US stocks dip as rate cut fails to ignite broad enthusiasm
The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 gave back 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a 0.2% advance, though it was up more than 2% at its highs of the day.
US stocks were whipsawed by the Federal Reserve’s first rate cut of 2025, which included a signal to deliver an additional 50 basis points of easing this year if the economy evolves in line with their expectations — but a lot of uncertainty remains over whether that will actually come to pass.
The S&P 500 fell 0.1%, the Nasdaq 100 gave back 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a 0.2% advance, though it was up more than 2% at its highs of the day.
Financials were the best-performing S&P sector ETF, up nearly 1%, while industrials were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
Workday led the bright spots, up 7.3% after Elliott Management announced a $2 billion stake in the HR tech giant. The company also announced a fresh $4 billion buyback program, while Piper Sandler upgraded the stock. Elsewhere…
Uber led declines, falling 5% after Waymo said it’s expanding to Nashville next year and partnering with ride-sharing rival Lyft, which saw shares jump 13.2% on the news.
Nvidia dropped 2.7% following a Financial Times report that China’s internet regulator has banned the country’s tech leaders, like Alibaba and ByteDance, from buying Nvidia’s AI chips.
Reddit fell as much as 5% before closing flat following reports that the company is in early talks to make its next AI content-sharing deals with Google and OpenAI.
D-Wave Quantum rose nearly 19% after a wave of bullish options as traders pressed wagers on short-term upside for the annealing-centric quantum computing company.
Plug Power rose for the second day in a row, with shares up almost 20%, as bullish options activity continued to spike for the company.
Opendoor soared 14.3% as management committed to ongoing engagement with shareholders and confirmed plans to expand services throughout the US.
IonQ shares popped 5.1% after the company announced plans to acquire quantum sensor company Vector Atomic in an all-stock deal worth approximately $400 million.
LoanDepot jumped 2.5% as the small-cap mortgage originator sees enthusiastic chatter on Reddit’s r/WallStreetBets and explosive call buying.
Lucid leapt 3.3%, continuing to climb out of recent all-time lows following the luxury EV maker’s 1-for-10 reverse stock split and a looming EV tax credit expiration.
VF Corp. edged 0.7% higher after the owner of The North Face, Vans, and Timberland offloaded its largest workwear brand, Dickies, to Bluestar Alliance for $600 million.
Duolingo dipped 0.6% after Citi analysts trimmed their price target on the stock, citing disappointing announcements at the company’s Duocon convention Tuesday.
