Stocks rose Wednesday in a bout of volatile trading, as investors weighed what the latest U.S. inflation data means for Federal Reserve policy. Tech shares led a rebound from steep session lows.
The S&P 500 gained 1.07% to close at 5,554.13. Wednesday marked the first time since October 2022 that the broad market index dropped 1% on an intraday basis and then closed higher by more than 1%.
The 30-stock Dow added 124.75 points, or 0.31%, to end at 40,861.71. At its low, the blue-chip index lost as much as 743.89 points. The Nasdaq Composite added 2.17%, wiping out its earlier losses to close at 17,395.53.
Investors picked up shares of mega-cap tech and semiconductor names in afternoon trading, boosting the Nasdaq as Nvidia jumped 8% and AMD added nearly 5%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbed about 5%.
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Bank stocks, including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, also rebounded from earlier lows and ended the session with marginal gains.
Stocks initially tumbled after the core reading on the consumer price index — which strips out volatile food and energy categories — rose slightly more than expected. This dampened investor hopes for a half-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve. Traders are now pricing in an 85% chance that the central bank will approve a 25 basis-point interest rate reduction at its Sept. 17-18 meeting, according to the CME Group's FedWatch measure. Overall CPI, however, hit its lowest annualized level since February 2021.
"Taken on its own, [CPI] is not terrible," said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. "But what the market did not need was a core reading that was higher than expected. I think it was a big splash of cold water on a market that was hopeful that a 50 basis-point rate cut might be in the cards. Those expectations have all but evaporated."
Money Report
The new data comes as investors grapple with seasonal headwinds. September has been the worst month for the S&P 500 over the last 10 years, averaging a loss of more than 1% during that time. The broad-market index has also posted a loss in September in the last four years.
The CBOE Volatility Index briefly traded above 20 before easing back to 18.
Stocks end Wednesday in the green
A rebound in tech shares led Wednesday's afternoon rally, marking a sharp reversal from the three major indexes' earlier losses.
The S&P 500 gained 1.07% to settle at 5,554.13, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.17% to close at 17,395.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 124.75 points, or 0.31%, to end at 40,861.71.
— Pia Singh
Nasdaq gains more than 1% as chip stocks rally
The concentrated Nasdaq-100 index surged 1.8% during afternoon trading as chipmaking stocks jumped.
Arm Holdings was the biggest gainer, surging nearly 10%, while Nvidia rallied nearly 8%. Marvell Technology, Broadcom and ASML Holding added at least 4%, while Super Micro Computer popped 7.8%.
Other significant winners included Starbucks and Constellation Energy.
— Samantha Subin
New highs on NYSE beating new lows 171 to 100; advancing volume at 54.2%
The number of new 52-week highs on the New York Stock Exchange is now beating new lows by 171 to 100, according to FactSet data, while advancing volume accounts for some 54.2% of all shares traded Wednesday.
New highs are trailing new lows by 130 to 143 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, where advancing volume equals some 66.9% of all the shares that have changed hands.
Trading is active, with late-afternoon NYSE composite volume standing at 73% of the past 30 days' average, and on Nasdaq at 91% of the past month's average.
— Scott Schnipper
American Express climbs, lifting Dow off its lows
The Dow doesn't get the direct and large benefit of Nvidia's rally like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq do. On Wednesday, American Express is doing its best to pick up the slack for the blue chip average.
The credit card stock was 2.9% in afternoon trading, making it the best performer in the 30-stock Dow. And with its stock price now above $250, American Express has a significant impact on the price-weighted average.
The move comes after the company's chief financial officer said that the economy still looked stable, according to a FactSet transcript of a Barclays conference.
American Express' rally has helped pull the Dow up from its lows of the day, but most of the stocks in the average are still down for the session.
— Jesse Pound
Uranium stocks rally on Russia potentially curbing supply
Uranium mining and processing stocks and an exchange-traded fund are rallying sharply Wednesday after Reuters reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin said his nation should consider limiting exports of uranium, titanium and nickel in retaliation for Western sanctions caused by the invasion of Ukraine.
Canada's Cameco Corp. jumped 6.4%, NexGen Energy climbed 4.3% and Denison Mines added 5.4%, all in U.S. trading. Cameco dominates the public stocks with a market capitalization of $16.5 billion, trailed by NexGen at $3.1 billion and Denison at $1.3 billion.
Uranium Energy Corp. (market cap $1.9 billion) surged 7.3%. Centrus Energy, a $590-million market cap, U.S. based supplier of enriched uranium, jumped 8.4% Wednesday.
Global X Uranium ETF added 4.4% while Sprott Nickel Miners ETF rose 2.4%.
— Scott Schnipper
Petco shares track for strongest session on record
Petco shares headed for their best day on record after posting second-quarter earnings.
Shares jumped about 34% in Wednesday afternoon trading. If that holds through market close, it would mark the biggest one-day gain ever for the pet-focused retailer, which went public in 2021.
Despite Wednesday's jump, the California-based firm gave a less-than-desired report. Petco lost two cents per share, excluding items, in line with the consensus forecast of analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue came in at $1.52 billion, a hair under the Street estimate of $1.53 billion.
The stock has jumped more than 29% in 2024.
— Alex Harring
Nvidia, chip stocks rise Wednesday
Semiconductor stocks, led by Nvidia's gains, climbed higher on Thursday to buck the broader market downturn.
Nvidia rallied 4.2%, putting it on pace for a 9.6% week to date rise. However, shares are still down more than 5% since the start of the month.
U.S.-traded shares of ASML Holding added 3.6%, while Broadcom, KLA and Marvell Technology all advanced more than 1% each.
— Hakyung Kim
Less than 20 S&P 500 names are higher on the day
Wednesday's sell-off was indiscriminate, with just 17 S&P 500 names trading higher on the day. Among those were AES, Enphase Energy, Dollar Tree and GE Vernova.
— Fred Imbert
Citi moves underweight equities
Citi moved underweight equities amid ongoing concerns of slowing economic growth.
"Moving underweight equities as growth dims further," the firm's Alex Saunders said in a Tuesday note. "Economic growth indicators continue to decline and hard-landing fears have set-off rising cross-asset volatility. Inflation moves back to long-term targets. Our model moves slightly short equities from max-long and overweight commodities (ex energy)."
— Sarah Min
Stocks making the biggest moves midday: GameStop, Viking Therapeutics and more
These are the stocks moving the most in midday trading:
- GameStop — The meme stock tanked more than 15% after the video game retailer reported a steep decline in second quarter sales compared to the year-ago period.
- Viking Therapeutics — Shares advanced more than 7% after JPMorgan initiated coverage of the biotech company at an overweight rating.
- Trump Media & Technology — The stock fell more than 13% following Tuesday's debate between majority shareholder former President Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Financials headed for worst day since Aug. 5
The S&P 500 financials sector — a recent outperformer — tumbled on Wednesday amid a broad market sell-off, losing more than 2%. That decline put the sector on track for its biggest one-day drop since Aug. 5, when it shed nearly 3%.
Discover Financial, Capital One and Regions Financial led the sector's declines. Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs were also lower on the day.
— Fred Imbert
14 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week lows
During Wednesday's trading session, 14 stocks in the S&P 500 hit new 52-week lows.
Names that hit this milestone included:
On the other hand, just five stocks were trading at new 52-week highs. These tickers included:
— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes
Bank stocks slide
Bank stocks struggled for a second day on Wednesday in the wake of JPMorgan's tempered expectations for interest income and expenses in 2025.
Shares of the bank slid more than 1%, as did Goldman Sachs. Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Citi each shed more than 2%.
The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE) tumbled nearly 3% in the session. It's down around 8% month to date.
— Alex Harring
Dow dips below key technical level
Wednesday's early sell-off pushed the Dow below its 50-day moving average for the first time since mid-August. The 50-day is seen as an indicator of short-term momentum for assets. A close below it could signal a near-term downturn.
— Fred Imbert
Market can climb if Fed lowers rates, investment strategy head says
Investors can expect the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates after Wednesday's inflation report — and that bodes well for market performance going forward, according to Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X.
"The economy is in the driver's seat, not the Fed. That is a good thing," he said. "Stabilizing prices, solid market, and strong corporate performance set the stage for a further market advance as the Fed moves to lower rates."
Helfstein said he now expects the central bank to lower the borrowing cost by 25 basis points during next week's policy meeting.
— Alex Harring
Stocks open mixed on Tuesday
The S&P 500 opened about 0.1% lower, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 225 points, or 0.6% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was 0.3% higher, on the other hand.
— Pia Singh
Trump Media, Dave & Buster's, GameStop among the stocks making moves before the bell
These are some of the stocks making the biggest moves premarket:
Trump Media & Technology – Shares slid more than 11% in the wake of the debate between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump Media is majority owned by the former president.
Dave & Buster's – The entertainment stock popped more than 13% after topping earnings estimates for the recent quarter by 15 cents a share. Revenues came up short of Wall Street's expectations.
GameStop – The video game retailer's shares plunged more than 10% in premarket trading after the company reported a steep decline in sales. Revenue of $798 million in the latest quarter marked a more than 20% drop from the $1.16 billion in sales a year ago. GameStop also announced an "at-the-market" stock offering of up to 20 million shares.
Read here for the full list.
— Sean Conlon
Core inflation rises more than expected in August
The so-called core consumer price index, a measure of inflation that strips out food and energy prices, rose 0.3% in August, topping a Dow Jones forecast for a 0.2% increase. Year on year, it increased 3.2%, in line with estimates.
Overall CPI came in line with expectations.
— Fred Imbert
Tuesday night's debate pushes solar names higher in premarket trading
Solar stocks gained before the open as investors interpreted Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris as the winner of Tuesday's debate.
First Solar and Enphase Energy added more than 4% and 3%, respectively, shortly after 8 a.m. ET. Vice President Harris said during the debate that she is a supporter of "diverse sources of energy" in an effort to reduce the United States' reliance on foreign oil.
— Pia Singh
Bitcoin falls slightly, putting Coinbase, MicroStrategy under pressure
Stocks tied to the price of bitcoin were under pressure in premarket trading as the price of the flagship cryptocurrency fell slightly overnight, with crypto traders digesting central bank policy in Japan and looked ahead to key U.S. inflation data.
Bitcoin inched lower by less than 1%, a move that began at the start of the Asia trading session. Coinbase fell 2%, while MicroStrategy retreated 3%. The biggest bitcoin miners, Marathon Digital and Riot Platforms, lost 3% and 1%, respectively, after rallying Tuesday.
Bank of Japan board member Junko Nakagawa said the central bank would continue to raise interest rates if the economy and inflation move in line with the bank's forecasts, which made financial markets skittish, including crypto, according to Yuya Hasegawa, crypto market analyst at Japanese bitcoin exchange Bitbank.
Investors have also been focused on Tuesday night's U.S. presidential debate. The election is seen the next significant catalyst for crypto assets, although there weren't any major surprises from the debate. Any post-debate weakness is merely a correction after the recent rally and some positioning ahead of U.S. inflation data, said Joel Kruger, market strategist at LMAX Group. Wednesday's CPI report and Thursday's producer price index could help determine the size of a widely expected rate cut at the end of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on Sept. 18.
— Tanaya Macheel
GameStop shares drop 10% following sales decline, stock offering
Shares of GameStop plunged more than 10% in premarket trading Wednesday after the video game company reported a steep decline in sales for the second quarter. Revenue of $798 million in the latest quarter marked a more than 20% drop from the $1.16 billion sales from the same quarter a year ago, according to FactSet.
GameStop posted quarterly earnings of just 1 cent. The meme stock's results are not comparable due to the light analyst coverage on Wall Street.
The firm also announced an "at-the-market" stock offering of up to 20 million shares.
— Yun Li
Mortgage rates fall for a sixth straight week
U.S. mortgage rates fell for a sixth straight week to 6.29% from 6.43%.
"Treasury yields have been responding to data showing a picture of cooling inflation, a slowing job market, and the anticipated first rate cut from the Federal Reserve later this month," said Joel Kan, MBA's vice president and deputy chief economist.
— Diana Olick
Shares of Trump Media fall 10.5% following presidential debate
Shares of Trump Media fell 10.5% in premarket trade after Tuesday evening's presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
The shares had rallied ahead of the live TV debate between the two presidential candidates, but dipped after the pair butted heads over topics including the economy, immigration and abortion.
The company, which is majority owned by the former president, has been on a rocky path since it debuted on the Nasdaq in March 2024, with volatility rising in recent weeks as the Nov. 5 election draws nearer.
— Karen Gilchrist
European stocks opened higher
European stocks were higher on Wednesday as global markets focus on the latest U.S. inflation data set to be released later in the day.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.39% by 8:30 a.m. London time, with the majority of sectors and all major bourses ticking higher. Mining stocks were up 1.78%, while health care fell 0.49%.
Retail stocks rose 1.72%, led by gains for Spanish fashion house Inditex, which added 4.2% after reporting a rebound in sales.
— Karen Gilchrist
Markets could see a 'punch in the stomach' moving forward, says Chris Verrone
On top of an already weak September that has historically pushed stocks lower, Wall Street could see another jolt ahead, according to Strategas Research Partners partner and head of technical analysis Chris Verrone.
"I don't think we get through the next four five six weeks without some punch in the stomach," Verrone told CNBC's "Closing Bell" on Tuesday. "Will that be viable? I do think ultimately it will be. The trends underneath it are probably strong enough, but there are questions that we have about what is the countercyclical message of markets and macro telling us about 2025."
— Brian Evans
Next year's earnings growth forecasts rely on tech and health care most of all, Strategas says
Next year's ambitious earnings growth forecasts rely on stronger results from technology and health-care stocks far more than any other sector, Strategas Securities analysts Ryan Grabinski and Jonathan Byrne wrote to clients Tuesday.
Tech and health care are forecast to contribute half of the 15% expected growth in S&P 500 profits in 2025. "With those two sectors being particularly important for next year's growth, any downward revisions there will slow the growth rate significantly," Strategas said. Financials and communications services stocks are also expected to show large contributions to next year's profits, while consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks are only forecast to boost 2025 profits by 10% combined.
Assumptions also rely on sky-high profit margins for corporate America as a whole.
The 15% earnings growth analysts see in 2025 would lift S&P 500 earnings to $280, and implies profit margins "next year would have to reach an all time high of 13.9%. This would be more than 1 percentage point higher than any point in the last 35 years. The highest operating EPS margin achieved was 12.4% in 2021 which was also a time when costs were way down due to closures and spending was up due to government transfers. For next year, it's very difficult to see how nearly 14% margins can be achieved," Strategas added.
— Scott Schnipper
Stocks making biggest moves after the bell: Petco, Dave & Buster's and more
These are the stocks moving the most in after-hours trading:
- Petco Health & Wellness — Shares rose 4% after the pet retailer posted second-quarter earnings that came in line with expectations, while Petco's revenue of $1.52 billion was slightly below the $1.53 billion analysts surveyed by LSEG had anticipated.
- Dave & Buster's Entertainment — The arcade chain's stock climbed 8% after Dave & Buster's posted earnings per share of 99 cents, while analysts polled by LSEG had expected just 84 cents.
- Morgan Stanley — The bank stock fell 1% following a downgrade to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs.
Read the full list of stocks moving here.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Stock futures open little changed
Stock futures opened near the flatline Tuesday night.
Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all trading marginally lower in extended trading hours.
— Lisa Kailai Han
