Stocks retook positive territory for the year in afternoon trading as the S&P 500 (SPDR S&P 500 ETF) enjoyed its fourth gain of the last five sessions.
The market hasn’t closed in the green for 2025 since February 28.
Large-cap tech, led by Nvidia, accounted for almost the entirety of the S&P 500’s gains shortly before 1 p.m. ET. UnitedHealth is the single biggest drag on the blue chips.
Western Digital is cashing in more of its Sandisk position.
The hard drive seller is exchanging more than $3 billion in Sandisk shares as part of a debt-for-equity swap.
The two companies were once one, but Western Digital spun off a little more than 80% of its flash drive business in February 2025, and already exchanged the lion’s share of what remained in a separate debt-for-equity swap in June.
This move was very, very well telegraphed by Western Digital, which recently confirmed plans to monetize its Sandisk position before the one-year anniversary of that split (February 21). And Sandisk’s press release makes clear that the company is not the one selling more stock or making any money off of this.
That being said, being a high-flying stock that has a Bloomberg headline with “secondary offering” in it could, in theory, spark some turbulence.
Shares of Sandisk have indeed extended the day’s losses to more than 8% in the after-hours session before paring some of that decline.
The two companies were once one, but Western Digital spun off a little more than 80% of its flash drive business in February 2025, and already exchanged the lion’s share of what remained in a separate debt-for-equity swap in June.
This move was very, very well telegraphed by Western Digital, which recently confirmed plans to monetize its Sandisk position before the one-year anniversary of that split (February 21). And Sandisk’s press release makes clear that the company is not the one selling more stock or making any money off of this.
That being said, being a high-flying stock that has a Bloomberg headline with “secondary offering” in it could, in theory, spark some turbulence.
Shares of Sandisk have indeed extended the day’s losses to more than 8% in the after-hours session before paring some of that decline.
Cadence Design Systems jumped in after-hours trading on Tuesday, briefly erasing the day’s big losses, after posting better-than-expected Q4 earnings, a big pipeline of future business, and a solid profit outlook for 2026.
For Q4, the electronic design automation company reported:
Sales of $1.44 billion (estimate: $1.42 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $1.99 (estimate: $1.91).
Remaining performance obligations (RPO) of $7.8 billion (estimate: $7.25 billion).
Management said that 2026 adjusted earnings per share would range between $8.05 and $8.15, above the consensus call for $8.03.
In recent weeks, investors have worried that Cadence’s software business, which is used by chip designers, could suffer competitive pressure from AI tools. At the very least, that RPO figure says there’s billions of dollars standing between Cadence and any more disrupted future.
An agreement between the US and Iran on a “set of guiding principles” following talks between officials from the two countries on Tuesday is sending oil prices lower. That, in turn, is boosting airline stocks.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 1.1% Tuesday afternoon. Shares of airlines, including United Airlines, American Airlines, Alaska Air, JetBlue, and Delta Air Lines were up.
Southwest Airlines, which also received an upgrade to “buy” and a price target hike to $73 from $51 by UBS on Tuesday morning, was up more than 7%.
Iran said it temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz for live fire drills on Tuesday as the talks began. About 20% of the world’s oil passes through the key choke point waterway. Later in the day, however, Iran’s foreign minister expressed optimism that a deal could be reached with the US, saying “a new window has opened.”
