its psilocybin depression treatment.
ZIM Integrated Shipping Services skyrocketed on news that its rival Hapag-Lloyd signed a deal to buy the company for $35 a share in cash.
Norwegian Cruise Line spiked after The Wall Street Journal reported that Elliott Investment Management has built a more than 10% stake in the company.
Paramount Skydance gained as Netflix granted Warner Bros. Discovery a seven-day waiver to resume deal talks with Paramount.
Fiserv rose after The Wall Street Journal reported that Jana Partners has built an activist position in the payments company.
Figma gained after partnering with Anthropic for a new “Code to Canvas” feature.
AMC ticked higher following a Bloomberg report on the company’s efforts to refinance $2.5 billion in debt.

Stocks that moved lower:

Gemini Space Station, the crypto firm the Winklevoss brothers founded, plummeted after three top executives left in a “big shakeup.”
JFB Construction Holdings sank after announcing a $1.5 billion merger with drone maker Xtend in a pact backed by Eric Trump.
Atlassian fell after it reportedly froze hiring amid the software stock rout.
ServiceNow ticked lower despite the CEO announcing a plan to purchase $3 million in company stock, as well as five other executives canceling preset stock-selling plans.

Luke Kawa24m

Sandisk drops after Western Digital confirms plan to unload $3 billion in stock

Western Digital is cashing in more of its Sandisk position.

The hard drive seller is exchanging more than $3 billion in Sandisk shares as part of a debt-for-equity swap.

The two companies were once one, but Western Digital spun off a little more than 80% of its flash drive business in February 2025, and already exchanged the lion’s share of what remained in a separate debt-for-equity swap in June.

This move was very, very well telegraphed by Western Digital, which recently confirmed plans to monetize its Sandisk position before the one-year anniversary of that split (February 21). And Sandisk’s press release makes clear that the company is not the ones selling more stock or making any money off this.

That being said, being a high flying stock that has a Bloomberg headline with “secondary offering” in it could, in theory, spark some turbulence.

Shares of Sandisk have indeed extended the day’s losses to more than 8% in the after-hours session before paring some of that decline.

Western Digital announces additional $4 billion in share buybacks, with management poised to unload its remaining stake in Sandisk

That being said, being a high flying stock that has a Bloomberg headline with “secondary offering” in it could, in theory, spark some turbulence.

Shares of Sandisk have indeed extended the day’s losses to more than 8% in the after-hours session before paring some of that decline.

Luke Kawa53m

Cadence Design Systems jumps after Q4 earnings, 2026 profit outlook, and sales backlog exceed estimates

Cadence Design Systems jumped in after-hours trading on Tuesday, briefly erasing the day’s big losses, after posting better-than-expected Q4 earnings, a big pipeline of future business, and a solid profit outlook for 2026.

For Q4, the electronic design automation company reported:

Sales of $1.44 billion (estimate: $1.42 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $1.99 (estimate: $1.91).
Remaining performance obligations (RPO) of $7.8 billion (estimate: $7.25 billion).

Management said that 2026 adjusted earnings per share would range between $8.05 and $8.15, above the consensus call for $8.03.

In recent weeks, investors have worried that Cadence’s software business, which is used by chip designers, could suffer competitive pressure from AI tools. At the very least, that RPO figure says there’s billions of dollars standing between Cadence and any more disrupted future.

Luke Kawa

Final Boss

57m

Infleqtion CEO Matt Kinsella on how the newly public quantum computing company is “following in the footsteps of Nvidia”

Infleqtion shares gained double digits in their opening session, while peers sold off.

Max Knoblauch3h

Oil prices dip, sending airline stocks climbing amid US-Iran talks

An agreement between the US and Iran on a “set of guiding principles” following talks between officials from the two countries on Tuesday is sending oil prices lower. That, in turn, is boosting airline stocks.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 1.1% Tuesday afternoon. Shares of airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Air, JetBlue, and Delta Air Lines were up.

Southwest Airlines, which also received an upgrade to “buy” and a price target hike to $73 from $51 by UBS on Tuesday morning, was up more than 7%.

Iran said it temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz for live fire drills on Tuesday as the talks began. About 20% of the world’s oil passes through the key choke point waterway. Later in the day, however, Iran’s foreign minister expressed optimism that a deal could be reached with the US, saying “a new window has opened.”

Luke Kawa6h

Walmart’s earnings have high bar to clear as search for safety pushes valuations into stratosphere

If recent history is any guide, Walmart’s Q4 earnings release Thursday before the bell will be appointment viewing.

This time last year, it wasn’t the DeepSeek freak-out or tariff chatter that caused the S&P 500 to definitively begin its downturn from all-time highs. It was Walmart’s underwhelming full-year guidance that catalyzed a momentum stock meltdown.

Since then, the retail behemoth has become a more important — and richly valued — part of the S&P 500, joining the trillion-dollar market cap club in the process. Investors have clamored for safety within the US stock market in 2026, and that’s meant bidding up the income streams associated with moving loads of volume at everyday low prices.

Jeff Jacobson, head of derivatives strategy at 22V Research, offers some perspective on just how well things have been going for the Bentonville-based giant:

Walmart versus the SPDR S&P 500 ETF is at its highest level since the aftermath of the global financial crisis;
The implied volatility of calls that offer exposure to additional upside in Walmart is very elevated relative to history (that is, they’re expensive);
This is the only time in the past five years where Walmart has traded above Wall Street’s 12-month price target.

That makes the bar to clear, regardless of how the actual numbers and guidance end up, fairly high.

In Jacobson’s view, it would be prudent for Walmart holders to try to take advantage of this elevated implied volatility by selling upside, or attempting to lock in gains after this hot run.

His recommendations:

Covered calls: sell April $145 calls at $3 or better.
Collar the position: sell WMT May $155 calls, buy May $125 put, sell May $110 put.