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US stocks in holding pattern ahead of Wednesday’s Fed decision

Major indexes closed down 0.1%.

9/16/25 5:08PM

US stocks did little of note on Tuesday, with traders seemingly content to sit on their hands ahead of the Federal Reserve decision tomorrow afternoon.

The S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all declined 0.1% on the session.

Energy was the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, while utilities were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Steel Dynamics was one of the bright spots, with shares up 6.2% after the company guided for better-than-expected Q3 earnings. Warner Bros. Discovery led declines, falling 6.3% after TD Cowen downgraded the stock from “buy” to “hold,” citing concerns over its recent takeover uncertainty. Elsewhere…

Webtoon Entertainment shares soared 39% after Disney said it’s buying a 2% stake and partnering with the popular digital comics platform.

Tesla rose 2.8% amid new data showing it continues to dominate in US EV sales and as CEO Elon Musk responded to a post on X with, “Daddy is very much home,” before detailing his packed Tesla schedule and involvement with the company.

Rivian shares jumped 5.2% after the EV maker broke ground on its delayed $5 billion Georgia plant, which it says will be able to produce 200,000 vehicles per year by 2028.

Nio climbed 8.2% following an upgrade from UBS to “buy” from “neutral.” The move propelled the stock to its highest level since last October.

Plug Power gained 7.3% after a wave of bullish options activity.

Moderna ticked higher by 4% after the biotech giant announced encouraging phase 4 clinical trial results for its next COVID-19 vaccine.

GameStop popped 3.1%, notching its longest winning streak since 2022, on the heels of the company’s stellar Q2 earnings report last week.

Oracle was up 1.5% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the cloud giant is part of an upcoming deal for a US spin-off of TikTok.

Dave & Buster’s tumbled nearly 17% after the arcade and restaurant chain’s disappointing Q2 earnings report, released after the bell on Monday.

Rocket Lab shares dropped 12.6% after the company announced an at-the-market share offering of up to $750 million in securities, hammering its stock price in early trading.

Hims & Hers fell 5.7% after the FDA posted a warning letter it sent the company over the marketing for its compounded weight-loss drugs.

Delta Air Lines shares dipped 1% after the Trump administration ordered the airline to dissolve its roughly 9-year-old joint venture with Aeromexico by January 1, 2026.

Ralph Lauren shares fell as much as 2% before closing roughly flat after the luxury retailer delivered a solid revenue outlook but warned that tariffs and inflation could squeeze margins.

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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.

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Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

US stocks in holding pattern ahead of Wednesday’s Fed decision

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SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

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