Markets
Yiwen Lu

S&P, Nasdaq set records as market shifts focus to Fed

The S&P 500 was up 0.7% to hit another record on Thursday as it nears a new round-number milestone of 6,000. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.5% and finished with an all-time high as well. The Russell 2000 slid 0.4%. 

In a well-telegraphed move, the Federal Reserve cut its policy rate by 25 basis points to 4.5%. Treasury yields briefly moved above their lows in the afternoon before tumbling again. The policy-sensitive 2-year yields were down eight basis points to 4.2%, while the 10-year fell 11 basis points to 4.33%. The Dollar Spot Index dropped 0.7%.

Among major sectors, energy, financial, and industrials retreated — all three were atop Wednesday’s gainers list as the market digested the US election results. 

The technology sector advanced 1.8%, mostly lifted by mega caps. Meta rose 3.4%; Google went up 2.4%. Tesla extended Wednesday’s gains and rose 2.9%.

In corporate news, Arm Holdings rose 4.1%, despite releasing a lackluster earnings report. Vistra, S&P 500’s best performer of the year, reported earnings and saw its stock surge 7.7%. Conversely, Match lost 17.9%, its biggest one-day drop on record.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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