9/26/24

Stocks hit fresh record on more China stimulus, solid data

The S&P 500 closed up 0.4% on Thursday, posting another record high close. The Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.7%. The Russell 2000 advanced 0.6%.

China ramped up pledges to support the economy and property sector, resulting in a rally among China stocks. The CSI 300 index, which tracks the performance of the top 300 Shanghai and Shenzhen stocks, is up over 10% so far this week. If that holds, it would be the index’s biggest weekly gain since December 2014. Prices on copper and steel rose.

The materials sector was the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, up 2.1%.

Conversely, the energy sector lost 2%. Several oil stocks, including Diamondback Energy and Oneok, registered substantial drops. The Financial Times reported earlier that Saudi Arabia is willing to accept lower prices for crude oil as it and other OPEC+ nations return more barrels to the market. As a result, WTI crude for November delivery settled down 2.9%, while November Brent crude dropped 2.5%.

Meanwhile, US data showed favorable economic conditions persist. Weekly jobless claims fell from last week, while a third estimate of second quarter GDP stayed at 3%, meeting expectations. Treasury yields gained. The US dollar was briefly up in the morning but still slid.

Among individual movers, Micron led S&P 500 stocks, up 14.8%, after the chipmaker reported better-than-expected revenues and forecasted strong growth on AI demand on Wednesday after the bell. That contributed to a strong gain of 2.9% for the VanEck Semiconductor ETF.

The strong showing for semis came in spite of terrible news for Super Micro Computer, which plunged 12.2% on a report that the Justice Department is investigating the company.

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Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa

S&P 500 goes nowhere, Nasdaq 100 hits another record, small-caps tumble

Warner Bros. Discovery led gains for the second day in a row, and only three S&P 500 sector ETFs finished in the green.

Horse Ranch In Zhangye

markets

9/12/25

Rocket lab soars to new record close amid rally for retail faves

Rocket Lab ripped by roughly 10% Friday to close at a new all-time high, riding an upturn of retail enthusiasm for a coterie of tech-themed favorites, even as the broader market was more or less flat on the day.

Goldman Sachs’ basket of “retail favorites” — its heaviest weights are Reddit, AppLovin, and Tempus AI — was the second-biggest gainer among the company’s flagship US equity baskets on Friday, rising about 1.6%. The S&P was almost dead flat.

It’s not Rocket Lab’s first retail rodeo, as the money-losing company has more than doubled this year and is up nearly 700% over the last 12 months.

Oracle Wall Street Revisions

Analysts revise up anything and everything they thought about Oracle

After the company’s bombshell earnings this week, Wall Street thinks Oracle’s trajectory has changed.

Matt Phillips9/12/25

markets

9/12/25

Six Flags pops after reiterating its guidance as theme park attendance rebounds

Six Flags shares rose more than 7% today after the company reported a rebound in attendance and early season pass sales heading into the fall. The nine-week period ended August 31 saw 17.8 million guests, up about 2% from the same stretch last year, with stronger momentum in the final four weeks.

More importantly, Six Flags reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $860 million to $910 million, showing confidence that its cost and operations strategy can stay strong for the duration of the year. Riding that wave, Six Flags also said early 2026 season pass unit sales are pacing ahead of last year, and average season pass prices are up about 3%.

The good vibes come despite a drop in in-park per-capita spending, especially from admissions, where promotions and changes to attendance mix (which parks or days guests visit) have weighed. Earlier this week, the amusement giant signed a new agreement that extended its position as the exclusive amusement park partner for Peanuts™ in North America through 2030.

Despite the rally, Six Flags shares are down about 52% year to date.

markets

9/12/25

Rivian turns red on the year, squeezed by a recall and the looming end of the EV tax credit

Shares of EV maker Rivian are down more than 5% on Friday following the company’s recall of 24,214 vehicles due to a software issue. The stock move erases Rivian’s year-to-date gain and turns the company negative on the year.

Rivian’s 2025 model year R1S and R1T are affected by the defect, which was identified after a vehicle’s hands-free highway assist software failed to identify another vehicle on the road, causing a low-speed collision. Rivian said it’s released an over-the-air update to fix the issue.

The recall marks Rivian’s fifth this year, affecting nearly 70,000 of its vehicles.

Rivian’s shares are down more than 20% from their 2025 high, which came prior to the passage of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Through the legislation, the $7,500 EV tax credit is set to expire at the end of the month.

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