After Hours Report

The stock market closed modestly higher on Tuesday, extending yesterday's muted action as investors navigate profit-taking from Friday's rally and developments around monetary policy expectations.

The Nasdaq Composite (+0.4%) entered positive territory for the week, while the S&P 500 (+0.4%) finished with a similar gain, and the DJIA (+0.3%) finished with a slightly narrower gain.

Small-cap names outperformed, with the Russell 2000 climbing 0.8%.

A late-session rally also saw the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF finish with a 0.6% gain for the day

Sector performance was mixed but improved slightly throughout the day, ultimately seeing seven S&P 500 sectors capture gains.

The industrials sector (+1.0%) led the advance, with strength in defense companies seeing the iShares US Aerospace & Defense ETF (+2.2%) notch record highs.

The financials sector (+0.8%) also captured a nice gain as the majority of its constituents traded modestly higher.

The information technology sector (+0.5%) steadily climbed throughout the session, with gains in its chipmaker components resulting in a 1.0% advance in the PHLX Semiconductor Index. NVIDIA (NVDA 181.70, +1.89, +1.05%) traded nicely higher ahead of its earnings report tomorrow afternoon, which is set to be one of the most anticipated happenings this week.

Elsewhere, the health care sector (+0.6%) benefitted from shares of Eli Lilly (LLY 736.10, +40.77, +5.86%) trading higher after announcing positive late-stage results for its experimental oral obesity and diabetes drug, orforglipron. Eli Lilly's gains helped offset a late slide in UnitedHealth (UNH 300.42, -4.44, -1.46%) after headlines crossed that the ongoing criminal probe of the company is broader in scope than its alleged Medicare wrongdoings.

Declines were modest in nature today, as the consumer staples (-0.5%), communication services (-0.3%), real estate (-0.3%), and energy (-0.2%) sectors finished decently above their session lows. 

While there was a fair share of stock-specific headlines throughout the session, the bulk of today's news coverage centered around President Trump's firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Ms. Cook stated through a lawyer that she intends to challenge the legality of the firing and will not resign from her duties, setting up a legal battle.

President Trump stated at a cabinet meeting that he knew there would be a legal fight with the firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook, and he is prepared for it. The president said he has somebody in mind to replace her, which suggests that he might flip Stephen Miran to her seat since the term is longer.

After a tentative start, rate cut expectations improved as the session progressed, with the CME FedWatch tool now assigning an 89.3% chance of a 25-basis point cut at the September FOMC meeting, up from 83.7% the day prior.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin (FOMC non-voter) stated that he forecasts a modest adjustment in rates, citing modest movement in the economy but noting that his forecast could change.

U.S. Treasuries had a mixed showing on Tuesday, as the 10-year note and shorter tenors recovered their losses from Monday, while the long bond underperformed after finishing ahead during yesterday's session. The Treasury complex reached highs shortly after today's $69 billion 2-year note sale, which met solid demand, though foreign interest remained below average.

The 2-year note yield settled down five basis points to 3.68%, the 10-year note yield settled down two basis points to 4.26%, and the 30-year note yield settled up two basis points to 4.91%.

• Nasdaq Composite: +11.6% YTD
• S&P 500: +9.9% YTD
• DJIA: +6.8% YTD
• Russell 2000: +5.8% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +4.0% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• July Durable Orders 2.8% (Briefing.com consensus -3.5%); Prior was revised to -9.4% from -9.3%, July Durable Goods - ex transportation 1.1% (Briefing.com consensus 0.1%); Prior was revised to 0.3% from 0.2%
  • The key takeaway from the report is that nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft—a proxy for business investment—increased 1.1% in July after falling 0.6% in June, making this a generally positive report.
• June FHFA Housing Price Index -0.2% (Briefing.com consensus -0.1%); Prior was revised to -0.1% from -0.2%
• June S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index 2.1% (Briefing.com consensus 2.8%); Prior 2.8%
• August Consumer Confidence 97.4 (Briefing.com consensus 96.3); Prior was revised to 98.7 from 97.2
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the August downtick was due to decreases in the Present Situation Index and the Expectations Index, though the overall confidence index has not changed much since the report for May.

Overseas:

• Europe: DAX -0.5%, FTSE -0.6%, CAC -1.7%
• Asia: Nikkei -1.0%, Hang Seng -1.2%, Shanghai -0.4%

Commodities:

• Crude Oil -1.53 @ 63.25
• Nat Gas -0.02 @ 2.79
• Gold +15.70 @ 3443.10
• Silver -0.09 @ 38.61
• Copper +0.05 @ 4.53

After-Hours Spotlight:

• President Trump considering Stephen Miran and David Malpass as possible replacements for Lisa Cook on the Federal Reserve's board of governors, according to WSJ
• Box (BOX) beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guides FY26 EPS in-line, revs above consensus (BOX +3.8%)
• MongoDB (MDB) beats by $0.33, beats on revs, Atlas revenue growth of 29%; guides Q3 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; guides FY26 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (MDB + 23.3%)
• Okta (OKTA) beats by $0.07, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs above consensus; guides FY26 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus (OKTA + 3.8%)
• PVH (PVH) beats by $0.51, beats on revs; guides Q3 EPS below consensus, revs in-line; reaffirms FY26 EPS guidance, guides FY26 revs above consensus (PVH +5.2%)
• T-Mobile US (TMUS) unchanged in afterhours as company and Elon Musk's Starlink separately expressed interest in acquiring all or some of the spectrum controlled by EchoStar (SATS); Musk's bid is for a part of SATS' spectrum that AT&T has valued at about $30 bln, according to Semafor (TMUS UNCH)

Fair Value for Wednesday, August 27:

• S&P 500: 6,481
• Nasdaq 100: 23,490
• DJIA: 45,483

For a full rundown of today's market and after hours developments, see Live In Play

• Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
  • American Woodmark (AMWD) misses by $0.32, misses on revs
  • Bank of Montreal (BMO) beats by CAD0.26, beats on revs
  • Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) beats by CAD0.11, beats on revs
  • EHang (EH) reports Q2 results; misses on revs; revises revs guidance to ~RMB500 mln
  • HEICO (HEI) beats by $0.13, beats on revs
  • KE Holdings (BEKE) beats by RMB0.06, reports revs in-line
  • Semtech (SMTC) beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS in-line, revs in-line
  • Wolfspeed (WOLF) misses by $0.07, beats on revs
• General News
  • President Trump fires Fed Governor Lisa Cook alleging mortgage fraud; Lisa Cook says she will not leave her position; she says "no cause exists under the law" to fire her
  • President Trump says he will impose "substantial additional tariffs" on countries that "attack" U.S. technology companies with digital taxes and regulations unless those taxes and regulations are removed
  • President Trump will not change the terms of South Korea trade deal, according to Bloomberg
  • The Trump Administration is considering taking equity stakes in defense contractors, according to CNBC
  • Senior Chinese trade negotiator Li Chenggang will travel to the U.S. this week for talks, according to WSJ
  • An additional 25% tariff on U.S. imports from India will go into effect tomorrow, according to Reuters
  • French borrowing costs rise amid concerns of government collapse next month, according to FT
  • Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will provide an update on Japan's promised U.S. investments next week, according to Reuters
  • The Trump administration's "Make America Healthy Again" agenda is impacting food companies, according to WSJ
  • Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) announces wafer level burn-in and test application evaluation order from leading AI processor supplier
  • Americold Realty Trust (COLD) appoints Robert Chambers as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Americold, effective September 1, 2025
  • Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL) Reports New Publication in Medical Journal Highlighting the Established Precise Autophagy Mechanism with Blarcamesine
  • Apple (AAPL) has been averse to big deals which could impact its AI expansion, according to The Information
  • Baker Hughes (BKR) announces long-term service agreement award from BP for its Tangguh Liquefied Natural Gas plant
  • BIT Mining (BTCM) launches DOLAI, a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin
  • Boeing (BA) receives commitment from Korean Air to purchase 103 Boeing Jets to modernize fleet
  • Booking (BKNG) and Ryanair (RYAAY) agree to end appeal process, according to Independent
  • Braemar Hotels & Resorts (BHR) entered into a cooperation agreement with Babak Ghassemieh and certain related parties
  • Brown-Forman (BF.A) announces that Leanne Cunningham, executive vice president and chief financial officer, will retire on May 1, 2026
  • Buckle (BKE) signs year-long, multi-platform deal with breakout country music sensation Lanie Gardner
  • CACI Intl (CACI) awarded two contracts with the Canadian Armed Forces
  • Calumet Specialty Products (CLMT) provides update after latest U.S. EPA small refinery exemption decision; removes the majority of historic RIN obligation
  • Centrus Energy (LEU) signs agreement with POSCO International and KHNP for potential investment in American uranium enrichment
  • Collective Mining (CNL) expands the new porphyry discovery at San Antonio by cutting 172.40 Metres at 1.40 g/t Au, 0.16% Cu, 17 g/t Ag and 68 ppm Mo with the hole bottoming in strong mineralization
  • Comstock (LODE) announced the purchase of all equipment for industry scale facility
  • Cracker Barrel (CBRL) shares higher by 6% after President Trump said the company should go back to their original logo amid controversy with their new logo
  • Cybin (CYBN) receives approval in Australia to conduct the EMBRACE study
  • Diginex (DGNX) issues correction to Aug 18 announcement; announces 8-to-1 stock-split paid as bonus shares
  • Domo (DOMO) announces enhanced cloud integration capabilities with Snowflake (SNOW), enabling users to query, load, and process data without moving or duplicating it
  • EchoStar (SATS) discloses DISH details
  • Eli Lilly (LLY) nnounced positive topline results from the Phase 3 ATTAIN-2 trial, evaluating orforglipron, an investigational oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes
  • General Motors (GM) is recalling certain 2023–2026 Chevrolet Corvette vehicles equipped with a left-side radiator/fan combination
  • Gilat Satellite (GILT) signed an additional $25 million agreement with Pronatel
  • Gilead Sciences (GILD) announces the EC authorizes twice-yearly Yeytuo (Lenacapavir) for HIV prevention
  • Harley-Davidson (HOG) completes sale of residual interests in securitized consumer loan receivables
  • IBM (IBM) and AMD (AMD) to develop next-generation computing architectures based on the combination of quantum computers and high-performance computing
  • ICF International (ICFI) was awarded a new, multi-year $40 mln contract in 2Q25 to implement large-scale residential energy programs across six Southern California counties
  • Insulet (PODD) announces appointment of Eric Benjamin to Chief Operating Officer, effective immediately
  • Interactive Brokers (IBKR) to join S&P 500; Talen Energy (TLN) to join S&P MidCap 400; Kinetik (KNTK) to join S&P SmallCap 600
  • KE Holdings (BEKE) announces upsizing and extension of share repurchase program
  • Lithia Motors (LAD) increases share repurchase authorization
  • lululemon athletica (LULU) appoints Ranju Das as the Company’s First Chief AI & Technology Officer
  • Navitas Semiconductor (NVTS) appoints Chris Allexandre as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1, 2025
  • Novartis (NVS) and BioArctic sign an option, collaboration and license agreement using BrainTransporter for an upfront payment of $30 million plus additional potential milestones and royalties
  • NVIDIA (NVDA) announces that leading global enterprises have adopted NVIDIA RTX PRO Servers — a new category of enterprise data center infrastructure powered by the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPU
  • Omnicell (OMCL) names Baird Radford as CFO
  • OppFi Inc. (OPFI) increases share repurchase program
  • Orchestra BioMed (OBIO) Announces Publication of Clinical Data Demonstrating Favorable Blood Pressure and Hemodynamic Effects of AVIM Therapy in JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology
  • Papa John's (PZZA) aims to return to India by October, according to Reuters
  • PDD (PDD): Temu resumes shipping of goods from China, according to FT
  • Regeneron (REGN) announces results from Phase 3 Trial in Generalized Myasthenia Gravis
  • Ring Energy (REI) announces third quarter 2025 debt reduction target and provides stock ownership update
  • Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) discloses in SEC filing that on August 20, 2025, CFO Aaron Ondrey resigned to pursue other opportunities, effective September 5, 2025
  • Skyworks (SKYW) names Philip Carter as senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective September 8, 2025; He joins Skyworks from Advanced Micro Devices, where he has served as corporate vice president and chief accounting officer
  • Stellantis (STLA) has decided to shelve advanced driver-assistance program, according to Reuters
  • Transcat (TRNS) announces that CEO Lee D. Rudow has informed the Board of his plans to retire; He will continue to serve in current role until March 2026
  • VersaBank's (VBNK) VersaBank USA launched an internal pilot program in the United States for its USDVBs, the US-dollar version of its proprietary Digital Deposit Receipts
  • Walmart (WMT) is adding third party next day shipping in key cities, according to Bloomberg
  • Yelp (YELP) announces the appointment of Logan Green, co-founder and former chairman and chief executive officer of Lyft (LYFT), to its Board of Directors, effective August 19
  • ZipRecruiter (ZIP) repurchased 1,639,345 shares of its Class A common stock from certain entities affiliated with Institutional Venture Partners at a purchase price of $4.27 per share

• Upgrades:
  • Albemarle (ALB) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at UBS, tgt $89
  • Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Truist, tgt $213
  • Camden Property (CPT) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel, tgt $122.75
  • Cemex (CX) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $10.50
  • Canada Goose (GOOS) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird
  • Domo (DOMO) upgraded to Buy from Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $21
  • Extra Space Storage (EXR) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, tgt $160
  • Genesco (GCO) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Seaport Research, tgt $38
  • Henry Schein (HSIC) upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI, tgt $83
  • Horizon Bancorp (HBNC) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette, tgt $19
  • Okta (OKTA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord, tgt $120
  • Qualcomm (QCOM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Arete, tgt $200
  • Rocky Brands (RCKY) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird, tgt $40
  • VF Corp. (VFC) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Robert W. Baird, tgt $20
• Downgrades:
  • Constellation Brands (STZ) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities, tgt $150
  • Generac (GNRC) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citigroup, tgt $219
    
  • PDD Holdings (PDD) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at New Street, tgt $120
  • Shoe Carnival (SCVL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Seaport Research
  • Skechers (SKX) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus
• Others:
  • Actuate Therapeutics (ACTU) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley, tgt $20
  • AvePoint (AVPT) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley, tgt 25
  • CareDx (CDNA) initiated with a Market Perform at William Blair
  • CRH (CRH) assumed with an Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $130
  • Ecolab (ECL) resumed with a Market Perform at Raymond James
  • Gyre Therapeutics (GYRE) initiated with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright; tgt $18
  • Kyivstar Group (KYIV) initiated with a Buy at New Street; tgt $16
  • Monopar Therapeutics (MNPR) assumed with a Buy at H.C. Wainwright, tgt $70
  • NetScout (NTCT) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley, tgt $33
  • Oklo (OKLO) initiated with a Buy at BofA Securities, tgt $92
  • OneSpan (OSPN) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley, tgt $23
  • Sigma Lithium (SGML) resumed with a Buy at BofA Securities, tgt $12
  • Veralto (VLTO) initiated with a Market Perform at Raymond James
  • Varonis (VRNS) initiated with a Buy at B. Riley, tgt $80
  • Zscaler (ZS) initiated with a Neutral at B. Riley, tgt $275

• Econ Data (Wednesday):
  • 07:00 ET: MBA Mortgage Applications Index (prior -1.4%)
  • 10:30 ET: EIA Crude Oil Inventories (prior -6.01M)

• Earnings:
  • Monday (Aug 25)
    • Pre-Market: NSSC PDD
    • After-Hours: HEI SMTC
      
    Tuesday (Aug 26)
    • Pre-Market: AMWD BNS BEKE
    • After-Hours: BOX MDB NCNO OKTA PVH
      
  • Wednesday (Aug 27)
    • Pre-Market: ANF DCI SJM KSS MCFT PLAB RY WSM
      
    • After-Hours: A BILL COO CRWD FIVE GEF GES HPQ NTAP NTNX NVDA PSTG SNOW TCOM URBN VEEV
      
  • Thursday (Aug 28)
    • Pre-Market: BBWI BBY BF.B BURL CM DKS DG GCO HRL LI MBUU OLLI TD VSCO
    • After-Hours:  AFRM AMBA ADSK DELL DOMO ESTC GAP MRVL WOOF S ULTA
  • Friday (Aug 29)
    • Pre-Market: BABA FRO
    • After-Hours: None