Markets turn red as traders take risk off the table
The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all finished down on Thursday.
The high-flying, more speculative pockets of the market got crushed today as volatility rose and traders went risk off.
AI trade jitters returned and job numbers from private consulting firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas that said job cuts in October were the steepest in 22 years spooked the market.
The S&P 500 was off over 1%, the Nasdaq 100 finished nearly 2% lower, and the Russell 2000 dipped roughly 1.6%.
Stocks that moved higher
Krispy Kreme rose as traders applauded its turnaround and belt-tightening efforts from a company known primarily for belt-widening.
Marvell Technology jumped after Bloomberg reported that SoftBank explored a potential takeover of the company earlier this year.
Moderna jumped after reporting a much smaller Q3 loss than feared and sales that also beat estimates.
Meanwhile, Eli Lilly rose while Novo Nordisk fell as the White House announced a new deal to lower the price of each company’s “fat drug.”
Stocks that moved lower
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang softened his statement that “China is going to win the AI race,” but traders heard different words that sent the same message and the stock sank for a second day.
Microsoft’s stock sank after it laid out its plan for “Humanist Superintelligence” without OpenAI.
Vistra dropped after missing sales and profit estimates and posting meh guidance for the rest of the year.
A $615 million global box office run for “Superman” was overpowered by the entertainment industry’s kryptonite: cable television, leading Warner Bros. Discovery to post a revenue miss amid a potential sale.
e.l.f. Beauty had a very ugly day as tariff headwinds wreaked havoc on its Q2 results and full-year outlook.
Duolingo plunged after the company blamed its slower growth on less “unhinged” posting, which did not translate to investor confidence.
D-Wave Quantum reversed premarket gains it saw after reporting better-than-expected Q3 sales to end deep in the red.
CarMax plunged on weak preliminary sales results and the sudden firing of its CEO.
Oscar Health went up after beating earnings estimates, saying it will “return to profitability” in 2026, but fell late in the session to end negative.
