S&P 500 Holds Ground as Investors Navigate a Divided Market

U.S. stocks opened mostly flat on Wednesday as investors digested another round of mixed corporate earnings. Netflix and Texas Instruments led the laggards after posting disappointing quarterly results, while Capital One Financial emerged as a standout gainer following a better-than-expected report.

‍

At 9:52 a.m. in New York, the S&P 500 ticked up less than 0.1%, with five of its 11 sectors including health care and energy showing modest gains. Consumer discretionary stocks lagged behind. The Nasdaq 100 also slipped slightly, down less than 0.1%.

‍

According to Craig Johnson, Chief Market Technician at Piper Sandler, the market’s subdued performance reflects what he called a “split tape,” with investors focusing squarely on corporate earnings amid an ongoing government shutdown that’s limiting the flow of new economic data. Johnson noted that short-term pullbacks should be viewed as “healthy and necessary” after the market’s strong five-month rally. He added that easing energy prices and declining bond yields could continue to create “buy-the-dip” opportunities for investors.

‍

Netflix fell 8% after revealing that a tax dispute with Brazil weighed on its third-quarter earnings, overshadowing otherwise solid results that met Wall Street forecasts. Texas Instruments dropped 6% as its underwhelming outlook for the current quarter fueled fresh concerns about the strength of the semiconductor sector’s recovery.

‍

On the positive side, Capital One shares climbed 3.4% after the lender reported a sharp increase in third-quarter profits and unveiled plans for a massive $16 billion stock buyback program. Meanwhile, GE Vernova slipped 3% even though the company said it expects rising demand for its gas turbines from major tech firms expanding their data centers.

‍

Among the big tech names, Alphabet rose 1.78% after reports of ongoing discussions between Google and Anthropic to expand cloud services, a sign of robust demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and a potential boost for Alphabet’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips. Apple shares edged down 0.87% following a Nikkei report that the company is “drastically” cutting production orders for the iPhone Air and ramping up manufacturing for other iPhone 17 models.

‍

Investors are also turning their attention to key earnings reports due after the market close, including those from Tesla and International Business Machines (IBM). Tesla shares traded little changed ahead of its results, with analysts expecting the electric vehicle maker to post a 25% year-over-year decline in third-quarter profit, based on data.

‍

The KBW Bank Index, which tracks major lenders, was largely unchanged. Analysts at Evercore ISI said a deeper look into recent bank results revealed improving credit quality. “The actual credit metrics got better,” analyst Glenn Schorr wrote, noting that banks, asset managers, and even ratings firm Moody’s see no signs that the credit cycle is turning negative anytime soon.

‍

In the commodities space, gold and silver miners traded mixed as precious metals extended their recent pullback from record levels. Gold suffered its steepest single-day drop in more than 12 years on Tuesday amid fears that the rally had run ahead of itself. Barrick Mining Corp. traded flat, while Newmont Corp. slipped 0.23%.

‍

Overall, Wednesday’s session reflected a cautious tone across markets. Investors continued to balance optimism over select earnings beats with lingering macroeconomic uncertainties from fiscal gridlock in Washington to questions about the durability of corporate profit growth. With several high-profile tech earnings still to come, the next few sessions could determine whether the recent market consolidation evolves into another leg higher or a deeper correction.

‍