The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished Wednesday's trading day in negative territory but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq made record closes after Wall Street reacted to surprise inflation data. Thursday's critical inflation report was on the minds of investors on the stock market today, as it is the last key economic review ahead of the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting on Sept. 16-17.
Among stocks making big moves, artificial intelligence database play Oracle rocketed higher following its financial update, and a new issue surged on its first trading day.
The Dow dropped 0.5% at the closing bell, with Apple and Amazon losing more than 3% each. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.3% to a record close, drawing strength from Oracle's stock, which added more than a third to the company's market cap.
Though it flirted with negative territory near the end of the market day, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite managed to tip into positive ground and score a fresh closing high. Synopsys weighed on the index, however, as shares lost a third of their value after a mixed outlook from the design automation company.
Small caps in the Russell 2000 dropped 0.2%.
Volume on the New York Stock Exchange and on the Nasdaq was higher compared with the same time on Tuesday. Decliners slightly beat advancers on the Nasdaq while winners eked out more gains than losers on the NYSE.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 4.05%. Crude oil rose near $63.75 a barrel.
3:36 p.m. ET
S&P 500 Sectors: Technology, Energy Lead; Consumer Discretionary Lags
Six sectors in the S&P 500 gained. Energy, technology and utilities led, rising more than 1% each. Consumer discretionary lagged the most, falling nearly 2%. Health stocks fell 1%.
Oracle Lifts AI Stocks; Amazon Enters Robotaxi Race
As Oracle bolted higher, several AI chip stocks rose. Nvidia cleared its 50-day moving average with a gain of more than 3%. But Broadcom shot up nearly 9%. Advanced Micro Devices climbed nearly 2%.
Elsewhere, Amazon edged lower even as the tech behemoth's subsidiary, Zoox, launched its robotaxi rides in Las Vegas on Wednesday. The company is offering rides for free now and plans to charge for its rides after regulatory approvals.
Futures: Nvidia Leads New Buys As Oracle Powers Big AI Stock Rally
2:21 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: New IPO Pops
Klarna soared more than 40% during the stock's public trading debut on Wall Street on Wednesday. The "buy now, pay later" service provider is a rival to Affirm.
The stock opened at 52 after its initial public offering was priced at $40 a share. The shares intraday gained as much as 43% to 57.20. Klarna is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
1:11 p.m. ET
Taiwan Semiconductor Gains After August Sales
Taiwan Semiconductor jumped more than 4%, rising for the sixth day in a row after the contract manufacturer of artificial intelligence chips reported that August sales grew 34% year over year.
Shares broke out of a flat base at a buy point of 248.28 on Tuesday and shot past the 5% buy zone on Wednesday.
12:21 p.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Key Inflation Report Looms
Thursday's consumer price index report for August is on watch. Economists anticipate inflation to tick 0.3% higher from July and 2.9% annually. Core inflation is seen rising 0.3% month-on-month as well with an annual increase of 3.1%.
In stocks, Nvidia, Caterpillar and Chevron gained in the Dow while Apple, Salesforce and Amazon lagged.
Apple and Amazon are in bases. Apple is in a 37-weeks-long consolidation with a buy point of 260.10. However, it's on track for a four-day losing streak, and was down nearly 3% in recent action.
Amazon also fell nearly 3% and slipped below a buy point of 236.53 after breaking out on Monday.
Outside the Dow, losses mounted for Rubrik in midday trades. Shares tumbled more than 14% and fell below their 50-day moving average, breaking a three-day winning streak.
11:17 a.m. ET
Travere Rockets On FDA News; Humana Extends Losses
In biotech news, Travere Therapeutics zoomed 26% higher after the company announced that the Food and Drug Administration will no longer require an advisory committee as it continues to review Travere's supplementary new drug application for Filspari, its drug to treat kidney disease.
The FDA application remains under review with a target action date of Jan. 13, 2026. Shares had broken out of a cup-with-handle base with a buy point of 19.08 in August before gapping up on Wednesday.
In managed care, Humana extended its losses by more than 2% Wednesday after falling a sharp 12% on Tuesday. Shares are pressured amid fears that the criteria for Medicare plans to get bonuses may be getting harder, Bloomberg reported. Shares are finding support at their 50-day moving average for now.
10:29 a.m. ET
Earnings Deliver A Body Blow To Synopsys, Chewy
Software designer Synopsys plummeted by roughly 33% and fell below its 50-day moving average in heavy volume. Shares triggered a sell signal. Earnings for its July-ended quarter declined 1% to $3.39 per share while sales grew 14% to $1.7 billion.
The company's outlook for the current quarter came in mixed. Its earnings forecast of $2.78 per share at the midpoint missed estimates of $3.15 by a wide margin, while sales of $2.25 billion edged past views of $2.2 billion. Synopsys makes electronic automation software used in AI applications.
Synopsys rival Cadence Design Systems fell nearly 4% in sympathy and also undercut its 50-day moving average. Cadence is on IBD Long Term Leaders.
Chewy reported earnings of 33 cents per share on sales of $3.1 billion for the 13 weeks ended Aug. 3. Both beat estimates of 14 cents in earnings per share on sales of $3 billion.
Shares had started to build the right side of a cup base with a buy point of 48.62 but plunged by more than 15% Wednesday and undercut their 50-day moving average.
9:46 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Nasdaq 100: Broadcom Jumps, Synopsys Crashes
Inside the Nasdaq 100, Broadcom, Advanced Micro Devices and Arm Holdings rallied sharply in morning action. Broadcom, up more than 7%, is nearing a new high, while AMD stock climbed nearly 3%, attempting to regain its 50-day moving average. Arm stock jumped 4.5%, also trying to clear its 50-day line.
Meanwhile, Synopsys crashed by more than 32% while Cadence Design Systems tumbled more than 8%.
9:19 a.m. ET
Dow Jones Movers: Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple
Nvidia and Microsoft headed up the blue chip index, with premarket gains of 3.2% and 1.4%, respectively. Microsoft shares are looking to extend a winning streak to three sessions, while Nvidia is poised to retake its key 50-day moving average.
On the downside, Amazon and Apple were among the early losers. Amazon stock dropped 0.6%, falling back to a 236.53 buy point. And Apple shares also lost 0.5%, threatening to fall further below a 235.12 entry.
8:49 a.m. ET
Stock Market Today: Inflation Gauge Unexpectedly Falls
Early Wednesday, the Labor Department said the producer price index dropped 0.1% on the month in August, far below estimates that called for a 0.3% increase. The PPI rose 2.6% year over year, below economists' estimate for 3.3%.
Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, dropped 0.1% on the month, with an annual increase of 2.8%. Both were also far below estimates.
8:13 a.m. ET
Oracle Soars On Earnings
Oracle stock catapulted nearly 32% higher in premarket action Wednesday after the database software giant gave a bullish outlook for its cloud business. A swelling backlog of work helped investors shrug off earnings and revenue that were short of expectations for its fiscal first quarter.
Oracle said in a press release that remaining performance obligations, or RPO, surged 359% to $455 billion during its August-ended quarter. RPO measures contracted revenue that has not yet been recognized, and is a closely watched metric for Oracle's backlog as it scales up cloud data centers to serve AI demand.
As for the August-ended fiscal first quarter, Oracle said it earned an adjusted $1.47 per share, up 6% from a year earlier. That's just below the $1.48 per share forecast from analysts polled by FactSet. Sales increased 12% to $14.9 billion, compared with analyst estimates of $15.04 billion.
Other Key Earnings Movers: GameStop
Other earnings movers Wednesday morning included AeroVironment, GameStop and Rubrik.
AeroVironment shares rallied more than 3.3% in morning action, while GameStop surged more than 8%. Finally, Rubrik declined 2% in premarket trading.
Stock Market Today: Inflation Data
Due at 8:30 a.m. ET is the Labor Department's producer price index, or PPI. PPI is expected to rise 0.3% in August, and up 3.3% year over year.
Core PPI, which excludes energy and food, is anticipated to climb 0.3%, with an annual increase of 3.5%, according to Econoday estimates.
Then, on Thursday, the consumer price index is on deck.
Be sure to follow Scott Lehtonen on X at @IBD_SLehtonen for more on growth stocks, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the stock market today.
Please follow VRamakrishnan on X/Twitter for more news on the stock market today.
