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S&P 500 falls even with most stocks rising as traders dump AI names

The S&P 500 fell 0.6% despite having far more gainers than losers.

8/19/25 3:31PM

The nascent pullback across high-flying, AI-linked names picked up steam on Tuesday, sending major indexes down even as most stocks went up.

The S&P 500 fell 0.6% despite having far more gainers than losers, the Nasdaq 100 tumbled 1.4%, and the Russell 2000 gave back 0.8%.

The iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF had its worst day since the opening session of Q3, with Palantir leading S&P decliners. The AI darling fell 9.3% to match its longest losing streak since April 2024.

As you’d expect given the tape, with indexes down despite most stocks rising, the pain at the S&P 500 sector ETF level was concentrated in tech — communication services and consumer discretionary were the only other two sectors to fall on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley’s basket of AI tech beneficiaries suffered its biggest one-day drop since April 10, falling 4.1%.

Gains on the day were led by Intel, which rose 6.9% after the company reported that Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group was buying a $2 billion stake in the US chipmaker. Elsewhere...

Home Depot shares were up 3.2% after the home improvement retailer turned in weaker-than-expected Q2 results but doubled down on its full-year outlook.

Best Buy shares were up 3.3% after the electronics retailer announced plans to launch a new third-party marketplace, expanding its online assortment beyond tech.

Palo Alto Networks was a rare sight on Tuesday: an AI-linked name that performed well. Shares jumped 3% after posting top- and bottom-line beats in the fourth quarter along with a bright outlook for its current fiscal year.

Meta shares were down about 2% as the tech giant announced internally that it’s splitting its AI division. The decisions reportedly include moving employees, AI executive exits, and eliminating some roles.

Fabrinet shares sank 12.8% after the maker of optical communication devices said that sales in its data communication business are expected to fall in the current quarter.

Viking Therapeutics fell 42% after the company reported trial results for its weight-loss pill Tuesday morning that disappointed investors.

Tasha Matsumoto, Luke Kawa

10/3/25

S&P 500 just barely notches third consecutive all-time high in record day for call volumes

The S&P 500 just barely managed to pull off a three-peat, despite five of the Mag 7 stocks trading lower.

Chicago Bulls players Dennis Rodman (L), Scottie Pippen (C) and Michael Jordan (R) hold three of the team's four recent Larry O'Brien trophies 18 June at a rally for the team in Grant Park in Chicago.

Max Knoblauch

10/3/25

Automakers spike on report that Trump administration is considering tariff relief

The Trump administration is considering significant tariff relief for many major automakers, according to reporting by Reuters.

“The signal to the car companies around the world is, look, you have final assembly in the US, we’re going to reward you,” Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno told Reuters. “For Ford, for Toyota, for Honda, for Tesla, for GM, those are the almost in order the top five domestic content vehicle producers — they’ll be immune to tariffs.”

The senator told Reuters that President Trump could potentially extend the higher levels of tariff offsets announced by the Commerce Department in June.

According to the White House, Moreno’s comments should be considered “speculative,” but shares of vehicle makers including Ford, GM, Toyota, Honda, and Stellantis all rose after the report came out.

Matt Phillips10/3/25

Palantir disputes report of flaws in Army product

Palantir says security vulnerabilities with a prototype battlefield communications product highlighted in a September 5 Army memorandum have already been addressed, according to a Bloomberg report.

The company said any conclusions that the product was seriously flawed, drawn from reports in Reuters and an online publication known as Breaking Defense, were “out of date and inaccurate.”

Separately, Army officials also told Breaking Defense that deficiencies with the battlefield communication product were “mitigated immediately.”

Going into the last hour of trading, Palantir shares were on track for their worst day since August in the wake of the reports.

Palantir Rebuts Claims of Security Flaws After Stock Falls

J. Edward Moreno10/3/25

Novo says it will offer weight-loss pill via telehealth, Bloomberg reports

Hims & Hers slipped after Novo Nordisk’s US head, David Moore, told Bloomberg that the company plans to sell its upcoming weight-loss pill through its current telehealth partners.

The company’s weight-loss pill recently reported encouraging results in a late-stage trial.

Novo currently has partnerships with Hims competitors like Ro and Weight Watchers. Hims had a deal with Novo earlier this year, which blew up epically in less than two months.

Novo Plans to Make Obesity Pill Available Online Once Approved

Nia Warfield10/3/25

Shopify soars after Rothschild Redburn hikes price target to $200

Shopify popped nearly 7% Friday afternoon after Rothschild Redburn reiterated its “buy” rating and raised its price target to $200 from $180, tying the highest on Wall Street and about 23% above current levels.

The firm pointed to Shopify’s new partnership with OpenAI’s ChatGPT as a key growth driver, saying it opens up a fresh sales channel that, for now, only Shopify and Etsy merchants can tap into.

Analysts also highlighted that unlike the Magnificent 7 tech names, Shopify can fold AI revenue into its model without heavy capital spending, meaning those contributions could offer a quick boost to free cash flow.

On that note, the firm also bumped its 2025 to 2027 earnings estimates by about 6% to 8%. Shopify shares have already more than doubled over the past year and are up roughly 50% year to date.