Stocks Close Mixed Ahead of Thursday Break, Jobs Report on Friday; Bitcoin Continues to Slide

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday

7 hr 13 min ago

Decliners

• Shares of the online retail platform operator eBay (EBAY) logged the top daily performance in the S&P 500, surging 9.9% after social media giant Meta (META) announced it would permit certain eBay listings to appear on Facebook Marketplace. Partnering with Meta could help boost eBay’s position in the competitive e-commerce market, while Meta’s decision to open Marketplace to eBay comes after the European Commission fined the Facebook parent in November for what regulators said were anti-competitive conditions of the online listing service. Meta shares slipped 1.2%.
• Medical device maker Boston Scientific (BSX) announced a definitive agreement to acquire Bolt Medical, a manufacturer of laser equipment for treating heart conditions. Boston Scientific already holds a 26% stake in Bolt Medical, and with the deal to purchase the remaining portion, the firm is aiming to strengthen its position in the fast-growing intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) market. Boston Scientific shares jumped 4.3% on Wednesday.
• Shares of fellow medical technology firm Medtronic (MDT) advanced 3.5% after European Union health regulators approved its transcatheter pulmonary valve replacement (TPVR) system, which has been cleared for use in the U.S. since 2021. In addition, healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) halted sales of its pulsed field ablation (PFA) system, which uses electrical pulses to treat abnormal heart rhythm, after several patients experienced complications. The news helped boost both Medtronic and Boston Scientific, which offer competing PFA products.

Advancers

• Shares of power generator Edison International (EIX) dropped 10.2%, losing the most of any stock in the S&P 500. The electric utility has shut off power for many customers in Southern California as the region suffers devastating wildfires. Analysts noted that there has been no indication so far linking the fires to Edison International equipment, but there are concerns about the possible impact on the company’s infrastructure and operations.

• Moderna (MRNA) shares sank 9.2% Wednesday, giving back most of the strong gains posted in the previous session after the first reported U.S. death from H5N1 bird flu spurred interest in the biotech firm’s experimental vaccine against the disease. The vaccine maker has seen sales fall in recent years as demand wanes for its COVID-19 products.
• Shares of power management and sensor chip manufacturer ON Semiconductor (ON) fell 7%. The company is navigating challenges related to its supply chains and shifting demand trends in its key industrial and automotive end markets. However, analysts at Evercore ISI recently reiterated their “outperform” rating on Onsemi stock after meeting with top executives who highlighted their expectations for a strong recovery.

–Michael Bromberg

GE HealthCare Gains After Analyst Names in ‘Franchise Pick’

7 hr 30 min ago

GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC) shares gained Wednesday after Jefferies analysts called the stock a “franchise pick” and made a bullish case for the company’s diagnostic imaging business.

Jefferies bumped its rating for the stock up to “buy” from “hold,” and raised its price target to $103 from $95, bringing it above the broader analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha at about $95.

Shares rose 3.5% to close at $86.26 Wednesday. The stock has gained 12% over the past year, about half as much as the S&P 500 over that period.

The analysts said the firm holds a leading position in the diagnostic imaging market, which they expect to grow by mid-single digits. GE HealthCare could also benefit from market consolidation, they noted.

Jefferies added that improving business in China “could be another icing on the cake.” China makes up 12% of the company’s sales, and GE HealthCare said in October that macroeconomic weakness in the country negatively impacted third-quarter sales.

–Andrew Kessel

EBay Soars as Meta Allows Listings on Facebook Marketplace

8 hr 4 min ago

Shares of eBay (EBAY) surged Wednesday after Meta Platforms (META) said some listings on the auction site will be included in Facebook Marketplace.

Meta is launching a test program allowing users in the U.S., France, and Germany to view eBay listings on Facebook Marketplace and then complete their purchases on eBay.

The move to add eBay listings comes after Meta was fined nearly 800 million euros ($825 million) in November by the European Commission, which accused the company of harming other classified marketplace providers by linking Marketplace to Facebook. 

“While we disagree with and continue to appeal the European Commission’s decision on Facebook Marketplace, we are working quickly and constructively to build a solution which addresses the points raised,” Meta said Wednesday.

Adding eBay listings “could benefit people using both platforms” by increasing the reach of eBay listings and giving Marketplace customers more options, the company added.

EBay’s stock price jumped nearly 10% Wednesday to close at $69.40, its highest level since November 2021. 

–Andrew Kessel

AMD Slides After Double Downgrade from HSBC

8 hr 46 min ago

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) shares tumbled Wednesday after HSBC analysts gave the stock a double downgrade, citing concerns about the chipmaker’s artificial intelligence (AI) revenue.

HSBC dropped AMD’s rating two levels, to “reduce” from “buy,” and lowered its price target to $110 from $200.

The stock fell 4.3% to finish at $121.84. The AI chip company’s shares have lost about 30% of their value over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained nearly 3% over that stretch.

The analysts called AMD’s AI chip roadmap “less competitive” than previously anticipated, pointing to soft demand for its MI325 graphics processing unit (GPU). A new MI350 chip is expected from AMD later this year, but the analysts added it could struggle to compete with AI chipmaking titan Nvidia’s (NVDA) offerings. 

HSBC lowered its fiscal 2025 AI GPU revenue forecast for AMD to $8.1 billion from $12.3 billion, well below the $9.5 billion analyst consensus. AMD is expected to report 2024 fourth-quarter earnings in late January or early February, based on the timing of its results last year.

–Andrew Kessel

Quantum Computing Stocks Sink After Nvidia CEO Comments

9 hr 50 min ago

Several stocks across the quantum computing industry, including Rigetti Computing (RGTI), D-Wave Quantum (QBTS), IonQ (IONQ), and Quantum Computing (QUBT), fell sharply Wednesday following comments from Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang about the technology.

Huang said at an analyst event Tuesday that “very useful quantum computers,” which could make a number of computing tasks more efficient, are likely 15 to 30 years away.

“If you kind of said 15 years for very useful quantum computers, that would probably be on the early side,” Huang said. “If you said, you know, 30, it’s probably on the late side. But if you picked 20, I think a whole bunch of us would believe it.”

Huang also said Nvidia is an ideal partner for quantum computing companies because “it turns out that you need a classical computer to do error correction with the quantum computer, and that classical computer better be the fastest computer that humanity can build, and that happens to be us.”

D-Wave Quantum was down 37% late Wednesday afternoon, while Rigetti, IonQ, and Quantum all declined around 40%. The Defiance Quantum (QTUM) exchange-traded fund (ETF), made up of the listed companies along with other chip and tech companies like Nvidia, was down nearly 5%.

Those stocks ended 2024 on a substantial bull run after Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) last month revealed a quantum computing chip called Willow that the tech giant said had made significant breakthroughs.

–Aaron McDade

Edison International Stock Plunges as LA Fires Cause Power Shutoffs

10 hr 30 min ago

Shares of Edison International (EIX) plunged Wednesday as its Southern California Edison subsidiary was forced to shut off power to nearly 70,000 customers because of the Los Angeles-area wildfires.

At least two people have died because of the blazes, and the Los Angeles Fire Department said that the winds associated with the Palisades Fire “are forecasted to remain extreme today and all residents are asked to follow evacuation orders.”

According to Southern California Edison’s website recently on Wednesday, there currently are 107 power outages and 69,601 customers affected.

“This is the third time in as many months that strong Santa Ana winds have prompted Southern California Edison to cut power to its customers,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Edison International shares were down nearly 13% in recent trading, leading S&P 500 decliners. With Wednesday’s sharp declines, shares of Edison International have fallen into negative territory over the past year.

–Aaron Rennie

Novo Nordisk Rises as UBS Upgrades Stock to ‘Buy’

11 hr 9 min ago

Novo Nordisk (NVO) shares rose Wednesday after analysts from UBS Research upgraded the Danish drugmaker’s stock to “buy” from “neutral,” calling the recent sell-off of the stock “overdone.”

UBS analysts upgraded the stock but lowered their price target for the company’s domestic shares, listed in Copenhagen, to 750 Danish kroner ($103.55) from 1,100 kroner. The stock closed at 619.50 kroner at home Wednesday, about 40% below its June 25, 2024, record close of 1,028 kroner.

The UBS analysts said that decline provides “an attractive entry point,” as they expect the weight-loss drug market to pick up in the first quarter of this year. Novo Nordisk is a leader in that market with its Ozempic and Wegovy drugs, along with its main competitor, Eli Lilly (LLY), and its Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Shares of Novo Nordisk fell nearly 18% in one day last month after results of a trial for its newest weight-loss drug disappointed. The analysts called the trial results “undoubtedly disappointing,” but said the drug still looks to be a more effective weight-loss treatment than Ozempic that could “still show differentiation” in treating other diseases like type 2 diabetes in future trials.

Under its new price target, the analysts said they are projecting “risk adjusted peak sales” of $75 billion annually to 2031, rather than $80 billion previously. The sales projection was lowered because of the upcoming expiration of patents for Novo Nordisk’s drugs in 2031 in Europe and 2032 in the U.S., which they expect will lead to lower sales, along with the recent weak trial results.

Novo Nordisk’s Copenhagen-listed shares closed up roughly 2.8% Wednesday, while its U.S.-listed shares recently were up more than 2%.

–Aaron McDade

ExxonMobil Says Lower Oil Prices Will Hit Q4 Results

13 hr 15 min ago

ExxonMobil (XOM) said it expects to take an up to a $900 million hit to its upstream earnings in the fourth quarter versus the previous three months amid falling oil prices.

Lower liquids prices are set to bring down its upstream earnings by between $500 million to $900 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the third quarter, the oil giant said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The forecasted earnings hit follows the oil company’s announcement last month that it is doubling down on its commitment to pumping more oil and gas. The long-term plan focuses on taking advantage of its nearly $60 billion purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources last year, it said. 

ExxonMobil’s forecast is also happening at a time when demand for oil is soft and there is an oversupply of the commodity. Last month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) announced they will keep voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day (B/D) in place until the end of March.

ExxonMobil shares were down 1.4% in recent trading. The stock has fallen 12% over the past three months.

–Nisha Gopalan

Instacart Rises on News of S&P MidCap 400 Inclusion

14 hr 13 min ago

Shares of Instacart rose Wednesday on the news that the food-delivery stock will join a new index. 

Instacart’s stock was recently up about 5%. The rise followed the announcement late yesterday that the company, also known as Maplebear (CART), will join the S&P MidCap 400 index starting with next Tuesday’s session, replacing Enovis (ENOV).

Shares of Instacart are have nearly doubled over the past 12 months. 

Instacart separately said Wednesday that it would partner with Ulta Beauty (ULTA) to deliver the latter company’s beauty products nationwide.

Ulta’s shares were recently down more than 3%; the company recently said its CEO would retire. 

Enovis will move to the SmallCap 600 index, replacing Arch Resources (ARCH), which is soon expected to be acquired by Consol Energy (CEIX) and create Core Natural Resources. 

Shares of Enovis were up more than 1% in morning trading.

–David Marino-Nachison

Palantir Levels to Watch as Stock Continues Sliding

15 hr 14 min ago

Shares in Palantir Technologies (PLTR) were down again Wednesday after falling sharply yesterday, as the stock continues to retreat from its record high set in late December.

Recent selling in the shares comes after investment bank Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on the stock earlier this week with an “underweight” rating and reports surfaced that Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management tech funds had sold shares in the company.

The analytics software provider had a stellar 2024, ending the year as the S&P 500’s best performing stock. Its shares more than quadrupled, boosted by growing demand for its suit of AI software products.

Palantir shares were down 3% at around $68 in recent trading, after falling nearly 8% on Tuesday. The stock is down 20% from its Dec. 24 all-time high.

The stock broke down from a rising wedge in late December and has recently found renewed selling pressure on a retest of the pattern’s lower trendline.

Investors should watch crucial support levels on Palantir’s chart around $66. $59, and $45, while also monitoring a major resistance area near $81.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Major Index Futures Fluctuate Near Unchanged

16 hr 17 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down fractionally.

S&P 500 futures slipped 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were also off 0.1%.