Wall Street stocks, led by S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, ended higher on Tuesday, as technology stocks rebounded, while investors digested President-elect Donald Trump's tariff pledges on top trade partners and the latest minutes from the Federal Reserve. Tesla fell 0.11%, Nvidia rose 0.7%, MicroStrategy fell 12%.
The minutes of the Nov. 6-7 meeting showed the group agreed this was a moment to avoid giving much concrete guidance about how U.S. monetary policy is likely to evolve in the weeks ahead.
"The minutes did nothing to alter my view that the policy rate is going to be adjusted lower next week and will continue to do so through the next calendar year," said Jamie Cox, managing partner for Harris Financial Group.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 123.74 points, or 0.28%, to 44,860.31, the S&P 500 gained 34.26 points, or 0.57%, to 6,021.63 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 119.46 points, or 0.63%, to 19,174.30.
Market Movers
Ford was down 2.6% and General Motors declined 9% after Trump announced his tariff plans. Analysts at Baird said the tariffs "placed a bullseye on the U.S. auto industry," estimating that a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada would reduce U.S. car sales by about 1.1 million units. Bernstein analyst Daniel Roeska wrote Tuesday that higher costs could shave 2 to 3 percentage points of profit margin from General Motors.
Zoom posted better-than-expected third-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue but shares of the video-communications platform were down 6.3%. The company, which Monday changed its corporate name to Zoom Communications from Zoom Video Communications, said it expects fiscal 2025 revenue of $4.656 billion to $4.661 billion compared with expectations of $4.64 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were forecast at $5.41 to $5.43, higher than estimates for $5.33.
Shares of SUPER MICRO COMPUTER INC declined 10% after the server maker jumped 16% on Monday for its third-straight double-digit percentage gain, the first time the stock has done that since going public in March 2007. The stock has rallied since Super Micro last week submitted a plan to remain listed on the Nasdaq and engaged BDO USA as its new auditor.
Amgen was down 4.8%. The company announced positive data from a Phase 2 study for its experimental weight-loss drug, MariTide. The data showed up to 20% average weight loss at 52 weeks but that was below analysts' estimates of a weight-loss reduction up to about 25%.
Rivian Automotive, Inc. was down 0.4% after saying it received conditional approval for a loan of up to $6.6 billion from the U.S. government "to accelerate its growth and leadership of electric-vehicle design, development and manufacturing in the United States." Rivian said the loan will support the construction of the company's next EV plant in Georgia and provide funding for production of its midsize platform.
Chip maker Semtech jumped 18% after reporting a third-quarter loss that narrowed from a year earlier as revenue jumped 18% to $236.8 million. The company also issued a fourth-quarter revenue forecast that was better than expected. CEO Hong Hou said he sees artificial-intelligence-driven product demand to be a "long-term and transformational growth engine for Semtech."
Analog Devices was down 2%. The semiconductor company's fourth-quarter adjusted earnings beat analysts' estimates and the company said orders picked up steadily during the quarter, "particularly in the automotive end market," though macro uncertainty continues to cloud the company's outlook.
Eli Lilly rose 4.6% after the Biden administration proposed e xpanded coverage of anti-obesity medications under Medicare and Medicaid. Lilly makes weight-loss drug Zepbound. Novo-Nordisk A/S, the Danish company that makes Wegovy, was up 1.5% in U.S. trading.
Best Buy tumbled 4.9% after the consumer-electronics retailer reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that missed Wall Street estimates. The company also slightly lowered its guidance for the fiscal year ending in January.
Kohl's fell 17% after the retailer reported third-quarter earnings and revenue that missed analysts' estimates. The earnings release followed the announcement Monday that CEO Tom Kingsbury would be stepping down effective Jan. 15, and would be replaced by Ashley Buchanan, chief executive of Michaels, the crafts retailer. Buchanan will be the third Kohl's CEO since 2018.
NRG Energy Inc rose 10% and was the top performer in the S&P 500. Analysts at Jefferies upgraded shares of the energy company to Buy from Hold and raised their price target to $113 from $93. The upgrade was prompted by greater confidence in the company's growth plan and because its valuation is much lower than competitors in the power and industrials space, according to Jefferies.
Market News
Some Fed Policymakers Open to Lowering the Overnight Repo Rate
Some Federal Reserve policymakers believe it may soon be time to lower the rate on funds that banks and money market funds park at the Fed, minutes from the Fed's most recent meeting indicated, so that it once again matches the bottom of the range of the policy rate.
The so-called overnight reverse repurchase agreement rate, one of two technical lending rates the Fed uses to ensure the federal funds rate stays within its monetary policy target range, is currently set at 4.55%, while the policy rate range is 4.5% to 4.75%.
Workday Slumps as Lowered Guidance Weighs on Strong Q3 Results
Workday shares fell 4.5% in late trading after the back office software provider lowered its full-year revenue outlook that overshadowed stronger-than-expected third-quarter results.
The company now expects fiscal 2025 subscription revenue to be between $7.703B, up 17%, down from a prior range of $7.7B to $7.73B, while it expects its adjusted operating margin guidance to 25.5%, up from a prior view of 25.25%.
Looking to the fourth-quarter, Workday expects subscription revenue to be $2.03B, a tick below the $2.04B estimate.
Dell Forecasts Downbeat Fourth-Quarter Revenue on PC Weakness
Dell Technologies Inc. forecast fourth-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, weighed down by weaker demand for its traditional PCs and competition from rival server makers, sending its shares down 11% in extended trading.
Despite booming demand for the company's AI-optimized servers used to handle large artificial intelligence workloads, Dell's PC segment has been grappling with stiff competition from rivals and weak consumer spending amid an uncertain economy.
Autodesk Beats Third-Quarter Revenue Estimates, Announces New CFO
Autodesk beat Wall Street expectations for third-quarter revenue on Tuesday, benefiting from strong design software adoption, but shares fell 9% in extended trading as investors bet on higher levels of growth.
Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital, said that a strong upward trend in the company's shares after its first and second quarter results boosted expectations for the firm.
