Midday Fly By: Disney reports mixed Q4, Sealed Air in PE sights

The major averages were broadly lower near noon as investors weigh the end of the federal government shutdown against a cloudy outlook for economic data and central-bank policy. Tech heavyweights weighed down the markets as concerns over valuations emerge amid major selloffs, while blue chip stock Disney was a key laggard following its mixed earnings report.

The passage of the funding bill that ended the longest U.S. federal shutdown removed an important overhang, yet concerns persist. Key economic indicators, especially the October employment and inflation reports, may never be published, leaving the Federal Reserve and markets working with incomplete data.

Looking to commodities, gold was little changed, while oil was fractionally higher following yesterday’s API crude numbers and today’s DOE report.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Disney (DIS) reported mixed Q4 results, with earnings beating the Street but revenue coming in below expectations
• Cisco (CSCO) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q1
• Sealed Air (SEE) is in talks to be taken private by Clayton Dubilier & Rice, WSJ reports
• Grayscale Investments (GRAY) filed for an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange
• Verizon (VZ) plans to cut about 15,000 jobs, WSJ says

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Wells Fargo upgraded Nike (NKE) to Overweight on improving visibility
• AutoZone (AZO) upgraded to Buy at Goldman Sachs
• JPMorgan double upgraded Circle (CRCL) on mainstreaming of stablecoins
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) double downgraded to Sell from Buy at Goldman Sachs
• Fastenal (FAST) downgraded to Underperform at Wolfe Research

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Coinbase (COIN) Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal wrote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the crypto platform is moving its state of incorporation to Texas from Delaware
• Comcast’s (CMCSA) NBCUniversal is launching a new sports cable channel, WSJ says
• GE Vernova (GEV) and Siemens (SIEGY) are in discussions to supply gas turbines to a $7B project aiming to rebuild Syria’s war-damaged power sector, Reuters reports
• Alibaba (BABA) is preparing to overhaul its main mobile AI app to resemble OpenAI’s ChatGPT and plans to rename it “Qwen,” Bloomberg says
• Nvidia (NVDA) is adjusting its AI server original design manufacturer shipment model to exert tighter control over system assembly, DigiTimes reports

4. MOVERS:

• Cellebrite (CLBT) increases in New York after reporting Q3 results and narrowing its guidance for FY25
• ACV Auctions (ACVA) gains after director Robert Goodman bought 912.4K shares of stock
• Ondas (ONDS) and FireFly Aerospace (FLY) higher in New York after reporting quarterly results
• Ardent Health (ARDT) falls after reporting Q3 results and cut its guidance for FY26
• Absci (ABSI) and Webtoon (WBTN) lower in New York after reporting quarterly results

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Gambling.com (GAMB) reported Q3 results and cut its guidance for FY25
• NIQ (NIQ) reported Q3 results, with CEO Jim Peck commenting, “Q3 was another strong quarter for NIQ”
• Bragg Gaming (BRAG) reported Q3 results and backed its guidance for FY25
• Broadwind (BWEN) reported Q3 results, with EPS higher year-over-year
• Paysafe (PSFE) reported Q3 results and lowered its guidance for FY25

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.88%, or 426.14, to 47,828.68, the Nasdaq was down 1.85%, or 434.02, to 22,972.44, and the S&P 500 was down 1.15%, or 78.99, to 6,771.93.