Stock markets saw notable movements across various sectors in early trading, influenced by corporate earnings reports, analyst upgrades, and shifting commodity prices. Technology shares, energy companies, and consumer stocks reacted to recent financial updates and geopolitical developments.
Technology and Gaming Stocks
Take-Two Interactive Software rose 4% in extended trading after reporting second-quarter adjusted earnings of $1 a share and revenue of $1.60 billion, beating analyst expectations compiled by LSEG of 94 cents a share and $1.58 billion. The Trade Desk jumped as much as 19% following third-quarter results that included adjusted earnings of 33 cents a share and $736 million in revenue, topping estimates of 25 cents per share and $650 million. The advertising technology firm also issued a strong fourth-quarter revenue outlook of at least $755 million.
Sanmina surged 20% in extended trading after providing full-year earnings guidance between $15.50 and $17.50 per share, surpassing FactSet consensus estimates of $14.07. Securitize gained 10% postmarket after reporting third-quarter revenue growth to $11.5 million and announcing an expansion into asset-backed finance through the acquisition of River One alongside a $50 million share buyback authorization, as reported by US Top News and Analysis. Rocket Lab slid about 3% after posting a wider-than-anticipated third-quarter loss of 12 cents per share, despite revenue beating estimates at $267.8 million.
Plug Power shares rose 4% after the company reported $200.6 million in revenue and broke even for the third quarter. Lucid Group fell over 3% after missing revenue estimates with $350.3 million and reporting a wider loss of $2.74 per share. PDD Holdings dropped 3.3% following a downgrade by Morgan Stanley to equal weight from overweight due to slowing gross merchandise value growth and merchant profitability pressure. AST SpaceMobile popped 14% after announcing a joint venture named Rakuten AST with Japan’s Rakuten to build a low Earth orbit satellite communication network supported by roughly $1 billion in funding from Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
Artificial intelligence infrastructure stocks rebounded from previous selling pressure, with Laser manufacturer Coherent surging 18%, and Bloom Energy, Monolithic Power Systems, and Astera Labs advancing more than 13%. Monday.com slid 5% on weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter and full-year revenue guidance. SAP gained nearly 3% after JPMorgan upgraded the company to overweight from neutral with a raised price target of £275. Amazon and Meta rose 3% and 2.5% respectively after JPMorgan named them top AI picks in a client note. AMD advanced 3.2% following an upgrade by Oppenheimer to outperform from market perform with a $600 price target. Nvidia dropped nearly 5% after opening an investigation into CEO Jensen Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang, a businesswoman affiliated with cloud customer Megaspeed whom intelligence agencies allege is a Chinese spy, according to reports by The New York Times and The Financial Times.
Energy, Entertainment, and Consumer Sectors
Skydance fell roughly 2% after announcing plans to cut $6 billion in costs over three years through marketing reductions and the consolidation of streaming and broadcast operations, alongside reporting legacy Paramount Skydance third-quarter revenue of $7.03 billion that missed expectations. First Solar slipped more than 5% after Piper Sandler trimmed its price target to $222 from $251 while maintaining an overweight rating on the domestic supplier.
Energy stocks fell as oil prices retreated following statements from President Donald Trump that renewed strikes on Iran were highly unlikely if negotiations progress. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures dropped 3% to approximately $87 per barrel, and Brent crude slid 4% to about $94 per barrel, putting downward pressure on companies like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Occidental Petroleum, and EOG Resources. Conversely, cruise lines and airline stocks moved higher as fuel costs eased, with Carnival up 4%, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian gaining over 3%, American Airlines and United Airlines rising more than 6%, and Delta climbing 4.6%.
Molson Coors slipped 1% following a downgrade by JPMorgan to underweight from neutral due to challenging category fundamentals and inflationary pressures. Eli Lilly shares increased nearly 2% after Canada’s Drug Agency recommended the reimbursement of Alzheimer’s treatment Kisunla for eligible adults. Berkshire Hathaway ticked 0.4% lower after reporting a 6% year-over-year drop in operating earnings and stepping up share repurchases in the third quarter. DraftKings fell 1.7% after UBS downgraded the stock to neutral from buy and cut its price target to $22, citing prediction market regulatory uncertainty and projected losses.
Investors will continue monitoring upcoming financial results and market outlooks from energy firms and technology providers to gauge broader economic trends.
