After Hours Report

Thursday's session ended with a notable divergence between technology stocks and the broader market, as a sharp semiconductor selloff kept the S&P 500 (-0.5%) and Nasdaq Composite (-1.3%) firmly lower despite improving participation elsewhere. The DJIA (+0.1%) finished slightly higher, while the Russell 2000 (flat) recovered substantially from earlier losses and the S&P Mid Cap 400 (+0.4%) outperformed.

Technology stocks were the central source of weakness, particularly after a Financial Times report that OpenAI's annualized revenue is running $20 billion below earlier estimates raised fresh questions about the pace of revenue growth supporting the AI infrastructure buildout. The report intensified selling across semiconductor and other AI-related stocks, leaving the PHLX Semiconductor Index down 3.4% and the information technology sector (-1.8%) at the bottom of the sector rankings. NVIDIA (NVDA 230.48, -6.99, -2.94%) was a notable mega-cap laggard, while b302.38, -32.18, -9.62%) and Corning (GLW 152.81, -10.44, -6.40%) were among the hardest-hit S&P 500 components.

Mega-cap performance was mixed overall, although the Vanguard Mega Cap Growth ETF fell 1.3%, underscoring the pressure on several of the market's largest growth names. Amazon (AMZN 254.06, -5.86, -2.25%) was another notable laggard, contributing to a 0.5% decline in the consumer discretionary sector.

Elsewhere in the sector, Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG 32.65, +1.88, +6.10%) rallied following a Financial Times report that Starbucks (SBUX 93.21, -0.37, -0.40%) had worked with advisers on a potential takeover of the restaurant chain.

The day's weakness initially extended well beyond technology stocks as another surge in crude oil prices and elevated Treasury yields weighed on sentiment. WTI crude climbed more than 5.0% amid reports of escalating attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and earlier comments from President Trump suggesting that reaching a deal with Iran was not a priority. Oil subsequently retreated from its highs after President Trump said via Truth Social that the U.S. was engaged in productive discussions with Iran and would not launch additional attacks before the November 3 midterm elections. WTI crude ultimately settled $3.25 higher (+3.7%) at $91.47 per barrel, still a sizable increase but well below its intraday peak.

Treasury yields also reversed their earlier climb, providing some relief to the broader market. The 10-year note yield reached 5.35% before retreating as Treasuries benefited from the president's comments and solid demand at a $22 billion 30-year bond reopening. The pullback in yields helped stabilize several rate-sensitive areas, although it did little to arrest the selling in semiconductor stocks.

The improvement became increasingly evident beneath the surface as the session progressed. Six S&P 500 sectors finished higher, led by the energy sector (+2.9%), which benefited from the jump in crude oil prices. The consumer staples sector (+2.1%) was another standout as investors favored defensive stocks, with Coca-Cola (KO 87.77, +1.95, +2.27%) advancing alongside PepsiCo (PEP 128.88, +5.15, +4.16%), which reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue but lowered its FY26 earnings outlook.

The financials sector (+0.9%) also posted a solid gain, providing important support for the DJIA. Meanwhile, the health care sector (-0.4%) recovered considerably from its midday lows after biotechnology stocks and major pharmaceutical names faced pronounced selling pressure earlier in the session.

Market breadth illustrated the extent of the afternoon improvement. Advancers ultimately outnumbered decliners by roughly 8-to-5 on the NYSE after trailing by nearly 2-to-1 earlier in the session. Participation remained firmly negative on the Nasdaq, however, reflecting the persistent weakness across technology and semiconductor stocks.

The broader recovery was not enough to rescue the major averages, with the Nasdaq's 1.3% decline erasing its week-to-date gain. Still, the relative strength in small- and mid-cap stocks, improving breadth on the NYSE, and gains across six sectors suggested that the day's losses were increasingly concentrated in technology and AI-related names rather than reflecting uniform selling across the market.

U.S. Treasuries finished Thursday with gains across the curve after recovering from a poor start. Treasuries turned positive shortly after comments from President Trump indicating that no additional strikes on Iran were planned ahead of the midterm elections, with gains extending following a strong 30-year bond auction that built on yesterday's well-received 10-year note reopening. The 2-year note yield settled down one basis point to 4.76%, and the 10-year note yield settled down five basis points to 5.23%.

• Nasdaq Composite: +17.0% YTD
• S&P 500: +13.4% YTD
• Russell 2000: +12.6% YTD
• S&P Mid Cap 400: +10.4% YTD
• DJIA: +6.6% YTD

Reviewing today's data:

• For the week ending October 3, initial claims decreased 2,000 to 197,000 (Brieifng.com consensus: 200,000). Continuing claims for the week ending September 26 were up 17,000 to 1.716 million.
  
  • The key takeaway from the report is a broken (but pleasant-sounding) record: layoff activity continues to run at low levels that reflect a solid demand environment.
• Wholesale Inventories were up 0.5% month-over-month in August (Briefing.com consensus 0.7%) after increasing a revised 1.4% (from 1.3%) in July.

Overseas:

• Europe: DAX -1.1%, FTSE -0.2%, CAC -0.5%
• Asia: Nikkei -1.4%, Hang Seng -1.4%, Shanghai -0.8%

Commodities:

• Crude Oil +3.25 @ 91.47
• Nat Gas +0.03 @ 3.17
• Gold +15.30 @ 4155.50
• Silver -0.90 @ 59.39
• Copper -0.08 @ 6.57

After-Hours Spotlight:

• American Express (AXP) agrees to pay $350 mln penalty to resolve regulatory reviews...AXP -1.8%
• Bitdeer (BTDR) authorizes new $100 mln share repurchase program...BTDR +1%
• Borr Drilling (BORR): Director bought 1,250,000 shares at $4.31 worth ~$5.39 mln...BORR -1.1%
• CMS releases its Medicare Advantage and Part D Star Ratings...HUM +13%, ALHC -21.1%, CVS -3.7%, UNH -0.5%, ELV -1.5%, CNC +0.3%, CLOV +7.6%, MOH -1.2%
• MFA (MFA) outlines 2027 CEO succession; Bryan Wulfsohn to become CEO, Andrew Kail to join as CIO...MFA +0.8%
• SpaceX (SPCX) to acquire low-band spectrum license portfolio up to 14 megahertz of paired spectrum in the 800 MHz band...SPCX +2.2%, T -7.5%, VZ -6.8%, TMUS -6.6%

For a full rundown of today's market and after hours developments, see Live In Play

• Earnings/Guidance (Full Earnings Calendar):
  • AngioDynamics (ANGO) reports fiscal Q1 2027 results; continued execution drives med tech growth and profitability
  • APA Corp. (APA) provides Q3 supplemental information, including net gain on oil and gas purchases and sales of $190 mln
  • Applied Digital (APLD) beats by $0.29, beats on revs
  • Buckle (BKE) reports September 2026 net sales; comps +0.5% yr/yr
  • Helen of Troy (HELE) beats by $0.29, misses on revs; provides FY27 guidance
  • Levi Strauss (LEVI) beats by $0.12, misses on revs; provides FY26 guidance; Board authorizes $0.100 bln buyback program
  • NASDAQ (NDAQ) reports September 2026 volumes and Q3 statistics; U.S. equity options volume of 384 mln contracts compared to 363 mln in August
  • PepsiCo (PEP) beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY26 EPS below consensus, revs above consensus
  • Polestar (PSNY) reports record nine-month retail sales and its strongest third quarter
  • Profound Medical (PROF) guides Q3 revenue above consensus
  • Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) sees Q3 operating profit of KRW107.4 tln on sales of KRW195 tln
  • Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) reports September 2026 revenue of approximately NT$511.86 bln, down 0.6% from August 2026 and up 54.6% yr/yr
  • Tilray Brands (TLRY) reports Q1 results
• General News
  • Wolfspeed announces conditional 30-year, $1.5 bln loan commitment from U.S. Department of War to advance domestic wide bandgap supply chain
  • Fed Governor Christopher J. Waller gives speech titled "The Signaling Value of the Summary of Economic Projections"
  • President Trump considering massive bombing of Iranian energy, infrastructure, and nuclear targets. The strikes could happen before the midterm election, but no final decision has been made. Axios
  • President Trump told supporters at a campaign event that an Iran deal "isn't really something that I want to do." CNBC
  • Houthis attacked two airports in Saudi Arabia, killing three people. Bloomberg
  • Saudi Arabia in discussions to offer oil loadings in 2027 outside the Strait of Hormuz. Bloomberg
  • Iran is considering targeting U.S. bases in Germany. Wiwo
  • The Ellison family invested $17 billion to complete the Warner Brothers deal. Bloomberg
  • Wolfspeed howling as shares surge on $1.5 bln loan commitment from Department of War
  • USTR Jamieson Greer says Vietnam and China factory building is coming under U.S. watch; says OECD agrees action is needed to restrain Chinese exports - CNBC interview
  • USTR says fourteen economies join the United States in signing a joint ministerial statement to address global excess capacity and production in key manufacturing sectors
  • Alphabet (GOOG): Google Cloud partners with Arden University to deploy Gemini Enterprise to more than 30,000 students and staff
  • Ameresco (AMRC) wins $42 mln Columbia, Mo. metering modernization contract
  • AngioDynamics (ANGO) names Eric Honroth president and CEO, effective Nov. 2, 2026
  • argenx (ARGX) Announces Positive Topline Results from Phase 2 Study of FB102 in Celiac Disease - Study met primary endpoint of change from baseline in the ratio of Vh:Cd (p=0.0176) First Phase 2 evidence that blocking CD122 can prevent gluten-induced intestinal damage in people living with celiac disease argenx plans to advance FB102 into Phase 3 development
  • argenx (ARGX) to discontinue Phase 3 UNITY study of efgartigimod SC in Sjögren's disease after futility review – 6-K filing
  • Aurora (ACB) completes Germany facility expansion, expects more than double annual flower output
  • Azul S.A. wins Brazilian antitrust approval for $100 mln American Airlines (AAL) investment
  • Box (BOX) selected by Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank for bank-wide AI-ready content platform
  • Brink's (BCO) gets CMA acceptance in principle for remedy in NCR Atleos deal
  • Bristol Myers (BMY) says Phase 3 EXCALIBER-RRMM met PFS endpoint for ZENBEXUS combo in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma
  • CME (CME) Group Q3 international ADV rises 22% to 9 mln contracts
  • CNBC/NRF retail monitor shows 12th month of sales growth in September (AMZN)
  • Editas (EDIT) wins Australia clearance to start Phase 1/2 EDIT-401 hyperlipidemia trial
  • Energy Recovery (ERII) wins PX Q650 supply contract for major Saudi desalination plant
  • Entera Bio (ENTX) announces additional presentation of EB613 Phase 3 study design at the ASBMR 2026 Annual Meeting
  • General Dynamics (GD) names Danny Deep CEO effective Jan. 1; Phebe Novakovic to become executive chairman
  • Gilat (GILT) wins over $8 mln in additional U.S. Department of War SATCOM and field-service orders
  • Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA) partners with Araceli to add high-content imaging to Nebula autonomous lab
  • Glaukos (GKOS) reports positive 3-year Phase 3 extension data for Epioxa in keratoconus
  • GlobalFoundries (TSM) signs $2 bln, five-year silicon interposer supply deal with TSMC for U.S. AI packaging capacity
  • Henry Schein (HSIC) names former ITT CFO Emmanuel Caprais as CFO, effective Nov. 4, 2026
  • HPE wins Mizuho (MFG) Securities infrastructure deal for liquid-cooled financial simulation system
  • Oracle (ORCL), SpaceX, and Broadcom seeking large financing deals to pay for artificial intelligence chips. WSJ
  • OSS (OSS) gets $1 mln follow-on production order from defense and intelligence contractor
  • Perspective Therapeutics granted fast track designation for [212Pb]PSV359 for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced unresectable and/or metastatic FAP-positive solitary fibrous tumors (CATX)
  • SK hynix: Solidigm taps Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley for IPO, according to Bloomberg
  • SLB (SLB) wins 15-year digital drilling contract from TotalEnergies
  • Starbucks (SBUX) increases quarterly dividend to $0.63/share from $0.62/share
  • vTv Therapeutics (VTVT) announces that the FDA has granted Orphan Drug Designation to HPPD
  • Woodward (WWD) selected by Airbus to supply actuation system for folding-wing demonstrator
  • XPeng (XPEV) completes first European production trial for G9L at Magna facility

• Upgrades:
  • Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Truist, tgt $85
  • CAVA Group (CAVA) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Melius Research, tgt $95
  • Chime Financial (CHYM) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, tgt $35
  • Dynatrace (DT) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas Exane, tgt $75
  • Generac Holdings (GNRC) upgraded to Overweight from Sector Weight at KeyBanc, tgt $280
  • Global Payments (GPN) upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer, tgt $115
  • Kratos Defense & Security (KTOS) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at BNP Paribas Exane
  • Palantir (PLTR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman Sachs, tgt $230
  • PROG Holdings (PRG) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Loop Capital, tgt $45
  • Rocket Pharmaceuticals (RCKT) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman Sachs, tgt $4
  • Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Jefferies, tgt $330
  • Ryder System (R) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi, tgt $285
  • Trex (TREX) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Deutsche Bank, tgt $57
  • Unity Software (U) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James, tgt $54
• Downgrades:
  • Banco Bradesco (BBD) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC, tgt $3.90
  • Caribou Biosciences (CRBU) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at H.C. Wainwright
  • Constellation Brands (STZ) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC, tgt $135
  • Delek US (DK) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Mizuho, tgt $83
  • Fiserv (FISV) downgraded to Perform from Outperform at Oppenheimer
  • HubSpot (HUBS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $240
  • Itaú Unibanco (ITUB) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC, tgt $9.10
  • Latham Group (SWIM) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair
  • Leidos (LDOS) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $142
  • Morgan Stanley (MS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Erste Group
  • Nova (NVMI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi, tgt $415
  • NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi, tgt $260
  • ONE Gas (OGS) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies, tgt $80
  • Par Pacific (PARR) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Mizuho, tgt $91
  • Phillips 66 (PSX) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Mizuho, tgt $300
  • SiteOne Landscape Supply (SITE) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Deutsche Bank, tgt $91
  • Tyler Technologies (TYL) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs, tgt $345
  • Universal Display (OLED) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Citi, tgt $71
• Others:
  • Bank of America (BAC) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $60
  • BNY Mellon (BNY) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $160
  • Centrus Energy (LEU) initiated with a Buy at Guggenheim, tgt $167
  • Citi (C) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $150
  • Citizens Financial Group (CFG) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $75
  • Entegris (ENTG) initiated with a Buy at Stifel, tgt $200
  • Fifth Third Bancorp (FITB) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $60
  • Generac Holdings (GNRC) initiated with an Overweight at Piper Sandler, tgt $303
  • Hilton Grand Vacations (HGV) initiated with a Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $39
  • Huntington Bancshares (HBAN) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $18
  • Inflection Point Acquisition Corp VII (IPXG) initiated with a Buy at Jones Trading, tgt $12
  • JPMorgan (JPM) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $370
  • KeyCorp (KEY) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $23
  • LCNB Corp. (LCNB) initiated with a Neutral at Piper Sandler, tgt $20
  • M&T Bank (MTB) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $245
  • Marriott Vacations Worldwide (VAC) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $125
  • Morgan Stanley (MS) initiated with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $210
  • Nebius Group (NBIS) initiated with a Buy at Rosenblatt, tgt $304
  • Neurogene (NGNE) initiated with an Overweight at JPMorgan, tgt $60
  • New Era Energy & Digital (NUAI) initiated with a Buy at Roth Capital, tgt $10
  • Northern Trust (NTRS) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $175
  • PNC Financial (PNC) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $245
  • Presidio Production (FTW) initiated with an Overweight at Stephens, tgt $15
  • Regions Financial (RF) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $30
  • SpaceX (SPCX) initiated with a Hold at Erste Group
  • Spotify (SPOT) initiated with a Neutral at Piper Sandler, tgt $540
  • State Street (STT) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $205
  • Travel + Leisure (TNL) initiated with a Neutral at JPMorgan, tgt $70
  • Truist Financial (TFC) resumed with a Hold at TD Cowen, tgt $52
  • Twist Bioscience (TWST) initiated with a Hold at Jefferies, tgt $150
  • TXO Energy Partners (TXO) initiated with an Overweight at Stephens, tgt $22
  • U.S. Bancorp (USB) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $70
  • United States Antimony (UAMY) initiated with a Buy at Texas Capital Securities, tgt $9.50
  • Vylor (VYLR) initiated with a Buy at Goldman Sachs, tgt $87
  • Wells Fargo (WFC) resumed with a Buy at TD Cowen, tgt $95

• Econ Data (Friday):
  • 10:00 ET: Preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (Briefing.com consensus 48.1; prior 48.1)

• Earnings:
  • Monday (October 5)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: None
  • Tuesday (October 6)
    • Pre-Market: APOG, LW, NEOG, RPM
    • After-Hours: PENG, STZ, WS
  • Wednesday (October 7)
    • Pre-Market: None
    • After-Hours: APLD, LEVI
  • Thursday (October 8)
    • Pre-Market: HELE, PEP
    • After-Hours: None
  • Friday (October 9)
    • Pre-market: DAL
    • Afternoon: None