Dow Jones Today: S&P 500 Inches Higher to Extend Winning Streak as Fed Rate Decision Looms

Moderna Rises on Canada Government Covid Vaccine Approval

2 minutes ago

Moderna (MRNA) shares surged Tuesday after Canadian regulators approved the biotech firm’s updated COVID-19 vaccine.

The company reported Health Canada authorized the use of its Spikevax KP.2 shot for those aged six months and older. Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also gave approval for the vaccine, as well as updated shots from Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech (BNTX).

Moderna’s Spikevax KP.2 targets the KP.2 variant of the virus, which is a descendant of the JN.1 variant that began appearing last winter. Moderna said now that it has received approval, the company will begin delivering the Spikevax KP.2 to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Shares of Moderna gained about 4% on Tuesday and were among the big gainers in the S&P 500. Despite Tuesday’s increase, the stock has lost more than one-quarter of its value since the start of the year.

–Bill McColl

How a Rate Cut Could Affect Small-Cap Stocks

1 hr 48 min ago

Small-cap stocks have outperformed their large-cap peers in recent days as investors have prepared for the Federal Reserve to begin making long-awaited interest rate cuts.

The Russell 2000 index was up for the fifth consecutive session on Tuesday. The small-cap benchmark has risen more than 5% in those five days, putting it ahead of the large-cap S&P 500, which has advanced about 2.5%. The gap has been even more pronounced over the past three months, as shown in the chart below.

Small caps are expected to benefit most from lower interest rates due to their propensity to hold floating-rate debt and have weaker balance sheets.

However, sluggish earnings and substantial uncertainty about the health of the U.S. economy are two reasons some expect small-caps to underperform in the near term despite lower rates.

Read the full article here.

–Colin Laidley

Hewlett Packard Enterprise Gets Bank of America Upgrade

3 hours ago

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares surged Tuesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock, saying the tech firm has “many catalysts ahead,” including benefits from need for more artificial intelligence (AI) products.

The bank raised its rating to “buy” from “neutral,” and lifted the price target to $24 from $21. The stock was up 4.5% at $18.01 in recent trading.

Analysts wrote in a note to clients that because of its “decades of expertise in liquid cooling (CRAY systems) and increased adoption of supercomputing, HPE will be able to command a key position in AI adoption” for large organizations and governments.

Bank of America also believes that the company will make significant cost cuts under the leadership of new Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Marie Myers, and will see revenue and increased cost synergies with its planned purchase of Juniper Networks (JNPR). HPE announced the $14 billion acquisition of Juniper last January.

–Bill McColl

GE Vernova Gaining for 7th Straight Session

3 hr 17 min ago

GE Vernova (GEV) stock rose for the seventh consecutive session Tuesday as analysts at Barclays said the company is a “likely benefactor” of increasing demand for electricity in the U.S. and worldwide.

Barclays analysts initiated their coverage of the former General Electric division with an “overweight” rating and price target of $250. Bank of America analysts upgraded GE Vernova to a “buy” rating, lifting their price target to $300 from a previous price of $200.

GE Vernova shares were up 2.7% at $236.10 in recent trading. The stock has gained about 19% in its seven-day winning streak.

Barclays and Bank of America join a string of positive comments from analysts since GE Vernova split from GE Aerospace (GE) in early April, completing the larger breakup of the General Electric conglomerate into three standalone companies, which also includes GE HealthCare (GEHC). They cite the increasing demand for electricity in the U.S. and globally, putting GE Vernova in an advantageous position.

Read more here.

–Aaron McDade

Major Indexes Have Recovered All of Their Early-Month Losses

5 hr 35 min ago

The Dow Jones Industrial, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite have managed to claw back all the losses they posted during the early-September swoon that led the major indexes to their worst performance of the year in the first week of the month.

In late-morning trading Tuesday, each of the indexes was less than 1% above where they finished August. The S&P and Dow are riding four-month winning streaks, while the Nasdaq is looking to post monthly gains for the second straight month.

Watch These Intel Price Levels as Stock Surges

8 hr 8 min ago

Intel (INTC) shares surged in premarket trading Tuesday after the embattled chipmaker’s CEO Pat Gelsinger provided an update on the company’s plans to slash costs and turn around its business.

Gelsinger said in a note to employees released after the closing bell that Intel has made progress in lowering costs through layoffs, trimming its real estate footprint, and selling part of its stake in its Altera programmable chip unit, among other steps.  The company also plans to turn its chipmaking arm into a separate subsidiary and said it would produce chips for Amazon (AMZN), as well as the U.S. military.

Although the shares hit a new multi-year low this month, they have made a partial recovery to currently trade near their September high, potentially forming a hammer, a candlestick pattern that suggests a bullish reversal.

Investors should monitor important support levels on Intel’s monthly chart at $20, $17, and $14, while watching key resistance areas at $25 and $35.

Intel shares were up 4.3% at $21.80 about half an hour before Tuesday’s opening bell.

Read our full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Futures Point to Higher Open for Major Stock Indexes

9 hr 4 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones industrial Average were up 0.3%.

S&P 500 futures added 0.4%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.6%.