Stocks rose as investors awaited the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision later Wednesday and key Big Tech earnings after the closing bell.
U.S.-listed shares of SK Hynix jumped 10%. The South Korean memory-chip maker reported stellar third-quarter earnings and said it expects demand to outpace supply through 2030. The record-breaking earnings also boosted shares of rivals: Micron gained 4.7%, while Samsung rose 9%.
GE Vernova dropped 2.9%. Though the company's orders blew past Wall Street's estimates for the third quarter, fears over artificial-intelligence spending were weighing down the stock.
GE HealthCare gained 7.7% after the medical device maker beat third-quarter projections and raised its annual guidance. Management now expects 4% organic revenue growth for the year, up from 3% to 4% growth previously.
Meanwhile, another medical device maker struggled. Boston Scientific dropped 7.7% after the company announced a long-expected full-year guidance cut. It has faced operational disruptions and business impacts from a late August cyberattack.
Vertiv advanced 14% after the data-center infrastructure provider reported strong third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance, showing that Microsoft or Alphabet weren't the only ways to play the artificial-intelligence boom.
Wendy's jumped 14% to $7.03. Trian Fund Management submit an all-cash offer to acquire Wendy's for $7.35 a share, valuing the fast-food chain at $1.4 billion and representing a 20% premium over the closing price Tuesday.
Robinhood Markets declined 3.6%. The online trading platform reported weaker-than-expected sales for the third quarter, as a slump in the price of Bitcoin and other digital assets weighed on its crypto revenue.
Seagate Technology slid 2.1%. The hard-disk-drive maker's fiscal first-quarter results beat analysts' expectations, but not by enough to stop investors locking in some profit. Shares are up 143% this year.
Enphase Energy slumped 15% after the company missed Wall Street's estimates and lowered its outlook due to weak residential demand. Enphase reported revenue of $293 million for the quarter, a 28% drop from a year ago.
Investors faced a high-stakes afternoon ahead of them as Microsoft and Alphabet were set to report after the closing bell Wednesday.
Alphabet climbed 1.1%. Ahead of its third-quarter earnings, investors will likely zero in on the Google parent's spending on artificial intelligence.
Microsoft slipped 0.4%. Like Google, investors will focus on the information-technology giant's heavy AI capital spending, which has eaten away at its free cash flow.
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