Major stock indexes rose Wednesday, the record-breaking 36th day of the U.S. government shutdown, as investors appeared to shake off concerns about an AI bubble and the U.S. Supreme Court voiced skepticism about President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq, benchmark S&P 500, and blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average were up a respective 1.1%, 0.8%, and 0.6% in recent trading.
Yesterday, the indexes all finished in the red, with the Nasdaq dropping 2% as Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares dropped 8% even though the AI software company posted record quarterly results and raised its full-year revenue outlook. Palantir shares, which entered Wednesday up more than 150% this year, fell a further 2%.
Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) initially appeared headed for a similar fate, falling sharply in premarket trading even though the firm late Tuesday reported record quarterly results above analysts’ projections as booming demand for AI helped boost sales of its data center chips. However, shares pared declines at the open and recently were up 2%.
In post-earnings moves, Pinterest (PINS) stock dropped 21%, Axon Enterprises (AXON) tanked 10%, Arista Networks (ANET) declined 7.5%, Super Micro Computer (SMCI) sank 9%, Humana (HUM) fell 8%, and U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) declined 2%. McDonald’s (MCD) stock advanced 2% and Amgen (AMGN) shares were up 7.5%.
Given the freeze on government economic data releases because of the shutdown, investors paid extra attention to this morning’s ADP employment report, which revealed that the private sector added 42,000 jobs in October, well ahead of expectations of an increase of 22,000. The shutdown is expected to delay Friday’s release of the October U.S. jobs report.
Also aiding markets was sharp questioning by Supreme Court justices of an attorney representing the White House. The court is determining whether President Trump has the authority to impose tariffs without Congress’s approval under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The 10-year Treasury yield, which influences interest rates on all kinds of consumer loans, jumped to 4.15% from 4.09% at yesterday’s close. Bitcoin, which yesterday fell below $100,000 for the first time since June, was trading around $104,000, up from the day’s low of below $99,000. The U.S. dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, was little changed at 100.22.
Gold futures rose 0.8% to just below $4,000 an ounce, while West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, fell 1.4% to below $60 a barrel.
Zimmer Biomet Stock Sinks on Worse-Than-Expected Q3 Revenue
1 minute ago
Zimmer Biomet Holdings (ZBH) was the worst-performing stock in the S&P 500 on Wednesday afternoon after the medical device maker’s third-quarter revenue came in weaker than expected.
The Warsaw, Ind.-based firm reported revenue that increased nearly 10% year-over-year to $2.00 billion, but it came in a tick below consensus estimates of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Adjusted earnings of $1.90 per share narrowly topped expectations.
For the full year, Zimmer Biomet affirmed its revenue growth guidance of 6.7% to 7.7%, but lowered the top end of its constant currency and organic constant currency revenue growth range projections.
Shares of Zimmer Biomet, which entered Wednesday down 2% this year, dropped almost 14%.
TradingView
A ‘Weaker Market’ Has This Housing Materials Maker’s Stock Plummeting 30%
59 minutes ago
Trex Co. (TREX) shares sank to multiyear lows after the maker of deck-building materials posted worse-than-expected results and lowered its outlook, citing a slump in spending for housing projects.
While the company saw spending in the repair and remodeling sector improving, CEO Bryan Fairbanks said, “the second half of the season reflected the weaker market conditions that the industry has experienced in the past two years.” Trex expects “this trend to continue in the seasonally slower fourth quarter,” he said.
Nathan Howard / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Shares of Trex were recently off some 28%, though they’re slightly off earlier lows.
Trex reported third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.51, missing Visible Alpha forecasts by $0.06. Revenue gained 22.1% to $285.3 million, also short of estimates.
The company nowsees fourth-quarter sales of $140 million to $150 million, below its earlier estimates, and reported a full-year outlook of $1.15 billion to $1.16 billion. That’s basically the same as 2024, compared to its previous expectation of an increase of 5% to 7%.
Read the full article here.
Novo Nordisk Is Seeing Slowing Demand for GLP-1s Wegovy and Ozempic
1 hr 12 min ago
U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk (NVO) fell after the drugmaker scaled back its outlook, citing disappointing demand for its GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes drugs as competition in the sector increases.
Novo Nordisk, the company behind Wegovy and Ozempic, posted third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of DK4.50 ($0.69), DK20 ($0.03) below the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha. Revenue was up 5.1% to DK74.98 billion ($11.53 billion), also short of forecasts.
Wegovy sales rose 18% to DK20.35 billion ($3.13 billion), below expectations. Ozempic sales added 3% to DK30.74 billion ($4.73 billion), better than anticipated.
Eric Thayer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The company now sees full-year operating profit growth of 4% to 7%, and sales of 8% to 11%. The previous outlook was for operating profit to gain 4% to 20% and sales to advance 8% to 14%. It said the change “reflects lowered growth expectations for Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 treatments within diabetes and obesity.” It’s the fourth time the company narrowed its guidance this year.
U.S.-listed shares of Novo Nordisk have lost about 46% of their value this year. The shares were recently off about 4%.
Private Sector Adds Jobs for the First Time in Three Months
1 hr 58 min ago
With the government shutdown still delaying official data, private measures of the labor market show the job market is still drying up.
U.S. private employers added 42,000 jobs in October, payroll provider ADP said Wednesday. That was more than the 22,000 forecasters had expected, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. The growth was a rebound after a loss of 29,000 jobs in September, but was slow by historic standards, far below the 221,000 jobs added in October 2024, for instance.
Kyle Grillot / Bloomberg via Getty Images
“You can blame the trade war, or a host of other factors—AI, earlier restrictive monetary policy, and the government shutdown—but it’s pretty clear that the labor market remains soft,” Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a commentary. “This could be the key that unlocks another Fed rate cut in December.”
Amgen Stock Leads Dow Gainers After Strong Q3 Results
2 hr 26 min ago
Amgen (AMGN) was the best-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Wednesday morning after the biopharmaceutical firm posted third-quarter results that easily topped analysts’ estimates.
Shares advanced 5.5% in recent trading, a day after the Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based firm reported adjusted earnings of $5.64 per share on sales that rose 12% year-over-year to $9.56 billion. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected $5.02 and $8.96 billion, respectively.
Product sales increased 12%, with volume growth of 14% but a 4% lower net selling price.
“We delivered strong volume growth this quarter, reflecting the demand for our medicines and the impact we’re having on patients worldwide,” CEO Robert Bradway said. “With disciplined investment and a pipeline of first-in-class medicines, we’re focused on expanding access, advancing innovation, and sustaining long-term growth.”
Amgen shares are up more than 20% this year, roughly double the Dow’s advance.
TradingView
This Social-Media Stock Is Down 20% Today
2 hr 50 min ago
Shares of Pinterest (PINS) plunged after the visual social media and search company missed profit expectations and gave weak holiday quarter guidance.
The company posted third-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $0.38, three cents below what analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for. Revenue rose 17% to $1.05 billion, in line with forecasts.
For the current quarter, Pinterest sees revenue in the range of $1.31 billion to $1.34 billion, while Visible Alpha analysts are anticipating $1.34 billion.
Nikolas Kokovlis / NurPhoto via Getty Images
The news sent Pinterest shares down 20% in morning trading and into negative territory for the year. Shares of Snap (SNAP) and Meta Platforms (META) made far more muted early moves by comparison.
In the U.S. and Canada, revenue increased 9% to $786 million, and average revenue per user (ARPU) gained 5% to $7.64. Both were below Visible Alpha estimates. Global ARPU of $1.78 was slightly less than expected.
The results and outlook offset strong user growth, with the company setting a record with 600 million monthly active users.
As Childcare Prices Outpace Inflation, More Women Are Dropping Out of The Labor Market
4 hr 30 min ago
With the price of childcare escalating, even faster than rent and college tuition for some families, more mothers are opting out of a job and becoming full-time caregivers for their children.
The cost of daycare increased by 5.2% in September compared to the same period last year, according to a report from Bank of America. That is almost twice as fast as overall inflation, which rose 3% annually in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Vera Livchak/Getty Images
This year, for the first time since 2021, there was an increase in the number of women who said their family is the reason they are not in the labor force, according to the bank.
Childcare costs are rising so fast that the price for one child is more than a month’s rent for some families, according to a 2024 report from the Department of Labor. Average costs also surpassed the average annual tuition and fees at a four-year public college by nearly $1,800, according to a report from The Conference Board.
Read the full article here.
Axon Enterprises Stock Plummets as Q3 Adjusted Profit Comes Up Well Short of Expectations
5 hr 15 min ago
Taser maker Axon Enterprises’ third-quarter sales jumped 31% year-over-year and topped analysts’ expectations. Its stock is plummeting nevertheless.
Shares of Axon Enterprises (AXON) tanked 18% in premarket trading Wednesday, a day after the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based firm reported an adjusted profit of $1.17, well below the $1.49 consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha.
Sales of $710.6 million were about $5 million above analysts’ projections. It was the seventh consecutive quarter that the company’s sales grew at least 30% from the prior-year period.
Axon Enterprises also announced it had agreed to acquire emergency communications firm Carbyne for $625 million, a deal it expects to close in the first quarter of 2026.
Axon Enterprises shares entered Wednesday up about 19% this year.
TradingView
Stock Futures Point Lower as AI Bubble Concerns Continue
6 hr 5 min ago
Futures contracts connected to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.1%.
TradingView
S&P 500 futures slipped 0.3%.
TradingView
Nasdaq 100 futures pulled back 0.4%.
TradingView
