U.S. stocks were higher on Wednesday, with the Dow leading gains and the S&P 500 setting a closing record, paced drugmaker Merck, while investors looked towards the next piece of inflation data and Federal Reserve commentary for signals on the rate path.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 477.75 points, or 1.22%, to 39,760.06, the S&P 500 rose 44.91 points, or 0.86%, to 5,248.49 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 83.82 points, or 0.51%, to 16,399.52.
Market Movers
GameStop — GameStop shed 15% after the video game retailer reported lower fourth-quarter revenue from a year ago. The company also said it axed an unspecified number of roles to trim costs.
Merck — Merck jumped 5% after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved its drug to treat a life-threatening lung condition.
Carnival — Shares added 1%, reversing earlier losses after the cruise operator reported first-quarter revenue of $5.41 billion, below the $5.43 billion expected from analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv. However, Carnival reported an adjusted loss per share of 14 cents, better than the 18 cent loss analysts had expected. Full-year guidance was in line with estimates.
Cintas — Shares jumped 8% after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results for the fiscal third quarter. Gross margins also increased 14.9% year over year. Cintas raised its full-year earnings and revenue guidance.
Reddit — The social media stock slumped 11%. Reddit shares surged 9% on Tuesday, building on its post-IPO rally after debuting on the New York Stock Exchange last week.
Marvell Technology — Marvell Technology gained 6% after Citi opened a positive catalyst watch on the semiconductor stock, saying buying chip stocks ahead of their artificial intelligence presentations has paid off.
Deutsche Bank — Shares popped nealry 4% on the back of a Morgan Stanley upgrade to overweight. Morgan Stanley said the German bank can add to the notable gains already seen this year.
General Electric — General Electric added 3% after Wells Fargo reiterated its overweight rating on the stock and lifted its price target to $200. Wells Fargo cited cost cuts as a potential boon to shares.
Concentrix — Shares gained about 5% after the customer experience technology platform reported first-quarter revenue that topped estimates, and reaffirmed its guidance for the year ending November. Concentrix posted revenue of $2.40 billion in the first quarter, better than the FactSet consensus estimate of $2.38 billion.
Coinbase — Shares fell nearly 4% after a judge ruled the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s assertion that Coinbase operates as an exchange could be heard by a jury at trial. The SEC sued Coinbase over this in June. The company later moved to have that lawsuit dismissed.
Moderna — The pharmaceutical stock rose 3% after announcing it transitioned three vaccines into final-stage trials.
Trump Media & Technology Group — Shares of former President Donald Trump’s social media firm and Truth Social parent company soared more than 14%, adding to their strong gains from their debut under the DJT ticker on Tuesday.
nCino — The cloud stock popped 19% on better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. The company also reported a 13% jump in revenue from the year-earlier period.
Market News
Fed's Waller Says There's "No Rush" to Cut U.S. Interest Rates
Federal Reserve Gov. Chris Waller said high inflation readings and strong job gains in early 2024 reinforce his view that "there is no rush" to cut U.S. interest rates.
The most recent economic data "tells me that it is prudent to hold this rate at its current restrictive stance perhaps for longer than previously thought to help keep inflation on a sustainable trajectory toward 2%," he said in speech at the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday night.
Amazon Invests Additional $2.75 Billion in AI Startup Anthropic
Amazon.com Inc. says it’s investing an additional $2.75 billion in Anthropic, completing a deal it made last year to back the artificial intelligence startup and expand a partnership between the companies.
The infusion brings Amazon’s total investment in Anthropic, a well-regarded builder of AI tools able to generate text and analysis, to $4 billion, following an earlier investment announced in September. As part of that deal, Amazon had the right to contribute the additional funds in the form of a convertible note, provided it did so before the end of March.