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In the stock market today, major indexes surrendered early gains on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average barely holding onto positive territory. Dow stocks initially rose following a report indicating further softening in the labor market but experienced a pullback in the afternoon session.
The S&P 500 hovered around the breakeven mark, and the Nasdaq showed a slight decline. Sector-wise, consumer discretionary, industrials, and utilities saw gains, while technology, energy, and consumer staples lagged.
The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq witnessed higher volume compared to the previous day. The Russell 2000 index, representing small caps, trimmed its gains, while the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) gave back early gains to trade flat.
Additionally, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 5 basis points to 4.11%.
The ADP employment report revealed that jobs created in November were below forecasts, with private employers adding 103,000 jobs, well below the consensus view of 123,000. This softer economic data raised hopes among investors that a slowing economy would help keep interest rates down.
Dow Jones Stocks Highlights:
- Disney (DIS) shares rose over 1% amid news of activist investor Ancora supporting Nelson Peltz’s bid to secure a seat on Disney’s board. Peltz’s Trian Fund Management has initiated a proxy battle with Disney.
- Tech stocks on the Dow, including Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), and Intel (INTC), experienced slight declines. Salesforce (CRM) saw a rise, while Apple hovered near a buy point after reaching a $3 trillion market cap.
- McDonald’s (MCD) initially faced early losses but pared them back during its investor day, where plans were announced to have 50,000 stores in operation by 2027.
Stocks Moving Today:
- MongoDB (MDB) saw a significant drop after reporting third-quarter results, with sales rising 30%, and earnings surging 317% to 96 cents per share. The stock fell below a buy point but showed resilience.
- Asana (ASAN) plummeted to test its 50-day moving average post-earnings. Sales decelerated to $166.5 million, and the loss per share improved from the prior year.
- SentinelOne (S) surged over 18% in the software security sector after reporting a 42% revenue growth in the third quarter.
- Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup, xAI, filed for a $1 billion equity offering with the SEC. Alphabet (GOOGL) launched its advanced AI product, Gemini, reportedly outperforming ChatGPT 3.5.
Earnings Moves:
- Toll Brothers (TOL) reported a decline in fiscal fourth-quarter sales and earnings but presented an optimistic first-quarter outlook due to falling mortgage rates and lower inflation.
- Ollie’s Bargain Outlet (OLLI) gapped up after positive results, with comparable sales increasing 7%, but the stock fell back below a buy point later in the day.
- Box (BOX) witnessed a decline below its 50-day moving average due to slowing third-quarter sales and earnings, anticipating expenses in the fourth quarter from migrating to the public cloud.
