Midday Fly By: Big banks beat again, Apple unveils M5

The major averages were broadly higher following strong big bank earnings. Despite continuing trade tensions with China and the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, investors appear to be showing cautious optimism amid continued hopes for Fed interest rate cuts. The rally is underpinned by dovish signals from Fed Chair Powell, who suggested the central bank may be nearing the limits of its balance sheet shrinkage, a hint that easing might follow.

Looking to commodities, gold prices continue to soar, with the “safe haven” asset climbing past the $4,200 mark, reaching new record highs. Oil prices, meanwhile, are fractionally lower head of this afternoon’s API crude numbers.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• More big banks reported earnings this morning, with Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) reporting upbeat Q3 results
• Stellantis (STLA) announced plans to invest $13B to increase U.S. production by 50%
• Hillenbrand (HI) agreed to be acquired by Lone Star for $32 per share
• Apple (AAPL) unveiled the M5 chip, as well as a new Vision Pro with the M5 chip
• Nvidia (NVDA), BlackRock (BLK), and Microsoft (MSFT) are part of a consortium that agreed to acquire Aligned Data Centers at an equity value of $40B

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• HSBC upgraded Nvidia (NVDA) to Buy on earnings upside potential
• Ibotta (IBTA) cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs on diminishing visibility into growth
• GE Vernova (GEV) downgraded to Sell at Rothschild & Co Redburn
• Roper Technologies (ROP) downgraded to Underweight at JPMorgan
• BTIG started Nike (NKE) with a Buy rating and $100 price target while selecting the stock as “Top Pick for 2026” among the firm’s newly rolled out retail coverage

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Renesas Electronics (RNECY) is working with bankers at JPMorgan (JPM) to explore the potential sale of its timing division in a deal that could value the business at close to $2B, Reuters says
• Samsung (SSNLF) plans to award shares and bonuses based on stock price to employees for the first time, Bloomberg reports
• In its latest attempt to avoid a European Union antitrust fine, Google (GOOGL) has offered to make additional changes to its search results, Reuters reports
• In a recently published report, J Capital Research says CCC Intelligent Solutions (CCCS) is “a low-growth software business from which executives are raking as much value as possible before they depart”
• Goldman Sachs (GS) has told employees to expect an additional round of job cuts this year as the bank seeks further savings across its businesses and takes advantage of the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, Bloomberg reports

4. MOVERS:

• Omeros (OMER) gains after entering an asset purchase and license agreement with Novo Nordisk (NVO)
• Veritone (VERI) increases after providing guidance for Q3 and announcing Veritone Data Refinery contract wins
• T1 Energy (TE) higher after announcing a strategic framework agreement with Nexttracker (NXT)
• American Resources (AREC) falls after pricing 7.84M shares in a private placement
• Sable Offshore (SOC) lower after providing an update on litigation with the California Coastal Commission

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Dollar Tree (DLTR) reaffirmed its outlook for Q3 and provided guidance for FY26
• Synchrony (SYF) reported Q3 results and narrowed its guidance for FY25
• Abbott (ABT) reported Q3 results, with CEO Robert Ford commenting, “Our third-quarter results demonstrate our ability to deliver consistent, high-quality performance”
• PNC Financial (PNC) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Prologis (PLD) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY25

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.17%, or 79.56, to 46,350.02, the Nasdaq was up 0.67%, or 151.51, to 22,673.21, and the S&P 500 was up 0.44%, or 29.33, to 6,673.64.