Yiwen Lu9/12/24

US stocks gain momentum in a four-day winning streak

The S&P 500 was up 0.8% on Thursday, while the Nasdaq 100 added 1%. It was the fourth straight session where both indices gained. Small caps led major indices, as the Russell 2000 advanced 1.2%.

All major S&P sector ETFs rose. Communications services gained the most, up 1.9%. Mega cap stocks outperformed the market, with all Magnificent Seven stocks closed higher. Both Meta and Googleclimbed more than 2%.

Warner Bros. Discovery was the best-performing S&P 500 stock, up 10.4%. This came after Warner Bros. announced a multi-year distribution partnership with Charter Communications. Kroger rose 7.2%, after signaling confidence about its merger with Albertsons.

Conversely, Moderna dropped a whopping 12.4%, making it the worst performer within the S&P 500. The pandemic darling earlier slashed its research and development budget and cut its sales outlook.

The US producer index was up slightly in August, in line with expectations. Traders now bet on a 67% chance that the Fed would cut rate by 25 basis points next week, according to CME’s FedWatch Tool.

Gold hit another all-time high. Oil continued its recovery after a sell-off earlier this week.

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Nvidia gains on report that Chinese officials told domestic tech champions to progress with plans for H200 imports

The “will Xi, won’t Xi?” of Nvidia’s quest to send AI chips to China got some positive news, reversing a string of recent negative reports.

Per Bloomberg, Chinese officials told leading domestic tech champions including Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance that they can progress in their preparations to import Nvidia’s H200 chips, and “are now cleared to discuss specifics such as the amounts they would require,” citing people familiar with the matter.

Shares are up 1.5% as of 8:06 a.m. ET.

The outlet had previously reported that China would begin to allow H200 imports for commercial use “as soon as this quarter.” However, that was followed by reports from The Information, the Financial Times, and Reuters that Chinese companies’ ability to access these AI chips would be limited and that suppliers had paused production following what was tantamount to an import ban.

The seemingly conflicting reports from various outlets reflect the tug-of-war within the Chinese policy apparatus, which aims to balance competing priorities: bolstering its AI capabilities (which argues for using the best technology available, even if that’s from foreign sources) and supporting the development of its domestic semiconductor manufacturing industry (which pushes in the opposite direction).

Luke Kawa, Matt Phillips

Intel tumbles as pleas for time to deliver its turnaround fall on deaf ears

Traders had little patience for Intel after the stock’s hot start to 2026 saw it gain nearly 50% coming into the print.

Intel INTC Q2 Earnings report Lip-Bu Tan

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Max Knoblauch16h

Alaska Airlines dips following weaker-than-expected 2026 earnings guidance

Alaska Airlines, America’s fifth-largest airline, reported its fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2025 after the market closed Thursday. Its shares fell 2% in after-hours trading.

The airline reported adjusted fourth-quarter earnings of $0.43 per share, beating the $0.11 expected by Wall Street analysts polled by FactSet. Its Q4 passenger revenue climbed 2% to $3.25 billion.

For the current quarter, Alaska guided for a 1% to 2% increase in capacity and an adjusted loss of $1.50 to $0.50 per share, compared to the $0.77 loss per share expected by analysts. The airline forecast full-year earnings of between $3.50 and $6.50 per share for 2026. The $5 midpoint falls short of analyst estimates of $5.52 per share.

“To hit the higher end of our guidance range we would require sustained macroeconomic recovery in 2026, at or improving on trends seen in the first three weeks of the year, and for fuel prices to stabilize,” the company said in its report.

Earlier this month, the carrier placed its largest-ever plane order, securing 110 Boeing jets to support its international growth ambitions. It plans to add flights to Rome, London, and Iceland this summer, and has said it will boost its premium seat offerings this year — in line with a wider trend of travel trends reflecting a “K-shaped economy.”

Intel slumps after Q1 guidance disappoints

The bad outlook offset strong Q4 results.

Matt Phillips19h

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