After Hours Report

Stocks finished modestly higher on Wednesday, but the relatively small gains in the major averages understated a much stronger showing across several areas of the broader market. The S&P 500 (+0.2%), Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%), and DJIA (+0.2%) advanced in unison, while the S&P 500 Equal Weighted Index (+1.0%) comfortably outperformed as rate-sensitive groups and a number of stocks with company-specific catalysts rallied.

The session got an early boost after the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced that it will at least double the size of its liquidity-support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal securities beginning September 9. The announcement provided some relief from the elevated long-term yields that have pressured equities recently and helped fuel a rebound across rate-sensitive areas of the market.

Homebuilders were among the biggest beneficiaries, with the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF jumping 3.1%. Strength across retailers and mega-cap names provided additional support to the consumer discretionary sector (+2.1%), with Target (TGT 159.03, +6.56, +4.30%) and Lowe's (LOW 220.71, +5.07, +2.35%) advancing following their earnings reports while Amazon (AMZN 265.84, +6.39, +2.46%) and Tesla (TSLA 351.12, +14.25, +4.23%) rebounded from recent weakness.

The health care sector (+3.5%) was the clear sector leader following positive results for an experimental cancer vaccine from Moderna (MRNA 174.38, +111.42, +176.97%) and Merck (MRK 152.22, +17.05, +12.61%). Moderna more than doubled in value and Merck posted a double-digit gain, helping send the iShares Biotechnology ETF up 6.6%.

The materials sector (+1.7%) was another standout as higher precious metals prices supported Newmont Corporation (NEM 125.08, +9.10, +7.85%) and other mining stocks.

Seven S&P 500 sectors ultimately finished higher, highlighting the broad participation beneath the relatively modest gains in the headline averages. That divergence was largely a product of continued weakness across semiconductor stocks. The PHLX Semiconductor Index fell 2.1%, extending yesterday's steep decline and weighing heavily on the information technology sector (-0.7%). Semiconductor-related electrical equipment names also remained under pressure, contributing to the industrials sector's (-0.9%) underperformance.

The afternoon release of the FOMC minutes provided a reminder that additional monetary tightening remains a possibility. Most participants supported keeping rates unchanged at the latest meeting, though several favored a 25-basis-point increase and many judged that further tightening would likely be necessary if inflation fails to decline. Stocks also absorbed another increase in oil prices. WTI crude settled $0.80 higher (+0.9%) at $85.68 per barrel, continuing its recent climb but failing to derail the broader advance.

Wednesday's session ultimately featured a notable broadening in participation following the technology-driven weakness earlier in the week. Rate-sensitive stocks, health care, materials, and several earnings-related movers provided strong leadership, allowing the equal-weight S&P 500 to substantially outperform even as another sharp decline in semiconductor stocks kept the headline averages' gains relatively modest.

U.S. Treasuries had a mixed showing on Wednesday, as the 10 year and 30-year note yields added to their gains from Tuesday while shorter tenors finished flat after retreating from a higher start. The 2-year note yield finished unchanged at 4.18%, and the 10-year note yield settled down five basis points to 4.65%. 

• Russell 2000: +22.2% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +16.3% YTD
• Nasdaq Composite: +13.3% YTD
• S&P 500: +12.6% YTD
• DJIA: +11.2% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• The weekly MBA Mortgage Index was down 0.4% after rising 3.6% a week ago. The Purchase Index was down 2.0% while the Refinance Index rose 1.5%.

 Overseas:

• Europe: DAX flat, FTSE +0.1%, CAC -0.1%
• Asia: Nikkei -3.2%, Hang Seng +0.1%, Shanghai -2.4%

Commodities:

• Crude Oil +0.80 @ 85.68
• Nat Gas +0.03 @ 2.81
• Gold +125.00 @ 4545.80
• Silver +1.76 @ 65.83
• Copper +0.01 @ 6.50

After-Hours Spotlight:

• U.S. debt exceeds $40 trillion, according to Reuters
• Ameresco (AMRC) CFO Mark Chiplock to depart Sept. 25; company reiterates FY26 outlook...AMRC +0.2%
• Bill.com (BILL) beats by $0.13, beats on revs; provides Q1 (Mar) and FY27 guidance...BILL +2.0%
• Coty (COTY) misses by $0.01, beats on revs; provides Q1 (Mar) and FY27 guidance...COTY -8.6%
• Ethan Allen (ETD) declares special cash dividend of $3/share...ETD +3.7%
• Nature's Sunshine (NATR): 10% owner Prescott Group bought 20000 shares at $14.69 worth ~$294K...NATR +1.6%
• Nordson (NDSN) beats by $0.16, beats on revs; guides FY26 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus...NDSN +7.8%
• Webull Corporation (BULL) beats by $0.08, beats on revs...BULL +11.2%
• Wolfspeed (WOLF) beats by $0.19, misses on revs; provides Q1 (Mar) and FY27 guidance...WOLF -9.1%

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

• Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
  • Analog Devices (ADI) beats by $0.11, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus
  • Enovix (ENVX) reaffirms Q3 guidance in connection with CEO transition
  • Estee Lauder (EL) beats by $0.07, beats on revs; guides FY27 EPS in-line
  • FLEX LNG (FLNG) beats on top and bottom lines; reaffirms guidance
  • Jack Henry (JKHY) reports Q4 (Jun) results, beats on revs; guides FY27 revs above consensus
  • Keysight (KEYS) beats by $0.59, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus
  • Kingsoft Cloud (KC) reports Q2 results
  • La-Z-Boy (LZB) misses by $0.06, misses on revs; guides Q2 revs below consensus
  • Lowe's (LOW) beats by $0.18, reports revs in-line; guides FY27 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus
  • Mercury (MRCY) misses by $0.01, beats on revs
  • Target (TGT) beats by $1.76, beats on revs; guides FY27 EPS above consensus, revs above consensus
  • TJX (TJX) beats by $0.17, reports revs in-line; guides Q3 EPS above consensus; guides FY27 EPS above consensus
  • Toll Brothers (TOL) beats by $0.04, beats on revs, Delivered homes of 2,662; Issues Q4 guidance, sees Deliveries of 3,450-3,550 units
  • Viking Holdings Ltd (VIK) beats by $0.05, beats on revs
  • Weibo (WB) reports Q2 results
  • ZTO Express (ZTO) beats by RMB0.38, reports revs in-line
• General News
  • Iran considered attacking U.S. military assets in Europe if the U.S. escalates war. FT
  • Iran appears to be losing control over the Strait of Hormuz. 80% of vessel transits over the past two weeks have taken the Omani route. CNN
  • President Trump wants to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to convince him to abandon his nuclear program. WSJ
  • Democratic socialist Angie Nixon wins Democratic Senate primary in an upset. She will face Republican Senator Ashley Moody in November. NBC News
  • President Trump delays 50% tariffs on Canadian goods for 3 days amid potential deal; says Keystone Pipeline will be revived
  • President Trump selects Heidi Overton as the next FDA Commissioner. Politico
  • Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro demanding data center developers comply with strict requirements and blocking speculative, irresponsible data center projects
  • Under Secretary Haustveit states approximately 50% of Venezuela's oil production is exported to the US, according to Reuters
  • Alibaba (BABA): Small Alibaba AI model is gaining traction. The Information
  • Amazon (AMZN) Prime Air drone delivery is expanding to nearly 500 cities and towns this year
  • Amentum (AMTM) joins Babcock engineering services framework for UK defense programs
  • Avery Dennison (AVY) Board unanimously elected William Wagner as independent Board Chair, effective September 1, 2026 to serve in such capacity for the remainder of the one-year term ending at the 2027 Annual Meeting of Stockholders
  • Baxter (BAX) prices upsized cash tender offers, expects to buy up to $600 mln of notes
  • Better Home & Finance (BETR) sues former CEO Vishal Garg over alleged illegal shareholder solicitation
  • BlackBerry (BB): Momenta, a leading Physical AI company, together with XHEART, has selected QNX OS for Safety from QNX, a division of BlackBerry, as the foundation for its Physical AI-defined autonomous driving platform
  • Brookfield Corp. (BN) announces renewal of normal course issuer bid for preferred shares
  • Cerebras (CBRS) launches CS-4 AI accelerator, says system is up to 30x faster than GPU-based alternatives
  • Curtiss-Wright (CW) expands 2026 share repurchase program by $100 mln
  • EHang (EH) launches global fast-track eVTOL rollout program; Sri Lanka first adopter
  • Hycroft Mining (HYMC) announces additional drill results from Brimstone and Vortex
  • IBM (IBM) links first modular cryogenic systems in quantum computing milestone
  • IDEAYA (IDYA) enters Roche's (RHHBY) Genentech collaboration for Phase 1 pancreatic cancer combo study
  • Infleqtion (INFQ) to test quantum sensing in Colorado to advance U.S critical minerals security
  • IonQ (IONQ) signs MOU with CMC Microsystems to provide cloud quantum access in Canada
  • Kenon Holdings (KEN) announces receipt of approximately $93 million in connection with payment of arbitration award by the Republic of Peru
  • LG Display (LPL) unveils FLiPP FMM-less OLED manufacturing technology
  • Merck (MRK), Moderna say Phase 3 intismeran plus KEYTRUDA met RFS, DMFS endpoints in adjuvant melanoma
  • Novartis AG (NVS) receives FDA orphan designation for treatment of atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome
  • Novartis (NVS) to present new cardiovascular data across Leqvio, abelacimab and pacibekitug at ESC Congress 2026
  • Novo Nordisk (NVO) testing small doses of its Wegovy pill. Bloomberg
  • NVIDIA (NVDA): Some Nvidia H200 chips have entered China. FT
  • OpenAI revenue grew 18% in Q2. WSJ
  • Palantir Technologies (PLTR) sovereignty bootcamps draw nearly 200 organizations in <30 days
  • Palladyne AI (PDYN) partners with Orkid Tech to bring Pilot and SwarmOS to fixed-wing UAVs
  • Paramount Skydance (PSKY) announces 2 additional former Google (GOOG/GOOGL) executives will be added to leadership, according to Business Insider
  • Parsons (PSN) selected for Space Force NITE-STAR IDIQ with $981 mln shared ceiling
  • Ramaco Resources (METC) signs non-binding MOU with Indium Corp on potential Brook Mine gallium, germanium supply
  • Rocket Lab (RKLB) selected for Space Force Space Data Network consortium; wins $12 mln in delivery orders
  • Samsung (SSNLF) increasing chip-making prices by 15%. Reuters
  • Sight Sciences (SGHT) says FDA expands TearCare label to include improved meibomian gland function in evaporative dry eye
  • SK hynix Inc. (SKHY) approves KRW40 trln share repurchase and cancellation program; expands shareholder return target to over 50% of cumulative FCF
  • Smith & Nephew (SNN) CFO John Rogers to resign effective Sept. 30; Pierre Palassian named interim CFO
  • SS&C Techs (SSNC) increases dividend by 11.1% to $1.20/share annually; Next quarterly dividend of $0.30/share to be paid on September 15, 2026
  • Stryker (SYK) awarded $100 mln modification to Defense Logistics Agency contract
  • Twist Bioscience (TWST): Anthropic has chosen Twist Bioscience Corporation as one of its independent evaluators
  • W. R. Berkley (WRB) forms Berkley Meridian by combining Verus Specialty Insurance and Vela Insurance Services

• Upgrades:
  • Ciena (CIEN) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Northland, tgt $500
    
  • Dollar Tree (DLTR) upgraded to Hold from Underperform at Jefferies, tgt $135
    
  • Dominion Energy (D) upgraded to Buy from Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $80
    
  • Fabrinet (FN) upgraded to Outperform from Equal Weight at Fox Advisors
    
  • Honeywell Aerospace (HONA) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $205
    
  • Neptune Insurance (NP) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $36
    
  • TWFG Insurance (TWFG) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $30
• Downgrades:
  • Baidu (BIDU) downgraded to Underweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, tgt $80
    
  • CME Group (CME) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, tgt $270
    
  • Cogent Communications (CCOI) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $9
    
  • Core Natural Resources (CNR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS, tgt $105
    
  • Klarna (KLAR) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $18
    
  • Mereo BioPharma (MREO) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JPMorgan
    
  • Pediatrix Medical (MD) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, tgt $28
    
  • Pershing Square (PS) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi, tgt $45
• Others:
  • Aflac (AFL) initiated with an Underperform at Wolfe Research, tgt $103
    
  • Agomab Therapeutics (AGMB) initiated with an Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald
    
  • Aktis Oncology (AKTS) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $37
    
  • Aktis Oncology (AKTS) initiated with an Outperform at Wedbush, tgt $35
    
  • Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $318
    
  • Ascendis Pharma (ASND) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $319
    
  • Bicara Therapeutics (BCAX) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $35
    
  • BioMarin Pharmaceutical (BMRN) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $98
    
  • Cardinal Health (CAH) initiated with an Outperform at RBC Capital, tgt $276
    
  • Cencora (COR) initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital, tgt $330
    
  • Corsair Gaming (CRSR) assumed with a Sell at Goldman Sachs, tgt $11
    
  • Cricut (CRCT) assumed with a Sell at Goldman Sachs, tgt $4.50
    
  • DarioHealth (DRIO) initiated with a Buy at Alliance Global, tgt $12
    
  • Exelixis (EXEL) initiated with a Market Perform at BMO Capital, tgt $54
    
  • Healthcare Services Group (HCSG) initiated with an Outperform at Oppenheimer, tgt $28
    
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) initiated with a Market Perform at BMO Capital, tgt $60
    
  • KE Holdings (BEKE) initiated with an Outperform at CLSA, tgt $23.80
    
  • McKesson (MCK) initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital, tgt $845
    
  • Perspective Therapeutics (CATX) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $11
    
  • Prime Medicine (PRME) initiated with an Outperform at BMO Capital, tgt $9
    
  • ResMed (RMD) initiated with a Neutral at Rothschild & Co Redburn, tgt $230
    
  • Safehold (SAFE) resumed with a Market Perform at Raymond James
    
  • Zoom Communications (ZM) reinstated with a Buy at BofA Securities, tgt $130

• Econ Data (Thursday):
  • 8:30 ET: Weekly Initial Claims (Briefing.com consensus 206,000; prior 209,000), Continuing Claims (prior 1.777 mln), and August Philadelphia Fed Survey (Briefing.com consensus 25.0; prior 41.4)
  • 10:30 ET: Weekly natural gas inventories (prior +36 bcf)

• Earnings:
  • Monday (August 17)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: FN
  • Tuesday (August 18)
    • Pre-Market: AS BIDU HD KLAR
    • After-Hours: JKHY KEYS LZB MRCY TOL ZTO
  • Wednesday (August 19)
    • Pre-Market: ADI EL KC LOW TGT TJX VIK
    • After-Hours: BILL COTY NDSN BULL WOLF
  • Thursday (August 20)
    • Pre-Market: AAP BABA ATHM NTES SCSC WMT DE
    • After-Hours: FLO OSIS ROST
  • Friday (August 21)
    • Pre-market: BJ BKE
    • Afternoon: None