Markets
Yiwen Lu

Stocks move little as uncertainty over Middle East looms

The S&P 500 finished Wednesday flat. Nasdaq 100 advanced 0.2%, while the Russell 2000 declined 0.1%.

The US job openings and labor turnover survey showed that more jobs openings were posted in August than expected. Those looking for the next updates on the job market don’t have to wait long: initial jobless claims are on deck for Thursday morning, while September’s non-farm payrolls report is slated for release on Friday. Treasury yields rose, while the dollar gained. 

Oil extended a rally from Tuesday on tensions in the Middle East, though prices were off their highs of the day. The WTI crude for November delivery finished 0.4% higher, while the Brent crude for December rose 0.5%. Gold prices were slightly down.

More than half of the 11 major S&P sectors retreated. The consumer staples and consumer discretionary sector ETFs were both down 0.9%. The energy sector rose in the last hour of trading, finishing the day up 1%.

Humana was the biggest S&P 500 laggard of the day, down 11.8%. Shares of the health insurer fell more than 20% in early trading, after the company disclosed lower ratings for its Medicare Advantage plans.

More Markets

See all Markets
markets

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.

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.