The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record closing highs on Tuesday, with tech-related shares extending recent gains as investors awaited further jobs data. The Dow finished slightly lower on the day.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 76.47 points, or 0.17%, to 44,705.53, the S&P 500 gained 2.73 points, or 0.05%, to 6,049.88 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 76.96 points, or 0.40%, to 19,480.91.
Market Movers
Meta Platforms, Apple - Meta Platforms was up 3.5% while Apple was up 1.3%. Both stocks marked record closing highs, which helped lift S&P 500 despite only about 150 of its stocks closing higher.
Tesla - Tesla declined 1.6% after a Delaware judge rejected Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar pay package for a second time. “The court’s decision is wrong, and we’re going to appeal,” Tesla posted on social-media platform X. Separately,Tesla shipped about 79,000 vehicles, including exports, in November from its plant in Shanghai, down about 4% from a year earlier.
Palantir - Palantir Technologies was up 6.9% after the company secured FedRAMP High Authorization forgovernment use of its cloud computing services.Barron’sreported the AI-driven software companyleads the listof a half dozen companies that could be added to the Nasdaq 100 index at its annual reconstitution, which will be announced on Dec. 13.
Super Micro Computer - Super Micro Computer, the artificial-intelligence server maker,was down 4.3% after trading higher earlier in the session. The stock jumped 29% on Monday after an independent committee said an internal probe into why its auditor quit found no evidence of fraud or misconduct.
Zscaler - Zscaler reported better-than-expected fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings, revenue, and billings but its revenue guidance for the second quarter was only a touch better than expected. Shares fell 4.7%.
U.S. Steel - United States Steel was down 8% after President-elect Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform,pledged to block Nippon Steel’s acquisitionof the Pittsburgh steel company. “I am totally against the once great and powerful U.S. Steel being bought by a foreign company, in this case Nippon Steel of Japan,” Trump said.
Honeywell - Honeywell International fell 1.3% after cutting its full-year outlookand signing a strategic agreement with Bombardier. The agreement to supply advanced avionics, propulsion, and satellite communications technologies for Bombardier’s aircraft, Honeywell estimated, could provide revenue of up to $17 billion.
Credo Technology Group - Credo Technology Group the data infrastructure networking company, jumped 47.9% after postingfiscal second-quarter earnings and revenuethat topped analysts’ estimates. It said it expects third-quarter revenue of between $115 million and $125 million, higher than the consensus call for $86 million.
AT&T - AT&T rose 4.6%. CEO John Stankey told investors that AT&T was on track to reach 29 million fiber locations by the end of 2024, with a target of 50 million or more by 2029. But he said other segments of the business were lagging behind.
“We’re not quite where we need to be,” he said in reference to the AT&T Business Solutions suite and the transition from legacy copper to advanced networks. The company pledged over $40 billion in dividends and stock buybacks ahead of the event. AT&T also raised its outlook for adjusted earnings in 2024 to $2.25 from $2.20 a share.
Coupang, Posco, Korea Electric Power - Coupang, the largest online retailer in South Korea, was down 3.7%, U.S.-listed shares of steel maker Posco declined 4.4%, and Korea Electric Power slumped 2.1% after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeolput the country under military controlin an unexpected announcement Tuesday. South Korea’s Parliament voted quickly, however, to end martial law, and the president withdrew his decision, according to reports.
Core & Main - Core & Main rose 15.5% after the distributor of water-related infrastructure posted better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and raised its fiscal-year guidance.
Market News
South Korea’s Whirlwind Stint in Martial Law Jolts Markets
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s surprise decision to impose martial law in South Korea for the first time in more than 40 years — and then just as swiftly reverse course — sparked whiplash in the country’s foreign-traded assets and caught global markets off guard, at one point sending US Treasury yields lower as traders sought a haven from potential instability.
In an emergency address delivered live to the nation, Yoon stunned voters, lawmakers and investors alike by declaring martial law on Tuesday after accusing the opposition of trying to paralyze his administration.
The decision, Yoon said, was made to protect freedom and constitutional order, but the market’s early verdict was swift: South Korean-related ETFs, its currency and most actively traded stocks all sharply weakened, while US government bonds and even Bitcoin were also briefly caught up in a risk-off flight to quality.
Intel Considers Outsiders for CEO, Including Marvell’s Head
Intel Corp.’s search for a new chief executive officer will focus heavily on outsiders, with the chipmaker considering candidates such as Marvell Technology Inc. head Matt Murphy and former Cadence Design Systems Inc. CEO Lip-Bu Tan, according to people familar with the situation.
The company has enlisted executive search firm Spencer Stuart to help find a new chief and is evaluating candidates, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. That includes looking well beyond Intel’s walls for talent — a break with tradition.
This week’s sudden ouster of CEO Pat Gelsinger set off an urgent search for new leadership at a time when the chipmaker’s fortunes are shaky and its bench has been depleted by years of management turnover. Gelsinger took the reins just three years ago, and since then has focused on a complex, expensive effort to turn the struggling company around.
