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Luke Kawa

US stocks end relatively unchanged as traders await Nvidia’s earnings

The S&P 500 was little changed, the Russell 2000 inched higher, and the Nasdaq 100 was up 0.2% on Wednesday.

Tech was the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETF. Consumer staples, a defensively oriented sector that had been holding up quite well, was trounced and finished at the bottom of the sector leaderboard.

Nvidia rose ahead of earnings, though the stock ended well off its highs of the day. Tesla fell along with bitcoin, which Barclays analysts think is the best comp for the company.

Adtech firm AppLovin tumbled after a pair of reports from short sellers alleged that the company was gaming Meta’s advertising platform.

Super Micro Computer spiked after completing the necessary filings to avoid being delisted from the Nasdaq.

Taser and body-cam maker Axon soared after reporting much better-than-expected quarterly results.

A top- and bottom-line beat for Workday propelled shares higher.

Shares of TJX, parent company of T.J. Maxx, also rose on the heels of its better-than-anticipated quarterly results.

Better-than-expected revenues catalyzed a bid for First Solar despite its big miss on earnings.

Like its peer Home Depot, Lowe’s gained after posting positive same-store sales in the fourth quarter.

Cava, on the other hand, sank after projecting a drop in same-store sales.

AB InBev jumped despite seeing volumes drop for the seventh consecutive quarter.

A rough year for Stellantis, which saw profits shrink by 70%, sent shares lower.

Soft revenues and lower-than-expected total spending on Instacart’s platform fueled a significant sell-off in the stock.

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Broadcom jumps after locking down Google as a customer for future generations of TPUs

Shares of Broadcom rose more than 3% in postmarket trading on Monday after its most important customer doubled down on the custom chip specialist’s ability to produce its most valuable commodity.

In a filing, Broadcom said that it entered into a long-term agreement with Google to supply future generations of TPUs (custom AI accelerator chips) as well as a supply assurance agreement for networking and other equipment “through up to 2031.”

Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon indicated that Broadcom’s investor relations team told him that Google’s long-term agreement “has revenue commitments that go along with it through the timeline.”

Gemini 3 launched to rave reviews in November. The model was trained on TPUs co-developed by Broadcom and Google.

The same Monday filing showed that Broadcom, Google, and Anthropic expanded a partnership that will see the Claude developer access 3.5 gigawatts of AI compute capacity beginning in 2027, powered by the TPUs co-designed by the custom chip specialist and the search giant.

Bernstein’s Rasgon added that Broadcom’s team suggested these 3.5 gigawatts are “only part of a larger partnership over time.” He thinks Broadcom’s fiscal year 2027 guidance for AI revenues of $100 billion “is looking increasingly light” thanks to this news.

For what it’s worth, the enhanced pact with Anthropic hinges upon the firm’s ability to afford AI compute. But based on the insane trajectory of its run-rate revenue that may not be a big hurdle to clear.

“Broadcom’s expanded agreements with Google and Anthropic add rare multi-year visibility, reinforcing a $40-$50 billion AI revenue opportunity tied to Anthropic’s 3.5 gigawatt deployment starting in 2027, while building on the previously disclosed 1GW ($10 billion) starting in 2H,” wrote Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Kunjan Sobhani and Oscar Hernandez Tejada.

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Health insurers surge after Medicare agrees to pay 2.48% more in 2027, a bigger-than-expected boost

Health insurance stocks are surging after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said it plans to boost Medicare Advantage and Part D payments by 2.48% in calendar year 2027.

The likes of CVS, Humana, UnitedHealth, Molina Healthcare, Oscar Health, and Elevance Health are gaining in postmarket trading.

Wall Street analysts had anticipated that rates for 2027 would go up between roughly 1% and 1.5%.

These stocks had gotten crushed in late January when the Trump administration proposed relatively flat federal payment rates.

Insurance companies that provide government-sponsored plans, like Medicare Advantage, faced headwinds from higher-than-expected costs in 2025.

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Iran war winners Dow, LyondellBasell downgraded by Bank of America

Dow, Inc. and LyondellBasell — two petrochemicals stocks that surged as markets priced in shortages due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — should decline as investors focus on the long-term outlook for normalized petrochemical prices once the war resolves, Bank of America analysts wrote in a note downgrading the two stocks Monday.

BofA moved its rating on the shares from “neutral” to “underperform,” writing:

“Over time, as chemical markets normalize, we expect 1) investor focus to shiſt back to ‘normal’ or ‘sustainable’ earnings profiles and 2) the conflict to resolve without material asset rationalization, both of which likely bias shares lower over the next twelve months.”

Analysts also lowered their stance on another petrochemicals and building materials stock, Westlake, to “neutral” from “buy.”

While cutting those ratings, BofA actually raised its more near-term price targets for the shares. It upped LyondellBasell to $68 from $55, and Dow to $35 from $31.

But those price targets still imply declines of more than 10% compared to where both shares were trading late Monday morning. Both stocks are up roughly 30% since the start of the Iran war.

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