S&P 500 closes at another record high, but everyone’s watching the meme stocks
The S&P 500 inched up less than 0.1% to close at a fresh record, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%, and the Russell 2000 led the way with a 0.8% advance.
Tech was the source of weakness on Tuesday, the only S&P 500 sector ETF to decline. Healthcare, real estate, materials, industrials, and consumer discretionary all rose more than 1%.
But many of the intriguing stories of the day were in the names outside the benchmark US stock index.
Kohl’s doubled in the first few minutes of trading in a seeming r/WallStreetBets-inspired meme stock short squeeze before being halted for volatility and finishing up 37%.
Opendoor was up more than 20% early in the session but finished down 10% as the bullish flows that have fueled the stock’s surge became more balanced.
Lucid rose double digits after announcing that owners of its Air sedan would be able to access Tesla’s charging network before the month is out.
Healthcare company IQVIA was the best performer in the S&P 500 after posting stronger-than-expected earnings along with guidance that was better than anticipated. Another company that specializes in clinical trials, Medpace, rocketed higher on an earnings beat and improved guidance.
Lockheed Martin, on the other hand, slumped double digits on a Q2 earnings miss. Philip Morris International also tumbled despite raising its profit guidance and reporting better-than-expected earnings, as this news also came along with its first quarterly decline in Zyn shipments. Another earnings-linked sell-off came from General Motors, which reiterated guidance for a tariff hit of up to $5 billion this year.
Coca-Cola dipped despite beating on earnings and adjusted operating profits as the beverage seller suffered a decline in volumes sold. Oh, and cane sugar Coke is coming this fall as an extra offering.
Oscar Health rose 8% despite shifting its guidance to an operating loss of $250 million this year versus its prior expectation of a $250 million profit, as the company suffers from the same challenges to the ACA marketplace as Centene.
Chatter about another potential railway merger influenced stocks, even as Warren Buffett himself threw cold water on the reports, sending CSX and Norfolk Southern up more than 1%.
