Markets
Luke Kawa

US stocks climb on trade agreement with Vietnam

US stocks steadily gained throughout the day, buoyed by US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a trade deal with Vietnam.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to close at a record high, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a 1.3% advance.

Energy and materials were the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETFs, while tech also bounced back with a 1% advance.

That Vietnam pact was a boon for Nike, which has major operations in the Southeast Asian nation and put in a 4% gain on the day.

Crypto-adjacent stocks had a strong session, with Coinbase up nearly 6% amid its acquisition of token management platform Liquifi, Robinhood hitting an intraday all-time high above $100 along with a record close, and miner Hut 8 soaring on an energy deal.

(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)

Elsewhere in thematic pockets of the area that posted big gains: quantum stocks surged, with Rigetti Computing’s 15% gain leading the way after the company was initiated with a “buy” rating at Cantor Fitzgerald. Its pure-play peers in the space were up between 8% and 12% on the day, as well.

Constellation Brands, which initially swooned after reporting underwhelming earnings after the close Tuesday, ended up 4.5% higher.

It was a mixed bag for EV stocks, with Tesla jumping despite posting a small miss on Q2 deliveries, and Rivian dropping after both production and deliveries came in shy of estimates.

And now for the bad news:

Centene tanked 40% after management withdrew full-year guidance following an actuarial study that showed the company’s business was not at all evolving as anticipated. Fellow health insurer and retail darling Oscar Health slumped about 19% in sympathy.

Intel sank after Reuters reported that its new CEO is mulling a manufacturing strategy shift that could prompt a massive write-off.

Paramount dipped after agreeing to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit with the president.

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Luke Kawa
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Everything has a reason to go up now that oil’s down*

*Exceptions include energy and chemicals stocks.

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markets
Matt Phillips

Data center trade revived on Iran war ceasefire

Data center stocks leapt early Wednesday, as the Iran war ceasefire reinvigorated risk-taking aimed at the booming AI build-out.

A wide range of stocks related to building and powering data center shells, filling them with chips, servers, racks, and memory, and then connecting those racks to one another and users around the world bounced hard in early trading.

Memory stocks like Micron, Western Digital, Seagate Technology Holdings, and Sandisk — favorites of retail traders given their massive performance in recent years — climbed.

Traders seemed to price in durable demand for memory and other chips, with the companies that make the machines that actually make semiconductors rising sharply as well. Dutch semiconductor machinery giant ASML rose, as did Applied Materials, Lam Research, and KLA Corp.

Fiber-optic cable and connecting companies like Lumentum, Coherent, Corning, and Applied Optoelectronics — which had been on a run before the outbreak of Mideast hostilities — regained momentum.

And the construction and engineering companies — MasTec, Vertiv Holdings, Quanta Services, and Comfort Systems USA — that have been feasting on the cash pouring into data center building and engineering also jumped.

Max Knoblauch

Airlines and cruise stocks spike after oil plunges on 2-week ceasefire with Iran

Travel stocks are surging Wednesday following President Trump’s announcement on Tuesday evening of a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down about 16% as of 7 a.m. ET. Airlines, which have been pounded by higher jet fuel costs for more than a month now, moved in the opposite direction. Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines were up more than 10% in premarket trading. Southwest Airlines and JetBlue also rose by high single digits. Three major US airlines (JetBlue, United, and Delta) raised baggage fees in recent days as fuel costs climbed.

Cruise stocks also rallied, with Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean all up more than 7%.

markets
Max Knoblauch

Delta reports better-than-expected Q1 earnings, surges as oil plummets

Delta Air Lines reported its first-quarter results before markets opened on Wednesday. The carrier’s shares surged 12% in premarket trading.

Delta, which as of today will charge passengers $10 more per checked bag, reported:

  • Adjusted earnings of $0.64 per share, compared to the $0.58 per share expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

  • Adjusted operating revenue of $14.2 billion, compared to estimates of $14 billion.

Looking ahead, Delta said it expects Q2 earnings per share of between $1 and $1.50, below Wall Street estimates of $1.56 per share — which might be enough to disappoint investors if oil, one of the largest inputs for an airline’s fuel cost base, wasn’t tanking. Indeed, West Texas Intermediate crude futures are down more than 16% on Wednesday morning, following President Trump’s comments that he agreed to a two-week ceasefire with Iran on Tuesday evening. Delta did not give any full-year earnings guidance in its press release.

Like other carriers, Delta has taken a hit in recent weeks as oil — and jet fuel — prices spike amid the war in Iran. Significant delays, cancellations, and rebookings have also battered US airlines.

Delta, which is becoming an increasingly K-shaped airline, saw premium tickets grow 14% year over year in the first quarter, compared to 1% growth in main cabin tickets.

markets
J. Edward Moreno

Levi Strauss jumps after raising full-year guidance, reporting earnings beat

Levi Strauss rose more than 11% in premarket trading Wednesday after it beat earnings expectations and raised its full-year guidance.

For its fiscal year 2026, which ends December 1, the apparel giant now expects to report:

  • Revenue growth between 5.5% and 6.5%, up from 5% to 6%. Analysts polled by FactSet are penciling in about 6.21% sales growth.

  • Adjusted earnings per share between $1.42 and $1.48, up from $1.40 to $1.46 but still a hair below the $1.49 Wall Street is expecting.

The company also beat expectations for its first quarter, which ended March 1. It reported:

  • Quarterly adjusted earnings per share of $0.42, versus the $0.37 expected.

  • Revenue of $1.74 billion, more than 5% ahead of the $1.65 billion that was expected, with direct-to-consumer sales making up the majority of its revenue stream for the quarter.

The stock is up nearly 11% as of 6:35 a.m. ET, having shed roughly ~5% from the start of the year to yesterday’s close.

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