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Luke Kawa

Small caps surge as investors stack US election bets


The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 each ended up 0.3% after seeing initially strong gains fade as the trading day progressed. The Russell 2000 had another strong session, with small caps up 1.8%. Bitcoin also enjoyed a robust rally, gaining 6%.

Investors doubled down on bets that this weekend’s attempted assassination of Republican nominee Donald Trump improved the likelihood of him recapturing the presidency. Shares of companies that would supposedly stand to gain from Trump and the Republicans winning in November had their best day of the year, up 1.5%. On the other hand, shares of firms that purportedly benefit from Democrats’ electoral success had their worst day of the year, down 2.4%.

Energy stocks paced gains despite a modest drop in the price of West Texas Intermediate futures. Financials were the second best-performing S&P sector ETF, up 1.5% on the day. Goldman Sachs gained 2.7% after reporting strong trading results that outweighed plans to dial back buybacks in light of higher capital requirements.

At the other end of the spectrum, utilities were crushed, down 2.4% with a 7% drop in the sustainable energy-centric  NextEra Energy.

Burberry is soooooooo 2009. As in, the stock sank 16% to its lowest level since 2009 as the company reported underwhelming earnings, suspended its dividend, and had its CEO step down.

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

  • Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).

  • Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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