Dow ends with first day of gains in five sessions. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed lower on Wednesday, taking a break from the prior session's rally as investors worried about escalating Russia-Ukraine tensions and weak results from Target.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 139.53 points, or 0.32%, to 43,408.47, the S&P 500 gained 0.13 points, or 0.00%, to 5,917.11 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 21.32 points, or 0.11%, to 18,966.14.
Market Movers
Nvidia — The artificial intelligence darling slid 1% despite exceeding expectations for the third quarter and providing strong guidance. Nvidia posted 81 cents in adjusted earnings per share and $35.08 billion in revenue. Analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting 75 cents in earnings per share and $33.16 billion in revenue.
Snowflake — The cloud stock soared 19% after beating earnings expectations for the third quarter and issuing strong guidance. Snowflake posted adjusted earnings of 20 cents per share on $942 million in revenue, while analysts surveyed by LSEG predicted 15 cents in earnings per share and $897 million in revenue.
Palo Alto Networks — The cybersecurity stock slipped 5%. Palo Alto announced a two-for-one stock split. The company issued fiscal second-quarter guidance, calling for adjusted earnings of $1.54 to $1.56 per share on revenue of $2.22 billion to $2.25 billion. That was roughly in line with the Street’s forecast of $1.55 per share in earnings and $2.23 billion in revenue, per FactSet.
Jack in the Box — The restaurant chain tumbled 5.6% after revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter came in at $349.3 million, under the consensus forecast of $356.7 million from analysts polled by FactSet. On the other hand, Jack in the Box earned $1.16 per share, excluding items, which was 7 cents ahead of what Wall Street penciled in.
Target sank 21% after the retailer reported third-quarter earnings of $1.85 a share, coming in well below analysts' expectations for $2.30. Fourth-quarter earnings will range between $1.85 and $2.45 a share, compared with analysts' forecasts for $2.65, the retailer said. "We expected a material comp and earnings shortfall vs. Street forecasts, but this was deeper than we anticipated," wrote Rupesh Parikh, an analyst at Oppenheimer.
Comcast confirmed Wednesday a plan to spin off its NBCUniversal cable TV networks. The company will spin off MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Oxygen, E!, Syfy, and Golf Channel, assets that generated about $7 billion in revenue in the 12 months ended Sept. 30. Comcast shares were up 1.6%.
Keysight Technologies jumped 8.9% after fiscal fourth-quarter earnings at the test-equipment maker topped analysts' expectations. On an adjusted basis, Keysight earned $1.65 a share in the period, better than estimates of $1.57. Revenue declined 1.8% to $1.29 billion but beat estimates of $1.26 billion. For its fiscal first quarter, the company said it anticipates adjusted earnings of $1.65 to $1.71 a share on revenue of $1.27 billion to $1.29 billion. Wall Street has been forecasting adjusted earnings of $1.57 a share on revenue of $1.24 billion.
Super Micro Computer was down 8.7% following the stock's surge of 31% on Tuesday after the server maker submitted a plan to remain listed on the Nasdaq exchange.
U.S.-listed shares of NIO were up 0.4% after the Chinese electric-vehicle maker reported a third-quarter loss that was wider than a year earlier as revenue fell 2.1% to 18.67 billion yuan, lower than analysts' expectations.
Netflix rose 1.4%. The stock closed up 2.9% to a record high of $871.32 on Tuesday after the streaming giant announced the boxing event between YouTube personality Jake Paul and former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson drew 108 million global viewers. Netflix said the boxing match was the most-streamed global sporting event ever.
Fabrinet declined 9% to $226.30 after the stock was downgraded to Sell from Neutral at B. Riley and the price target was reduced to $178 from $194. Fabrinet makes certain optical cables for Nvidia.
Williams-Sonoma surged 28% after the home-goods retailer reported better-than-expected third-quarter adjusted earnings and as operating profit margins rose to 17.8% from 17% a year earlier. The company also boosted its outlook for fiscal-year operating margins.
Ford Motor fell 2.9% to $10.73 after the auto maker announced plans to slash 14% of its European workforce. It will cut 4,000 jobs, mostly in Germany and the U.K.
Market News
Archegos' Bill Hwang sentenced to 18 years in prison for massive US fraud
Former billionaire investor Sung Kook "Bill" Hwang was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Wednesday over the collapse of Archegos Capital Management, which cost Wall Street banks more than $10 billion.
Hwang was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in Manhattan, where a jury convicted Hwang in July on 10 criminal charges including wire fraud, securities fraud and market manipulation.
"The amount of losses that were caused by your conduct are larger than any other losses I have dealt with," Hellerstein said before announcing the sentence.
Billionaire Gautam Adani of India's Adani Group charged in US with bribery, fraud
Gautam Adani, the billionaire chair of Indian conglomerate Adani Group and one of the world's richest people, has been indicted in New York over his role in an alleged multibillion-dollar bribery and fraud scheme, U.S. prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Authorities said Adani and seven other defendants, including his nephew Sagar Adani, agreed to pay about $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to obtain solar energy supply contracts expected to yield $2 billion of profit over 20 years.
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