SK Hynix, Vertiv Rescue AI Trade As Oil Tops $102 Before Fed: Stock Market Today

SK Hynix Inc. (NASDAQ:SKHY) and Vertiv Holdings Co. (NYSE:VRT) reignited the artificial intelligence trade on Wednesday, lifting U.S. stocks modestly ahead of a busy afternoon on Wall Street.

Investors are waiting for the Federal Reserve’s policy decision at 2 p.m. ET, while oil climbed above $102 a barrel on renewed fears of U.S. military action against Iran.

The memory maker’s U.S.-listed shares rallied 12.9% after record third-quarter results. Operating profit reached 83.3 trillion won, or about $62.2 billion, above the roughly 77 trillion won analysts had expected, as the company turned about 80% of its sales into operating profit.

Revenue rose 328% to 104.6 trillion won, topping 100 trillion won for the first time. In Seoul, the stock jumped 10.9%, its biggest one-day gain since July 31.

Vertiv brought the same message from the physical side of the buildout.

The data center power and cooling supplier jumped 12.9% after third-quarter net sales rose 61% to $4.31 billion, well above the $3.77 billion analysts expected. Organic orders more than doubled, and the company raised its full-year outlook.

The rally puts the stock on track for its biggest one-day gain since Feb. 11, 2026, when shares surged 24.5%.

The S&P 500 rose 16 points, or 0.2%, to 7,738.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 157 points, or 0.3%, to 52,535.

The Nasdaq 100 added 0.1% to 29,691. Among the Magnificent Seven, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) rose 1.0% ahead of its after-hours results, while Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), which also reports tonight, slipped 0.8%.

The Russell 2000 was flat at 2,819.

In Energy Markets

WTI crude rose 3% to $102 a barrel after U.S. officials reportedly told several Persian Gulf countries to prepare for a short, intense military campaign after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Yemen’s Houthi militants also claimed a strike on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery, which Saudi authorities have not confirmed.

Treasury yields moved higher with crude.

The 10-year yield rose 4 basis points to 5.03%, on track for its first close above 5% since Oct. 21. The two-year yield climbed 4 basis points to 4.78%, and the 30-year yield added 2 basis points to 5.33%.

Gold slipped 0.4% to $4,057 an ounce and silver fell 1.4% to $53.73 ahead of the Fed decision. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) edged down 0.4% to $80,420.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices

According to the Benzinga Pro platform:

• The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:VOO) rose 0.2%.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (NYSE:DIA) gained 0.3%.
• The Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) edged up 0.1%.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSE:IWM) slipped 0.1%.

Energy Leads, Real Estate Lags As Yields Push Back Toward 5%

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) rose 1.0%, the best performance among S&P 500 sectors, as crude climbed on the Iran headlines.

The Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE) fell 0.9%, the weakest sector, as higher Treasury yields weighed on rate-sensitive property stocks.

The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV) gained 0.7% as Labcorp Holdings Inc. (NYSE:LH) jumped 10.2% and GE HealthCare Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:GEHC) rose 8.0%, both after beating estimates and raising full-year guidance.

Financials, industrials and technology rose between 0.3% and 0.5%, while communication services, consumer discretionary, materials, consumer staples and utilities slipped.

The memory rally spread to U.S. chipmakers.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) rose 1.3%, with Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) up 4.6% and Sandisk Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK) up 5.9%.

Solar stocks sank. The Invesco Solar ETF (NYSE:TAN) dropped 3.9% after Enphase Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) plunged 15.5%. Its fourth-quarter revenue guidance of $225 million to $255 million fell well short of the $297.6 million consensus.

Wingstop Inc. (NASDAQ:WING) led Russell 1000 gainers with a 14.4% rally. Adjusted earnings of $1.08 per share topped the $1.02 consensus, even as domestic same-store sales fell 5.4%.

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. (NYSE:JLL) rose 11.9% after posting record third-quarter results and raising its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to $25.20 to $26.30.

Hayward Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HAYW) also climbed 11.9% after the pool equipment maker lifted its full-year outlook.

Evercore Inc. (NYSE:EVR) gained 11.1% after adjusted EPS of $4.28 crushed the $2.48 consensus on record third-quarter revenue.

On the downside, F5 Inc. (NASDAQ:FFIV) tumbled 19.2% despite beating estimates, as Piper Sandler downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight, citing the end of its hardware refresh cycle and potentially peaking growth.

Landstar System Inc. (NASDAQ:LSTR) slid 15.3% after third-quarter EPS of $1.42 missed the $1.68 consensus, as the freight transportation company flagged insurance and claims inflation. Freight peer C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (NASDAQ:CHRW) fell 10.1%.

LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) lost 13.3% after cutting its expected asset retention from the Commonwealth Financial Network acquisition to about 83% from 90%, overshadowing an earnings beat.

CoStar Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CSGP) fell 13.2% even after raising its full-year revenue guidance to $3.75 billion to $3.77 billion and agreeing to buy Vexcel Group for $730 million.

Looking ahead, Microsoft and Alphabet report after the close, with analysts expecting EPS of $4.72 and $3.02, respectively. KLA Corp. (NASDAQ:KLAC), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F), Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (NYSE:CMG) and eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) also report, with consensus EPS of $1.19, $0.41, $0.29 and $1.41, respectively.

Wednesday’s Russell 1000 Top Gainers

Wednesday’s Russell 1000 Top Losers

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