The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed higher with other major equity indexes Wednesday in another day packed with earnings reports from Corporate America. Wall Street also weighed a Federal Reserve official saying an interest-rate cut would be appropriate in September. Blue-chip McDonald's, Advanced Micro Devices, and Super Micro Computer were among earnings movers in the stock market today.
The Dow finished up 0.2%, a modest advance compared with rival large-cap gauges. Winners were led by Apple, with its 5.1% jump also contributing to gains on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite. The Nasdaq composite scored a 1.2% rise and marked its second-highest close on record. The S&P 500 ended up 0.7%.
Volume was lower on the New York Stock Exchange and higher on the Nasdaq compared with the same time on Tuesday. Advancers and decliners were evenly matched on both exchanges.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index slipped 0.2% after two days of gains. In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose three basis points to 4.23%. Crude oil fell more than 1%, trading at around $64 a barrel.
3:43 p.m. ET
Six Flags Crashes On Earnings
Six Flags Entertainment plummeted on earnings. The company said it lost 99 cents per share, though second-quarter sales grew 63% to $930.4 million. Shares had been facing resistance at the 50-day moving average after a breakout failed in January. On Wednesday, shares plunged more than 20% in heavy volume. Shares also fell amid the company's announcement that Chief Executive Richard Zimmerman will step down at the end of the year.
2:29 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: More Earnings Movers
Korea Electric Power, meanwhile, broke out of a flat base at a buy point of 14.79. Shares have cleared an early-stage base. The blue dot on its weekly chart on IBD MarketSurge shows that its relative strength line is at a new high.
Upstart plummeted to its 50-day moving average despite a third-quarter sales outlook that was above Wall Street's target. For the third quarter, the company expects sales of $280 million, above expectations of $277.4 million. For its June quarter, the artificial intelligence cloud platform that provides a marketplace for banks, credit unions and consumers posted earnings of 36 cents per share on sales of $257.3 million.
Cirrus Logic triggered a sell signal by falling below its converged 50-day and 200-day moving averages in heavy volume. Shares fell after first-quarter results. Earnings grew 35% to $1.51 per share while sales growth decelerated to 9% or $407.3 million. Cirrus Logic designs chips used in the energy and industrial markets.
Futures: Nine Big Earnings Movers; Two Titans Near Buy Points
1:34 p.m. ET
S&P 500 Sectors: Consumer Staples, Consumer Discretionary Lead
Among S&P 500 sectors, five of 11 sectors rose. Consumer staples and Consumer discretionary were top gainers. Health, utilities, and materials led decliners.
12:35 p.m. ET
Search For Fed Governor Gathers Steam
Elsewhere, Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, on Wednesday reported that President Donald Trump's advisers were pushing for a temporary replacement for Federal Reserve Gov. Adrianna Kruger's seat after her resignation Friday. Trump said he will make a decision this week about filling the vacancy, the report said.
Elsewhere, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari told CNBC it may be time to cut rates soon. While the effects of tariffs may not be known for a year or more, signs that the economy is slowing are mounting, he said. Kashkari's remarks follow San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly's opinion that a rate cut may be near. The Fed stood pat on rates at its July meeting.
The latest updates to tariffs came by way of a hike to levies on India. President Donald Trump raised tariffs by 25% because of the country's purchase of Russian oil, the White House announced.
11:39 a.m. ET
Apple Soars On $100 Billion Investment Hopes
In stocks, Apple jumped nearly 6% amid reports the tech leader will announce a $100 billion investment in the U.S. in addition to the $500 billion commitment over four years the company made earlier.
Shares rebounded from their 50-day moving average Wednesday. Apple was the biggest gainer in the Dow on Wednesday. The relative strength line is edging higher, though Apple's Relative Strength Rating lags at 26.
Stock Market Today: EV Stocks Fall On Earnings
Lucid suffered losses after announcing its second quarter results late Tuesday. Shares fell below the 50-day moving average after the electric vehicle company reported a loss of 24 cents per share on sales of $259.4 million. Rivian also fell after its June quarter report. Shares fell further below their 50-day moving average.
NRG Energy triggered a sell signal after its earnings report Wednesday. Earnings of $1.68 per share showed a sharp deceleration in growth. Earnings grew 2% from the prior year and decelerated from the prior quarter, which saw an 84% growth. Sales of $6.7 billion grew 1% after a 16% increase in the March quarter. NRG stock undercut its 50-day moving average in heavy volume.
Elsewhere in market action, small-cap stocks were hurt, with the Russell 2000 down 0.3% and losing ground after two days of gains.
Amgen was the largest loser on the Dow. It fell more than 5% after the biotech firm late Tuesday posted sales declines for several key products in its quarterly earnings report.
Volume was lower on the New York Stock Exchange and higher on the Nasdaq. Advancers led on the NYSE but decliners controlled the action on the Nasdaq.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose after four days of declines and stood at 4.22%.
10:52 a.m. ET
Weight Loss Leader Falls On Cautious Outlook
Novo Nordisk fell after its cautious outlook for 2025. The weight loss drug leader faces competition from compounded versions of Wegovy. Sales of Wegovy beat estimates of $2.97 billion in the June quarter and came in at $3.04 billion.
MarketAxess plunged after its second-quarter results. Earnings of $2 per share topped views of $1.96. Sales of $219 million came in a notch lower than estimates of $219.2 million. The stock fell below its 50-day moving average in July and remains below it.
Earnings also moved Global Payments. Second-quarter earnings of $3.10 per share beat estimates by 6 cents a share while adjusted net revenue rose 2% to $2.4 billion. Shares had pulled back to their 50-day moving average headed into earnings but rebounded from that level on Wednesday.
Emerson Electric extended its losses after its June-quarter earnings report. Shares fell back below a buy point of 134.85 after gaining 11% from that entry and triggered a round-trip sell signal.
9:42 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Oil Rises To $66 A Barrel
Oil prices rose with West Texas Intermediate futures selling around $66.30 a barrel.
Among exchange traded funds, the Invesco QQQ Trust gained 0.1%. Also, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF added a fraction after Wednesday's market open.
8:43 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Movers: Apple, Cisco, Nvidia, Visa
Inside the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Apple, Cisco Systems, Nvidia and Visa were among the biggest movers Wednesday morning besides McDonald's and Disney, both of which reported earnings.
Apple shares rallied 1.4% Wednesday premarket, looking to retake their 50-day moving average line. Cisco shares moved up 0.5%, approaching a 69.78 buy point. And Visa rose 0.4%, looking to bounce back from recent losses.
On the downside, Nvidia stock declined 0.8%, on pace to add to Tuesday's 1% decline.
8:04 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Nvidia Rival AMD Stock Dives On Earnings
AMD stock tumbled more than 5% Wednesday morning after the company met Wall Street's earnings target for the second quarter on higher-than-expected sales.
The fabless chipmaker earned an adjusted 48 cents a share on sales of $7.69 billion in the June quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected AMD to earn 48 cents a share on sales of $7.41 billion. On a year-over-year basis, AMD earnings declined 30% while sales increased 32%.
AMD's results were hit by the U.S. government's export control restrictions, which kept AMD from selling its Instinct MI308 data center processors to China. The restrictions led to about $800 million in inventory and related charges during the quarter.
Earnings Movers: McDonald's, Astera Labs, Super Micro
McDonald's stock rallied nearly 4% Wednesday morning after the company beat Wall Street's estimates. Global same-store sales jumped 3.8%, its biggest rise in nearly two years.
Other key earnings movers Wednesday included Astera Labs, Super Micro, Disney, Hinge Health, Shopify, Toast and Uber Technologies
Astera stock soared nearly 20%, while Super Micro shares plunged nearly 17%. Disney stock slipped 2%, as Hinge shares surged more than 12%. Shopify shares leaped more than 16%. Toast stock declined 1.5%, and Uber shares gained nearly 2% in premarket trading.
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