Midday Fly By: Anthropic starts work on IPO, Marvell reports Q3 beat

The major averages were mostly higher near noon, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 rising as markets are now pricing in a high probability of a Fed rate cut this month. The current optimism follows a choppy start to the week, which saw bond yields spike and crypto slump, but those pressures have eased for now. Part of the rebound seems driven by strength in technology and AI-related equities and by broader global demand for U.S. equities amid a weaker dollar.

Meanwhile, concerns about AI valuations and investment are also reflected in the markets, as Microsoft was slipping and weighing on the Nasdaq after The Information said the company was lowering software sales quotas linked to AI, though Microsoft denied the report. 

Looking to commodities, gold prices were edging higher as the “safe haven” asset looks to hit the $4,300 threshold one again. Oil prices were sharply higher following yesterday’s API crude numbers and this morning’s DOE data.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Microsoft (MSFT) has cut targets for salespeople on certain AI products, The Information reports, though the company told CNBC it has not lowered sales targets
• Anthropic has picked a law firm to start work on its IPO, FT reports
• Marvell (MRVL) reported upbeat Q3 results and agreed to acquire Celestial AI in a roughly $3.25B deal
• Macy’s (M) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q3
• American Eagle (AEO) reported better-than-expected Q3 earnings and revenue

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Arete (UBER) with autonomous vehicles risk seen as overdone
• Vertex (VRTX) upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley
• Wayfair (W) downgraded to Hold at Jefferies
• JPMorgan downgraded Wendy’s (WEN) pending more defined strategy
• Oracle (ORCL) initiated with an Overweight at Wells Fargo

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Eli Lilly (LLY) will delay resuming U.K. investments until it observes changes in drug approvals, despite a recent U.S.-U.K. agreement to raise NHS drug spending and ease approval for costly medicines, The Financial Times says
• Instacart (CART) on Tuesday sued New York City in an effort to block enforcement of five laws affecting the grocery delivery company, including rules governing minimum pay for app-based workers and disclosures to customers about tipping, Reuters reports
• Saudi Arabia’s government investment fund, the Public Investment Fund, PIF, is set to take nearly full ownership of Electronic Arts (EA), WSJ says
• Netflix’s (NFLX) proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) studios and streaming unit would likely lower the costs for consumers by bundling Netflix and HBO Max, Reuters reports
• Smartmatic and Fox News (FOX) have both asked a New York judge to rule in their favor in a $2.7B defamation case dealing with the vote-rigging claims broadcast by Fox during the 2020 U.S. presidential election, NY Times says

4. MOVERS:

• Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR) increases after announcing Phase 3 HOPE-3 study met its primary endpoint
• Pharvaris (PHVS) gains in New York after announcing its RAPIDe-3 study met its primary endpoint
• Aeva (AEVA) higher after a European passenger OEM selected the company as its exclusive LIDAR supplier
• Alexandria Real Estate (ARE) lower after cutting its quarterly dividend 45%
• Pure Storage (PSTG) and GitLab (GTLB) fall after reporting quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Sprinklr (CXM) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Enbridge (ENB) provided guidance for FY25 and FY26
• Thor Industries (THO) reported Q1 results, with CEO Bob Martin commenting, “The quarter finished stronger than we expected”
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• PayPal (PYPL) reaffirmed its Q4 guidance

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.60%, or 286.70, to 47,761.16, the Nasdaq was up 0.07%, or 15.56, to 23,429.23, and the S&P 500 was up 0.20%, or 13.53, to 6,842.90.