The Nasdaq rose 1% and the S&P 500 also ended higher on Wednesday as Alphabet jumped after a U.S. judge ruled against breaking up the Google parent and as investors were optimistic that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this month.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 24.58 points, or 0.05%, to 45,271.23, the S&P 500 rose 32.72 points, or 0.51%, to 6,448.26 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 218.10 points, or 1.02%, to 21,497.73.
Market Movers
Alphabet jumped 9.1% to its highest close on record after a judge in the U.S. vs. Google antitrust case ruled the search company wouldn't have to sell its Chrome web browser. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled, however, that Google would no longer be permitted to enter or keep any exclusive contracts that relate to distribution of Google Search, Chrome, Google Assistant, and the Gemini app. The judge also ordered Google to share search data with its competitors.
Apple, meanwhile, gained 3.8% after Mehta ruled that Google won't be barred from paying the iPhone maker to make Google the default search provider on its devices. Apple has a search distribution deal with Google. The court said it could revisit that part of the ruling.
Tesla stock rose 1.44%. Tesla has finally released its ‘Master Plan Part 4’ and it’s nothing more than a smorgasbord of AI promises about its humanoid robot, which can’t even serve popcorn.
Figma posted a slight beat on second-quarter profit and revenue in its first financial report as a public company on Wednesday, but fell short of the lofty expectations set by AI and tech investors, sending its shares down 14% after the bell.
C3.ai stock was down 12% after-hours as the company's outlook continued a recent pattern of disappointments. The company reported an adjusted fiscal first-quarter loss of 37 cents a share on revenue of $70.3 million. That figure was roughly in line with preliminary results that C3.ai provided for the July quarter on Aug. 8. At the time, the company said that it expected revenue for the quarter to be between $70.2 million and $70.4 million, about 33% below its prior guidance.
Zscaler was down 1.5%. The cybersecurity company reported fiscal fourth-quarter adjusted earnings that beat analysts' consensus. It said it anticipates fiscal-year earnings of $3.64 to $3.69 a share from revenue of $3.27 billion to $3.28 billion. Zscaler's profit guidance was in line with consensus but its expectations for revenue were higher than forecasts. CEO Jay Chaudhry said Zscaler was rapidly expanding its artificial-intelligence security portfolio to address the emerging risks of AI models and applications.
Nvidia dipped slightly to mark its fifth consecutive close lower. The stock has been pressured by worries of a slowdown in AI spending after the company's second-quarter data center revenue missed expectations. Nvidia remains up 26% for the year.
Dollar Tree was down 8.2% after the discount retailer reported second-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that topped analysts' expectations but issued a lukewarm third-quarter forecast.
Macy's was up 21% after the retailer topped quarterly earnings expectations and raised guidance. The chain reported its first quarter of same-store sales growth after 12 straight quarters of declines.
Campbell's rose 7.2% after the packaged food maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations. Campbell's, however, forecast tariff-related challenges in the year ahead.
Oil producer ConocoPhillips said it would be slashing up to a quarter of its workforce. "We are always looking at how we can be more efficient with the resources we have," a ConocoPhillips spokesperson said. "As part of this process, we have informed employees that a 20% to 25% reduction in our global workforce, which includes employees and contractors, is anticipated." The stock fell 4.4%.
HealthEquity was up 7.5%. The custodian for health-savings accounts posted second-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue that beat analysts' expectations and raised fiscal-year earnings guidance. Management said it expects adjusted profit of between $3.74 and $3.91 a share, up from previous guidance of $3.61 to $3.78.
Shares of Bruker fell 12% after the scientific instruments maker announced a $600 million convertible share offering. Proceeds will be used strengthen the balance sheet, the company said, and to help pay off some debt.
Market News
Nasdaq Revamps Listing Rules for Small IPOs and Chinese Firms
Nasdaq Inc. is revamping rules that companies pursuing small initial public offerings must follow to list and continue to be traded on its exchanges, the latest effort to protect investors from wild swings in the market and improve liquidity.
The exchange operator proposed a set of new standards that small companies listing on Nasdaq must abide by, according to a statement Wednesday. Its proposal also calls for additional requirements for new listings of companies with operations based in China.
Nasdaq’s changes come amid broader concerns over eye-popping moves in publicly traded companies with relatively small market capitalization and thin liquidity. For example, shares of Regencell Bioscience Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong-based traditional Chinese medicine company with no sales, exploded 82,000% higher this year before retreating. Pheton Holdings Ltd., another tiny Chinese health care stock, lost 90% of its market value in a matter of minutes.
US Labor Market Softening as Job Openings Hit 10-Month Low, Hiring Remains Tepid
U.S. job openings fell to a 10-month low in July and there were more unemployed people than positions available for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, data consistent with easing labor market conditions and supporting expectations the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates this month.
Despite cooling demand for workers, layoffs remained relatively low, the Labor Department report showed on Wednesday. Fewer workers are also engaging in job-hopping. There were 0.99 job openings for every unemployed person, down from 1.05 in June and the first drop below the 1.0 mark since April 2021, when the economy was digging out of the pandemic-induced slump.
