Oracle surges on cloud outlook, Novo to cut 9,000 jobs: Morning Buzz

The major averages were mixed near noon following Oracle’s quarterly report, in which the cloud computing giant provided an upbeat view for its cloud infrastructure business. The bullish outlook rippled through the semiconductor and infrastructure sectors, lifting Nvidia, AMD, Broadcom and data center power firms like Constellation Energy, Vistra, and GE Vernova.

Meanwhile, the U.S. wholesale trade report beat estimates and the PPI report revealed unexpected August declines of 0.1% for both the headline and core, which was cooler than expected and the weakest since April’s declines.

Looking to commodities, gold prices are slightly higher, inching closer to the $3,700 threshold as the “safe haven” commodity continues to reach for record highs. Meanwhile, oil prices surged 1.5% as crude inventories rose 1.25M barrels last week, according to API.

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

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Oracle (ORCL) reported slightly lower-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue, though the shares surged after the company projected that its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure business will exceed half a trillion dollars in booked revenue
• Analysts were largely positive on Apple (AAPL) after its showcase event yesterday, with Morgan Stanley analyst Erik Woodring calling the event “slightly more Awe Dropping” than expected
• Novo Nordisk (NVO) said it will cut 9,000 jobs and lowered its operating profit growth outlook for 2025
• Potbelly (PBPB) agreed to be acquired by RaceTrac for $17.12 per share in cash
• President Trump has asked the EU to impose tariffs on China and India in an attempt to raise pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine, (ORCL) was upgraded to Buy at BofA and Citi after the company’s “historic” and “exceptional” backlog growth
• Nike (NKE) upgraded to Buy at TD Cowen
• nCino (NCNO) upgraded to Overweight at Morgan Stanley
• HP Inc. (HPQ) downgraded at Evercore ISI, here’s why
• Trade Desk (TTD) downgraded to Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Amazon (AMZN) is developing a pair of augmented-reality glasses for consumers, say two people with knowledge of the plans, The Information says
• Google’s (GOOGL) cloud computing division has up to $106B in commitments from existing contracts it has yet to fulfill, with at least $58B expected to turn into revenue in the next two years, Bloomberg reports
• Meta (META) has spend millions recruiting top AI leaders in the field, but now faces the challenge of making them work with their new colleagues, WSJ says
• Lyft (LYFT) is launching one of its first autonomous vehicle services in the U.S. in Atlanta, partnering with May Mobility, WSJ reports
• Paul Singer’s activist hedge fund Elliott Management has built a stake in payments automation company Bill Holdings (BILL) of at least 5%, FT says

4. MOVERS:

• Vimeo (VMEO) jumped after announcing it will be acquired by Bending Spoons for $7.85 per share in cash
• Travere Therapeutics (TVTX) gains after the FDA said an advisory committee is no longer needed for the company’s Filspari sNDA
• IAMGold (IAG) increases in New York after RBC Capital upgraded the stock to Outperform
• Synopsys (SNPS) lower after reporting Q3 results and providing guidance for FY25 and Q4
• NextDecade (NEXT) falls after closing financial transactions to fund Train 4 at Rio Grande LNG

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Chewy (CHWY) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• US Foods (USFD) backed its guidance for FY25 and its long-range plan growth algorithm for 2025-2027
• ATI (ATI) reaffirmed its guidance for FY25
• Wetouch (WETH) reported results for FY24 and provided guidance for FY25
• Nutriband (NTRB) reported Q2 results, with EPS lower year-over-year

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.42%, or 192.65, to 45,518.69, the Nasdaq was up 0.41%, or 90.62, to 21,970.11, and the S&P 500 was up 0.50%, or 32.81, to 6,545.42.