Markets
Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa

US stocks set more records on trade progress

A quarter that started with US stocks falling out of bed ended with the S&P 500 booking a double-digit gain amid more signs of progress on agreements that may help avoid trade wars flaring up again.

The benchmark US stock index booked another record close with a 0.5% gain, as did the Nasdaq 100 with a 0.6% advance. The Russell 2000 inched 0.1% higher.

Every S&P 500 sector ETF gained outside of consumer discretionary, energy, and materials, with tech and financials leading the way higher.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise paced the S&P 500’s gains, closing up 11% after the Department of Justice officially cleared its $14 billion Juniper Networks acquisition.

Apple popped 2% on reports that the iPhone maker is considering using OpenAI or Anthropic to power its Siri AI assistant.

Palantir shares were up 4% after the retail favorite announced a partnership with Accenture Federal Services centering on the company’s growing AI software business.

Robinhood Markets jumped nearly 13% after the company announced plans to extend its crypto offerings, including launching tokenized versions of US stocks and ETFs for EU customers.

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

Moderna rose as much as 5% before closing at a 1.6% gain after the pharma giant announced positive results for its experimental flu vaccine.

Oracle rose 4% after the tech giant disclosed a new $30 billion contract and backed its 2026 guidance in a morning regulatory filing.

AppLovin popped almost 5% after UBS hiked its price target for the ad tech company to $540 from $475 — well above the average analyst price target of $467.

Plug Power soared 28% after new provisions to the Senate’s tax bill proposed extending green hydrogen production credit an additional two years.

Cava shares were up 8.2% after the popular Mediterranean food chain saw a wave of afternoon bullish options activity.

Shares of wholesale supplier GMS jumped nearly 12% after Home Depot announced a $4.3 billion takeover, sharpening its pivot toward professional contractors.

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markets
Luke Kawa

Sandisk drops after Western Digital confirms plan to unload $3 billion in stock

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 ones selling more stock or making any money off 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.

Western Digital announces additional $4 billion in share buybacks, with management poised to unload its remaining stake in Sandisk

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 ones selling more stock or making any money off 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.

markets
Luke Kawa

Cadence Design Systems jumps after Q4 earnings, 2026 profit outlook, and sales backlog exceed estimates

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.

Luke Kawa
Final Boss
34m
Infleqtion CEO Matt Kinsella on how the newly public quantum computing company is “following in the footsteps of Nvidia”

Infleqtion shares gained double digits in their opening session, while peers sold off.

US-AI-SCIENCE-NVIDIA
Tasha Matsumoto
1h
Stocks erase morning losses in volatile trading session

The S&P 500 posted a small gain, the Nasdaq 100 posted a small loss, and the Russell 2000 finished flat.

Josh Giddey #3 of the Chicago Bulls grabs a rebound during the second half against the Detroit Pistons on October 22, 2025 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.
Max Knoblauch

Oil prices dip, sending airline stocks climbing amid US-Iran talks

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.”

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