Morning Movers: Medtronic jumps, Home Depot falls after quarterly results

Stock futures slipped again as investors digest a growing hang-up in the tech and AI sector and re-evaluate the likelihood of an upcoming policy shift from the Federal Reserve. Sentiment has turned cautious after major indexes broke key technical levels with one of the central themes being the hand-off between hope and reality in the AI hype cycle. Shares of leading AI and chip-related companies such as Nvidia were under pressure in pre-market trading amid concerns that their elevated valuations may no longer be as safe from disappointment as before.

The upcoming quarterly results for Nvidia are now being treated as a watershed moment for the broader tech rally. Meanwhile, commentary from tech executives warning that no company is immune if the AI boom stumbles has added to the anxiety.

The market now places the odds of a Fed cut in December well below what they were a month ago, reflecting hawkish signals and the absence of clear data in some sectors.

In pre-market trading, S&P 500 futures fell 0.43%, Nasdaq futures fell 0.52% and Dow futures fell 0.77%.

Check out this morning’s top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly. 

HIGHER –

• Axalta Coating (AXTA) up 6% after AkzoNobel (AKZOY) and the company announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger of equals
• Barrick Mining (B) up 4% after Financial Times reported that Elliott Management has taken a major stake in the company after the gold producer failed to fully benefit from a strong gold price rally

UP AFTER EARNINGS –

• Amer Sports (AS) up 9%
• Elbit Systems (ESLT) up 5%
• Medtronic (MDT) up 4%

DOWN AFTER EARNINGS –

• Energizer (ENR) down 18%
• Home Depot (HD) down 4%
• Aecom (ACM) up 1%

LOWER –

• Amazon (AMZN) down 2% after Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded the stock to Neutral with an unchanged price target of $250
• Microsoft (MSFT) down 2% after Rothschild & Co Redburn also downgraded shares to Neutral with a price target of $500, down from $560