After Hours Report

There were no record-setting performances today among the S&P 500 (-0.3%), Nasdaq Composite (-0.3%), or DJIA (-0.4%), as persistent mega-cap weakness eventually prompted selling activity across the broader market.

While today's price action never reflected a "buy the dip" play, equities hung tough in the morning hours, with broader market strength almost negating mega-cap losses at the index level. 

That would change just before midday as a sell-off ensued, turning breadth figures negative and dragging several S&P 500 sectors beneath their flatlines. 

Decliners would go on to outpace advancers by a roughly 8-to-5 ratio on the NYSE and a roughly 4-to-3 clip on the Nasdaq.

Seven S&P 500 sectors closed in negative territory, with the materials sector (-1.6%) retreating the furthest after Freeport-McMoRan (FCX 37.67, -7.69, -16.95%) sold off on news it had cut Q3 sales guidance following a fatal mud rush incident at an Indonesian mine, according to Yahoo! Finance.

Meanwhile, the communication services (-0.8%) and information technology (-0.5%) sectors faced the brunt of today's mega-cap weakness.

Within the technology sector, Micron (MU 161.71, -4.70, -2.82%) traded lower after an impressive beat and raise earnings report, and Oracle (ORCL 308.44, -5.39, -1.72%) faced a loss despite announcing five new U.S. AI data center sites under the Stargate Project—an ambitious AI infrastructure initiative that includes OpenAI and Softbank (SFTBY 63.27, +1.65, +2.68%).

The technology sector and PHLX Semiconductor Index (-0.2%) would still finish well off their session lows, supported by a late afternoon report from Bloomberg that Intel (INTC 31.22, +1.88, +6.41%) is pursuing an investment from Apple (AAPL 252.31, -2.12, -0.83%). 

Nonetheless, the market's overall subdued reaction to a batch of AI-related headlines is striking considering similar news catalysts sparked a record-setting rally on Monday. With Fed Chair Powell's remarks that stocks are "fairly highly valued" fresh in the minds of investors, it is not all that surprising that market's largest names faced a pullback.

Ultimately the pullback was modest in the scope of recent gains, with the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF (-0.4%) retreating less than half of a percentage point. 

Additionally, there were some pockets of strength in the market (and even across the mega-cap cohort) that prevented further losses at the index level.

Tesla's (TSLA 442.80, +16.95, +3.98%) strong showing prompted a 0.7% gain in the consumer discretionary sector. The sector saw early strength among homebuilder names after a surprisingly strong August New Home Sales report (800,000; Briefing.com consensus 650,000), though the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (+0.1%) would cede nearly all of its gain.

Elsewhere, the energy sector (+1.2%) led all sectors today as crude oil futures settled $1.56 higher at $65.00 per barrel, an increase of 2.5%.

The defensive utilities (+0.7%) and consumer staples (+0.1%) sectors also closed with gains.

The market heard from Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (voting FOMC member), who told The Financial Times that he does not expect a recession and might not be in favor of a series of additional rate cuts.

Rate cut expectations for the October and December FOMC meetings have held steady this week. With expectations for further monetary policy easing a driving force behind the market's recent record highs, investors will look to Friday's PCE Price Index as a potential catalyst for the next directional move.

U.S. Treasuries retreated on Wednesday, lifting the 5-year yield to its highest level in three weeks while yields on longer tenors returned toward their highs from Monday.

The 2-year note yield settled up one basis point to 3.60%, the 5-year note yield settled up three basis points to 3.71%, and the 10-year note yield settled up three basis points to 4.15%. 

• Nasdaq Composite: +16.5% YTD
• S&P 500: +12.9% YTD
• Russell 2000: +9.2% YTD
• DJIA: +8.4% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +4.3% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• Weekly MBA Mortgage Applications Index 0.6%; Prior 29.7%
• August New Home Sales 800K (Briefing.com consensus 650K); Prior was revised to 664K from 652K
  • The key takeaway from the report is that the surge in new home sales occurred ahead of the larger drop in mortgage rates seen in September. Notably, there was a big uptick in the percentage of new homes sold over $800,000. That helps explain the large jump in average selling prices, and it may also be reflective of the large jump in stock prices lending some confidence to buying interest in the upper price brackets.

Overseas:

• Europe: DAX +0.3%, FTSE +0.3%, CAC -0.6%
• Asia: Nikkei +0.3%, Hang Seng +1.4%, Shanghai +0.8%

Commodities:

• Crude Oil +1.56 @ 65.00
• Nat Gas +0.00 @ 2.86
• Gold -45.40 @ 3768.40
• Silver -0.40 @ 44.18
• Copper +0.18 @ 4.82

After-Hours Spotlight:

• H.B. Fuller (FUL) beats by $0.02, reports revs in-line; guides FY25 EPS in-line, reaffirms FY25 revs guidance...FUL -1.3%
• KB Home (KBH) beats by $0.11, beats on revs, homes delivered decreased 7%; Lowers FY25 housing revenue guidance...KBH -0.6%
• Steelcase (SCS) beats by $0.09, beats on revs...SCS -0.2%
• Stitch Fix (SFIX) beats by $0.03, beats on revs; guides Q1 revs above two analyst estimate; guides FY26 revs above consensus...SFIX +10.3%
• Worthington Steel (WS) beats by $0.03, beats on revs...WS -3.3%

Fair Value for Thursday, September 25:

• S&P 500: 6,693
• Nasdaq 100: 24,739
• DJIA: 46,443

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

• Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
  • AAR Corp (AIR) beats by $0.10, beats on revs; guides Q2 revs above consensus in presentation slides
  • Micron (MU) beats by $0.17, reports revs in-line; guides Q1 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus
  • MillerKnoll (MLKN) beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides Q2 EPS in-line, revs in-line
  • Thor Industries (THO) beats by $1.08, beats on revs; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus
  • Worthington Enterprises (WOR) beats by $0.04, beats on revs
• General News
  • U.S. expected to finalize trade deals in Southeast Asia in coming months, according to Reuters
  • NFL wants to start renegotiations for NFL TV rights next year, according to CNBC
  • US Gold: BMF Reports out with a cautious/short report on USAU
  • G7 nations consider price floors for rare earths, according to Reuters
  • U.S. Postal Service announces no stamp price changes for January 2026
  • Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee (voting FOMC member) says weaking job market does not signal recession & against additional series of rate reductions, according to FT
  • Medline, a manufacturer and distributor of medical-surgical products, considering $5 bln IPO filing as soon as this October, according to Bloomberg
  • President Trump will likely visit Japan next month, according to Reuters
  • Acadia Pharmaceuticals (ACAD) announces Phase 3 COMPASS PWS trial of intranasal carbetocin (ACP-101) for hyperphagia in Prader-Willi Syndrome did not meet primary endpoint
  • Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) issues statement highlighting commitment to value creation
  • ADM (ADM) and Alltech to launch a North American animal feed joint venture
  • Alibaba (BABA) Cloud unveils strategic roadmaps for the next generation AI innovations
  • Align Tech (ALGN) files ITC complaint to block unlawful imports of clear aligners from Angelalign Technology
  • American Water Works (AWK) signs agreement with City of Neosho to purchase the water and wastewater systems for $34.5 mln; anticipates completing the acquisition in second half of 2026
  • Apollo Global Management (APO) expands wealth platform with three Evergreen ELTIFs
  • Aris Mining (ARMN) confirms that all 23 workers who were underground at the time of the La Reliquia Mine shaft collapse have been safely brought to surface
  • AstraZeneca (AZN) reports ENHERTU plus Pertuzumab granted Priority Review in the US
  • AstraZeneca (AZN) and Daiichi Sankyo announce that their supplemental Biologics License Application for ENHERTU in combination with pertuzumab has been accepted and granted Priority Review in the US for the 1st-line treatment for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer
  • Biogen (BIIB) announces that the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter for its supplemental New Drug Application for the high dose regimen of nusinersen for treatment of spinal muscular atrophy
  • Biogen (BIIB) and Eisai (ESAIY) announcethats the Therapeutic Goods Administration of Australia has approved the humanized anti-soluble aggregated amyloid-beta monoclonal antibody LEQEMBI for mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease in adults who are either ApoEe4 non-carriers or heterozygous carriers
  • Boeing (BA) is relocating its F/A-18 Super Hornet Service Life Modification work out of the St. Louis region and will sunset the St. Louis based work in 2027
  • Boyd Gaming (BYD) reports cybersecurity incident
  • Cidara Therapeutics (CDTX) announces updates to its planned Phase 3 registrational trial of CD388 following its End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • Comcast (CMCSA): Sky News will show global reporting on MSNBC after CMCSA spinoff, according to FT
  • Commerzbank AG (CRZBY) decides to implement a share buyback program with a volume of up to 1 billion euros
  • CTO Realty Growth (CTO) Board approves new $10 mln authorization; Completed $5 mln share repurchase program
  • DeFi Technologies (DEFT) unit launches thirteen new ETPs
  • DHI Group's (DHX) Dice announces launch of its New Dice Employer Experience, a platform redesign that modernizes tech hiring with AI-powered tools
  • FibroGen (FGEN) initiates phase 2 monotherapy trial of FG-3246, a first-in-class CD46 targeting ADC, in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer
  • Ford (F) wants to lower interest rates for some F-150 buyers, according to WSJ
  • Ford Motor (F) is recalling certain 2020-2021 F-250, F-350, and F-450 vehicles because of a steering column issue
  • GitLab (GTLB) Board officially appoints James Shen as the Company’s Interim Chief Financial Officer and interim 'principal financial officer', effective as of September 20, 2025
  • Hertz Global (HTZ) to receive $154 mln from Automotive Parts Antitrust Settlement
  • Honda Motor (HMC) cancels U.S. Acura ZDX EV production amid slower EV demand; GM partnership unaffected, according to CNBC
  • Inseego (INSG) and TELCLOUD join forces to leverage 5G fixed wireless access for POTS line replacement
  • Lantheus Holdings (LNTH) and GE HealthCare (GEHC) sign exclusive licensing agreement for PYLARIFY in Japan
  • Lithium Americas (LAC) surging +65% after hours on report Trump administration is seeking an equity stake of as much as 10%, according to Reuters
  • Lithium Americas (LAC): Trump administration seeking an equity stake in LAC is spurring lithium stocks today
  • Methanex (MEOH) announces new strategic partnerships in two of the world’s key fueling hubs -- the ARA (Amsterdam–Rotterdam–Antwerp) region and South Korea
  • Micron (MU) states during earnings conference call that it's partnering with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) to manufacture HBM4 base logic die for both standard and customized products
  • Monopar (MNPR) announces Journal of Hepatology Publishes Physicians’ Letter to the Editor Demonstrating ALXN1840 Rapidly Improved Copper Balance in Wilson Disease Patients
  • Nexstar (NXST) issues statement to NY Times says "it is now "engaged in productive discussions with executives at The Walt Disney Company" to ensure the program "reflects and respects the diverse interests of the communities we serve." However, it's still pre-empting his show"
  • Nissan (NSANY): France will review Nissan supplier payments, according to Reuters
  • Novartis (NVS) reports new data supporting benefits of Kesimpta
  • OpenAI in discussions to lease Nvidia (NVDA) chips, according to The Information
  • Oracle (ORCL): OpenAI (MSFT), Oracle, and SoftBank (SFTBY) expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites
  • Orla Mining (ORLA) announces that Newmont's (NEM) nominee Scott Langley has resigned from Orla's Board effective immediately
  • Palvella Therapeutics (PVLA) announces expansion of QTORIN Rapamycin’s development into clinically significant angiokeratomas, a rare, chronically debilitating lymphatic disease with No FDA-approved Therapies
  • PayPal (PYPL) and Blue Owl Capital announce execution of a two-year agreement under which funds managed by Blue Owl will purchase approximately $7 bln of buy now, pay later receivables originated by PayPal in the U.S
  • Performance Food Group (PFGC) appointed Scott Ferguson to Board of Directors yesterday; entered into cooperation agreement with Sachem Head
  • Perma-Pipe (PPIH) announces $30 mln in contract awards and the strategic milestone approval for Saudi Aramco
  • Robinhood Markets (HOOD): FINRA moves to replace day trading rules with intraday margin requirements, $25K minimum eliminated
  • Roche Hldg (RHHBY) unit Genentech presents new data for Ocrevus and Fenebrutinib across broad patient populations at ECTRIMS 2025
  • Southern (SO): Georgia Power has announced the open comment period for its 2025 RFP for Energy Storage System resources
  • Summit Therapeutics (SMMT): HARMONi-6, Featuring Ivonescimab Combined with Chemotherapy vs. Tislelizumab Plus Chemotherapy in 1L Treatment of Patients with Squamous NSCLC in China, to be Showcased in Presidential Symposium at ESMO 2025
  • Take-Two (TTWO): "We need to share that the release of Borderlands 4 on Nintendo (NTDOY) Switch 2 is being delayed"
  • TechnipFMC (FTI) awarded a "significant contract" for subsea production systems by Petrobras
  • Tether targets $500 bln valuation in ambitious fundraising effort, according to Bloomberg
  • Textron (TXT): Cessna Citation Latitude, designed and produced by Textron Aviation Inc. has achieved Federal Aviation Administration certification for new features of the Garmin G5000 avionics suite
  • TotalEnergies (TTE) selected by the State as Operator of France's largest renewable energy project
  • TotalEnergies SE (TTE): Board of Directors of TotalEnergies confirms the relevance and progress of the Company’s strategy, as the differentiated and profitably growing energy major
  • uniQure (QURE) announces 'positive' topline results from pivotal phase I/II study of AMT-130 in patients with Huntington’s Disease
  • Wabash Natl (WNC) and Global Tank ink partnership to expand tank trailer network
  • Walt Disney (DIS): Jimmy Kimmel returns to ABC, according to WSJ
  • Weatherford (WFRD) awarded an 8-year contract by SNGN Romgaz S.A to deliver services for real-time monitoring and transmission of dynamic parameters from the wellheads of gas wells
  • Xcel Energy (XEL) reaches agreements in principle to resolve all litigation related to 2021 Marshall Fire; expects to pay approximately $640 mln

• Upgrades:
  • Amazon (AMZN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, tgt $280
    
  • General Motors (GM) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at UBS, tgt $81
    
  • LTC Properties (LTC) upgraded to Market Perform from Underperform at BMO Capital, tgt $39
    
  • Micron (MU) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at KGI Securities, tgt $196
    
  • ServiceNow (NOW) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $1,250
  • Quanta Services (PWR) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, tgt $469
    
  • Valley National Bancorp (VLY) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, tgt $14
    
  • Vor Biopharma (VOR) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Stifel, tgt $55
• Downgrades:
  • Adobe (ADBE) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $450
    
  • Arvinas (ARVN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA Securities, tgt $10
    
  • Bloom Energy (BE) downgraded to Underperform from Hold at Jefferies, tgt $31
    
  • CrowdStrike (CRWD) downgraded to Sell from Hold at DZ Bank, tgt $440
    
  • Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP) downgraded to Equal Weight from Overweight at Barclays, tgt $26
    
  • Knight-Swift (KNX) downgraded to Neutral from Positive at Susquehanna, tgt $43
• Others:
  • Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) initiated with an Outperform at Citizens JMP, tgt $38
    
  • Axon Enterprise (AXON) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $893
    
  • Cipher Mining (CIFR) initiated with a Buy at Arete, tgt $24
    
  • DiDi Global (DIDIY) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $10
    
  • IREN Ltd. (IREN) initiated with a Buy at Arete, tgt $78
    
  • Mirum Pharmaceuticals (MIRM) initiated with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $95
    
  • Motorola Solutions (MSI) initiated with a Neutral at Piper Sandler, tgt $495
    
  • Oddity Tech (ODD) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies, tgt $78
    
  • Ocean Power (OPTT) initiated with a Buy at Ladenburg Thalmann, tgt 1.50
    
  • Packaging Corp. (PKG) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $242
    
  • Resources Connection (RGP) initiated with a Buy at Northcoast Research, tgt $7
    
  • Riot Platforms (RIOT) initiated with a Buy at Arete, tgt $26
    
  • Sana Biotechnology (SANA) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush, tgt $5
    
  • The Vita Coco Co. (COCO) initiated with a Hold at Needham

• Econ Data (Thursday):
  • 8:30 ET: Q2 GDP -- third estimate (Briefing.com consensus 3.3%; prior 3.3%), Q2 GDP Deflator -- third estimate (Briefing.com consensus 2.0%; prior 2.0%), August Durable Orders (Briefing.com consensus -0.5%; prior -2.8%), Durable Orders ex-transport (Briefing.com consensus -0.1%; prior 1.1%), weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 238,000; prior 231,000), Continuing Claims (prior 1.920 mln), August advance International Goods Trade Balance (prior -$103.6 bln), August advance Retail Inventories (prior 0.2%), and August advance Wholesale Inventories (prior 0.2%)
  • 10:00 ET: August Existing Home Sales (Briefing.com consensus 3.99 mln; prior 4.01 mln)
  • 10:30 ET: Weekly crude oil inventories (prior +90 bcf)

• Earnings:
  • Monday (Sep 22)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: None
      
    Tuesday (Sep 23)
    • Pre-Market: AZO
    • After-Hours: AIR MU MLKN WOR
      
  • Wednesday (Sep 24)
    • Pre-Market: CTAS THO
      
    • After-Hours: FUL KBH SCS SFIX WS
      
  • Thursday (Sep 25)
    • Pre-Market: ACN KMX JBL SNX
    • After-Hours: BB CNXC COST
  • Friday (Sep 26)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: None