After Hours Report

Tuesday's session produced another solid advance for the stock market, with broad participation and lower Treasury yields helping the S&P 500 (+0.6%) reach its first record high since August 13. The benchmark also closed above 7,800 for the first time, while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.5%) established fresh record highs of its own and the DJIA (+0.5%) posted a comparable gain.

The major averages finished well off their best levels, however, after spending much of the afternoon drifting sideways before giving back some additional ground late in the session. The S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.6%) still participated in the advance, while the Russell 2000 (-0.6%) stood out as the clear laggard after surrendering an early gain.

Participation beneath the surface remained notably healthy for a second consecutive session. Ten of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finished higher, marking another departure from the narrow leadership that had characterized much of the market's recent action. Lower Treasury yields provided a favorable backdrop, particularly for rate-sensitive areas, even as crude oil recovered from a sharp overnight decline.

The utilities sector (+3.0%) was the clear leader, fueled by a surge in Constellation Energy (CEG 300.40, +32.78, +12.25%) after the company announced a 20-year power purchase agreement with Alphabet (GOOG 344.59, +0.76, +0.22%) supporting 890 MW of new nuclear capacity through upgrades at 11 existing units across six sites in the PJM grid. Vistra Corp. (VST 160.48, +15.59, +10.76%) and NRG Energy (NRG 103.62, +6.82, +7.05%) also posted sizable gains, leaving several electric utility names among the day's strongest S&P 500 performers.

The consumer discretionary sector (+1.4%) and real estate sector (+1.1%) were also standouts. Mega-cap stocks generally contributed to the advance, reflected in a 0.6% gain for the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF, while lower yields and oil-sensitive names provided additional support. The consumer staples sector (+1.0%) rounded out the day's strongest-performing areas.

The information technology sector (+0.6%) finished higher, although some of its earlier momentum faded. The PHLX Semiconductor Index (+0.3%) ended well off its session high as NVIDIA (NVDA 239.27, +0.37, +0.15%) encountered some profit-taking after reaching a fresh record high and other semiconductor names also backed away from their best levels.

There were still several notable AI-related winners. Marvell (MRVL 287.01, +15.76, +5.81%) surged after management raised its FY28 revenue outlook to $20 billion from $18 billion on stronger optics and switching demand, while Advanced Micro Devices (AMD 649.42, +17.67, +2.80%) rallied after saying it plans to increase supply in 2027 in response to strong AI-product demand, according to Reuters. Citi also raised its price target on AMD to $800 from $575 based on increased CPU demand from agentic applications.

Strength extended into other parts of the technology landscape. Ciena (CIEN 443.66, +53.97, +13.85%) and Corning (GLW 168.98, +9.61, +6.03%) posted sizable gains as Marvell's bullish guidance provided additional reassurance about demand for optical connectivity products. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE 70.56, +2.20, +3.22%) reached a fresh all-time high amid continued strength in AI infrastructure and networking demand.

Conversely, Seagate Tech (STX 805.63, -81.46, -9.18%) and Western Digital (WDC 411.04, -30.60, -6.93%) sold off sharply as reports of a bidding contest for TDK's magnetic-head business added to recent concerns about HDD industry competition.

The health care sector (-0.2%) was the lone sector to finish lower, weighed down by weakness across biotechnology stocks. The iShares Biotechnology ETF fell 2.3%, with Moderna (MRNA 187.46, -15.75, -7.75%) among the notable decliners after reversing an opening gain.

Crude oil ultimately had little influence on the broader market despite a sizable intraday recovery. WTI crude settled $0.11 higher (+0.1%) at $89.44 per barrel after briefly falling below $87 overnight. Bloomberg also reported during the afternoon that Iran is increasing attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz as oil shipments through the waterway approach pre-war levels.

Tuesday therefore provided another encouraging showing beneath the surface ahead of earnings season. Technology and mega-cap stocks remained important contributors, but gains across ten sectors and lower Treasury yields helped broaden the advance as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq established fresh records.

U.S. Treasuries climbed on Tuesday, with the long bond reclaiming the bulk of loss from Monday while the 10-year note and shorter tenors turned positive for the week. Treasuries held their ground through today's $58 billion 3-year note sale, which was absorbed well by the market, but saw below-average foreign demand, ahead of tomorrow's $39 billion 10-year note reopening. The 2-year note yield settled down four basis points to 4.79%, and the 10-year note yield settled down four basis points to 5.27%. 

• Nasdaq Composite: +18.8% YTD
• S&P 500: +14.0% YTD
• Russell 2000: +14.1% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +11.9% YTD
• DJIA: +7.2% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• The trade deficit widened in August to $105.6 billion (Briefing.com consensus: -$93.7 billion) from a downwardly revised $92.8 billion (from -$88.6 billion) in July. Exports were $4.5 billion more than July exports, but imports were $17.2 billion more than July imports.
  • The key takeaway is that demand for crude oil and semiconductors helped drive the increase in exports and imports and can be looked at in part as a good sign for global economic activity.

Overseas:

• Europe: DAX +0.8%, FTSE +0.4%, CAC +0.4%
• Asia: Nikkei +1.1%, Hang Seng +1.0%, Shanghai market closed

Commodities:

• Crude Oil +0.11 @ 89.44
• Nat Gas +0.04 @ 3.11
• Gold +30.90 @ 4188.30
• Silver +0.29 @ 61.61
• Copper +0.01 @ 6.65

After-Hours Spotlight:

• Apple (AAPL) planning smart home expansion with LG-developed doorbell, lock, thermostat and other devices, according to Bloomberg...AAPL +0.1%
• Constellation Brands (STZ) beats by $0.19, beats on revs; reaffirms FY27 EPS guidance; Acquired Spikedade subsequent to the quarter...STZ -4.8%
• Curtiss-Wright (CW) CFO Farkas retires; Gary Ogilby named interim CFO...CW -1.3%
• Fair Isaac (FICO) to cut about 15% of workforce in restructuring...FICO -0.3%
• Neogen (NEOG) beats by $0.03, beats on revs; provides FY27 guidance...NEOG +9.0%
• Penguin Solutions (PENG) beats by $0.23, beats on revs; guides FY27 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus; also appoints Stephen Cumming as CFO...PENG +4.0%
• Worthington Steel (WS) misses by $0.35, misses on revs...WS -3.6%
• ZIM Integrated Shipping (ZIM) raises full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance...ZIM +4.6%

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

• Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
  • AbbVie (ABBV) expects Q3 EPS to include a $0.11 unfavorable impact from acquired IPR&D and milestones expense
  • Apogee Enterprises (APOG) beats by $0.58, beats on revs; provides FY27 guidance
  • Franco-Nevada (FNV) becomes significant shareholder of Kenorland Minerals
  • Lamb Weston (LW) beats by $0.16, reports revs in-line; raises FY27 guidance
  • NeoGenomics (NEO) guides Q3 revenue above consensus
  • Nomad Foods (NOMD) raises FY26 organic revenue outlook, targets return to growth in Q3 ahead of Analyst and Investor Day
  • RPM Inc (RPM) beats by $0.03, misses on revs; provides Q2 (Jun) and FY27 guidance; raises dividend 10.2%
  • United Microelectronics (UMC) September sales rise 27% yr/yr
  • Zscaler (ZS) reaffirms Q1 and FY27 guidance at investor day
• General News
  • GRAIL to present new data from NHS-Galleri and PATHFINDER 2 at EDCC ad ESMO Congress 2026
  • Melar Acquisition Corp. I sets Oct. 22 shareholder vote for Everli combination following SEC clearance
  • Ceragon brings new e-band innovation and a portfolio built to scale to India Mobile Congress 2026
  • President Trump signed an executive order to temporarily allow off-road “dyed” diesel for highway use and defer the applicable Federal excise tax
  • Yemen recaptures the strategic Red Sea port of Mokha from the Iran-backed Houthis. CNBC
  • France bracing for nationwide protests over school conditions. Presidential frontrunner Marine Le Pen accused lawmakers of stoking the protests. They deny those allegations. Reuters
  • DeepSeek to raise $12 bln in funding that is supported by Tencent. Bloomberg
  • Pentagon has stopped using Anthropic AI tools (XLK). BBC
  • The dispute between ABC (DIS) and FTC will go to a federal court. NY Times
  • Kamada launches two more biosimilars in Israel, sees portfolio reaching $20 mln-$25 mln annual revenue by 2030
  • A union expects Stellantis (STLA) Italy production to rebound this year. Reuters
  • AECOM (ACM)-led JV wins Ontario Highway 413 program management consultant role
  • AMD planning to (AMD) increase supply next year. Reuters
  • Amylyx (AMLX) to present Phase 3 avexitide topline data in post-bariatric hypoglycemia at ObesityWeek
  • An Accenture (ACN) contractor was removed from the FBI following a data breach. Reuters
  • ArriVent (AVBP) says Phase 3 FURVENT trial of firmonertinib missed primary PFS endpoint
  • AstraZeneca (AZN)'s Alexion to present Phase III efzimfotase alfa and eneboparatide data at ASBMR meeting
  • BitGo (BTGO), HashKey Cloud expand partnership across staking, trading, custody and tokenization
  • Boost Run (NVDA) signs five-year $525.6 mln AI cloud services compute agreement
  • Canadian Solar (CSIQ)'s e-STORAGE wins 100 MW/200 MWh Australia battery supply deal from OX2
  • CGI (GIB) wins France agriculture ministry modernization contract
  • Charles River (CRL) partners with Autolomous on Apollo Orchestrate lab execution capability
  • Clean Energy (CLNE) names JJ Armstrong CFO, succeeding retiring Robert Vreeland
  • Cognizant (CTSH) selected by SITA for cloud-based finance transformation program
  • DeFi Development (DFDV) Corp authorizes a repurchase program for its Variable Rate Series C
  • Freshworks to join S&P SmallCap 600, replacing BioLife Solutions (RGEN)
  • HomeTrust (HTB) Bancshares authorizes new 790,000-share buyback after completing prior 5% program
  • Hongli (HLP) Group names Michael W. Zhang chairman; CEO Jie Liu remains on board
  • Kyndryl, WPP (WPP) expand partnership across enterprise transformation, marketing and joint go-to-market
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) awarded a $208.9 mln modification to previously awarded Navy contract
  • Neighborhood Intelligence (NXH) names Alvarez & Marsal's Paul Kosturos interim CFO as Brian LaRose resigns – 8-K filing
  • NeoGenomics (NEO) names Warren Stone CEO effective Jan. 4; sees Q3 revenue about $209 mln
  • Netflix (NFLX): Barron's out positive on NFLX
  • NIQ (NIQ) selected by Maverik for customer insights and analytics platform
  • NYC (XLK) considering artificial intelligence guardrails (XLK, NVDA, MSFT, GOOG, GOOGL, META). WSJ
  • Odyssey Therapeutics (ODTX) to present additional Phase 2a OD-001 ulcerative colitis data at UEG Week
  • OpenAI in discussions with BlackRock (BLK) and UAE funds over $30 bln funding round, according to Bloomberg
  • Option Care Health (OPCH) sharply higher following report that McKesson and CD&R are nearing a deal, according to FT
  • Pinterest (PINS) names former Amazon CFO James Dibbo as CFO, effective Oct. 26
  • Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman (XLE) says his country is pumping 5.8 mln barrels per day through east-west pipeline, according to Bloomberg
  • Seagate Tech (STX) and Toshiba interested in TDK's magnetic heads business for hard drives, according to Bloomberg
  • Some countries are are (META) considering banning smart glasses. Reuters
  • StandardAero (SARO) wins U.S. Air Force predictive maintenance award for F100-220 engine program
  • Stryker (SYK) names Spencer Stiles CEO effective Jan. 1; Kevin Lobo to become Executive Chair
  • TD Synnex (SNX): SignWell partners with TD SYNNEX to scale enterprise-grade eSignature platform across partner ecosystem
  • Telix (TLX) says first patients dosed with FDA-approved Pixclara brain cancer imaging drug in U.S. launch
  • Vir Biotechnology to present (SNY) expanded Phase 2 hepatitis delta data at AASLD meeting
  • Xanadu (XNDU) partners with GlobalFoundries to scale photonic quantum chip manufacturing

• Upgrades:
  • Amentum Holdings (AMTM) upgraded to Neutral at BNP Paribas Exane, tgt $20
  • BorgWarner (BWA) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $95
  • Boyd Gaming (BYD) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, tgt $99
  • Chain Bridge Bancorp (CBNA) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James, tgt $53
  • Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo, tgt $14
  • Corteva (CTVA) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $19
  • Crescent Biopharma (CBIO) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at H.C. Wainwright, tgt $36
  • Fortrea (FTRE) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, tgt $23
  • JetBlue Airways (JBLU) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Citi, tgt $4.50
  • MillerKnoll (MLKN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at StoneX, tgt $30
  • MYR Group (MYRG) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, tgt $370
  • NeoGenomics (NEO) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BTIG, tgt $28
  • PENN Entertainment (PENN) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, tgt $25
  • Procter & Gamble (PG) upgraded to Outperform from In Line at Evercore ISI, tgt $166
  • Qiagen (QGEN) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays, tgt $55
  • Rezolute (RZLT) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Cantor Fitzgerald
  • Rio Tinto (RIO) upgraded to Sector Perform from Underperform at RBC Capital
  • TETRA Technologies (TTI) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Clear Street, tgt $11
  • Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) upgraded to Buy from Hold at StoneX, tgt $200
  • XP Inc. (XP) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Itau BBA, tgt $27
• Downgrades:
  • CACI International (CACI) downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas Exane
  • Gentex (GNTX) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, tgt $20
  • Goosehead Insurance (GSHD) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $48
  • Nike (NKE) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Berenberg, tgt $27.50
  • Personalis (PSNL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BTIG
• Others:
  • AeroVironment (AVAV) initiated with a Neutral at Rothschild Redburn, tgt $165
  • AvePoint (AVPT) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $17
  • Builders FirstSource (BLDR) initiated with a Sell at Melius, tgt $52
  • D.R. Horton (DHI) initiated with a Sell at Melius, tgt $128
  • Diodes (DIOD) initiated with a Buy at BofA, tgt $135
  • Ermenegildo Zegna Group (ZGN) initiated with a Buy at HSBC, tgt $16
  • Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) initiated with a Hold at Melius, tgt $252
  • Fortune Brands (FBIN) initiated with a Hold at Melius, tgt $44
  • Installed Building Products (IBP) initiated with a Hold at Melius, tgt $217
  • Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) initiated with an Underweight at Barclays, tgt $8
  • James Hardie Industries (JHX) initiated with a Buy at Melius, tgt $36
  • KB Home (KBH) initiated with a Sell at Melius, tgt $43
  • Kratos Defense & Security (KTOS) initiated with a Buy at Rothschild Redburn, tgt $70
  • Lattice Semiconductor (LSCC) initiated with an Outperform at William Blair
  • LB Pharmaceuticals (LBRX) initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim, tgt $80
  • Lennar (LEN) initiated with a Sell at Melius, tgt $72
  • Lockheed Martin (LMT) initiated with a Buy at Rothschild Redburn, tgt $650
  • MapLight Therapeutics (MPLT) initiated with a Neutral at Guggenheim
  • Masco (MAS) initiated with a Hold at Melius, tgt $75
  • Meritage Homes (MTH) initiated with a Sell at Melius, tgt $59
  • Modine Manufacturing (MOD) initiated with an Outperform at Baird, tgt $300
  • Mohawk Industries (MHK) initiated with a Buy at Melius, tgt $188
  • Neurocrine (NBIX) assumed with a Buy at Guggenheim, tgt $207
  • Northrop Grumman (NOC) initiated with a Buy at Rothschild Redburn, tgt $680
  • Ovid Therapeutics (OVID) initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim, tgt $7
  • Owens Corning (OC) initiated with a Sell at Melius, tgt $118
  • Pasqal SAS (PSQL) initiated with a Buy at StoneX, tgt $15
  • PulteGroup (PHM) initiated with a Hold at Melius, tgt $132
  • QXO (QXO) initiated with a Buy at Melius, tgt $17
  • Rapport Therapeutics (RAPP) initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim, tgt $65
  • Revvity (RVTY) initiated with an Outperform at William Blair
  • Sherwin-Williams (SHW) initiated with a Hold at Melius, tgt $367
  • SPX Technologies (SPXC) initiated with an Outperform at Baird, tgt $220
  • Standard Nuclear (STDN) initiated with a Buy at Needham, tgt $18
  • Toll Brothers (TOL) initiated with a Buy at Melius, tgt $179
  • Trex (TREX) initiated with a Buy at Melius, tgt $62
  • Vylor (VYLR) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer, tgt $82
  • Xenon Pharmaceuticals (XENE) assumed with a Buy at Guggenheim, tgt $73

• Econ Data (Wednesday):
  • 7:00 ET: Weekly MBA Mortgage Index (prior -6.0%)
  • 10:30 ET: Weekly crude oil inventories (prior +0.92 mln)
  • 14:00 ET: September FOMC Minutes
  • 15:00 ET: August Consumer Credit (Briefing.com consensus $15.2 bln; prior $18.1 bln)

• Earnings:
  • Monday (October 5)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: None
  • Tuesday (October 6)
    • Pre-Market: APOG, LW, NEOG, RPM
    • After-Hours: PENG, STZ, WS
  • Wednesday (October 7)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: APLD, LEVI
  • Thursday (October 8)
    • Pre-Market: HELE, PEP
    • After-Hours: None
  • Friday (October 9)
    • Pre-market: DAL
    • Afternoon: None