The Fed held rates steady with two hawkish dissents, Oracle’s aggressive long-term targets lifted AI names, but Alphabet fell about 9% after missing expectations.
US economic data is light Wednesday, with just the September advance goods trade balance and wholesale and retail inventories plus weekly MBA mortgage applications and EIA petroleum inventories.
The FOMC takes center stage announcing its decision at 2pm ET, with a hold priced at ~93% by CME’s FedWatch tool, followed by Chair Warsh’s press conference at 2:30pm ET.
The only Non-Bill (>1yr in maturity) US Treasury auction is a $30B 2-year floating-rate note (not followed due to its floating nature).
Alphabet and Microsoft lead 46 S&P 500 components reporting, nine of them with market caps over $100B:
Before the open: GE Vernova ($GEV), Amphenol ($APH), ADP ($ADP), Phillips 66 ($PSX), Vertiv ($VRT), American Electric Power ($AEP), Boston Scientific ($BSX), Aon ($AON), TE Connectivity ($TEL), Garmin ($GRMN), Old Dominion Freight Line ($ODFL), Biogen ($BIIB), GE HealthCare ($GEHC), Otis Worldwide ($OTIS), Labcorp ($LH), Smurfit Westrock ($SW), NiSource ($NI), Fortive ($FTV), International Paper ($IP), IDEX ($IEX), C.H. Robinson ($CHRW), Masco ($MAS), Lennox International ($LII) and Generac ($GNRC)
After the close: Alphabet ($GOOGL), Microsoft ($MSFT), KLA ($KLAC), ServiceNow ($NOW), T-Mobile ($TMUS), Equinix ($EQIX), O’Reilly Automotive ($ORLY), FedEx ($FDX), Carvana ($CVNA), eBay ($EBAY), Honeywell Aerospace ($HONA), Ford ($F), Chipotle ($CMG), Raymond James ($RJF), American Water Works ($AWK), FedEx Freight ($FDXF), Invitation Homes ($INVH), Tyler Technologies ($TYL), Gen Digital ($GEN), MAA ($MAA), Align Technology ($ALGN) and MGM Resorts ($MGM)
Ex-US highlights include decisions from central banks in Canada and New Zealand, Germany November GfK consumer confidence, France Q3 total jobseekers, Italy August industrial sales and September PPI, and Australia September CPI.
A wave of AI-related deals sent semiconductor shares soaring, helping the Nasdaq rally while investors prepared for the Fed and crucial earnings from Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet.
We put capital to work in two holdings, exited another and bumped up our price target for a long-time position.
We’re adding three new contenders, and kicking four to the curb.
– $GRML +44% (extends the high-volume Greenland critical-minerals momentum rally)
– $VKTX +25% (positive VK2735 maintenance data showed strong weight loss and high retention with biweekly and monthly dosing)
– $VICR +8.7% (raises Q3 sequential revenue-growth guidance to more than 20% from nearly 10% on V4PD-license royalties)
– $ONON +8.0% (sets high-teens constant-currency sales growth and 22%+ EBITDA-margin targets through 2029 and authorizes a $1B buyback)
– $SHOP +5.1% (no clear fresh catalyst identified; unusually large premarket move in a highly followed stock)
– $RCL +2.4%, CCL +3.0%, NCLH +2.7% (cruise operators rise as crude drops, easing fuel-cost pressure)
– $FSLR +1.8% (rate-sensitive solar shares benefit as Treasury yields retreat)
– $CLDX -20% (positive Phase 3 CSU results trigger a sell-the-news reaction after the anticipated binary readout)
– $DAVA -13% (CFO placed on leave amid an internal accounting investigation disclosed in a 6-K)
– $LH -6.2%, DGX -6.9% (CMS proposes laboratory reimbursement cuts of up to 15% beginning in 2027)
– $VLO -2.1%, $PSX -2.0% (energy names fall as crude drops on easing geopolitical risk)
– $STX -1.4%, WDC -1.4% (storage names pull back with the semiconductor complex after the prior session’s AI-driven rally)
SOURCE: Trade The News
It was a busy month for the Portfolio with multiple buys and price target changes, as well as some sizable profit-taking along the way.
We closed out a profitable position, added to two others, and adjusted several price targets. Here’s what we’re watching next.
Locking in a nice double-digit gain and rebuilding cash along the way.
Here’s why we’re selling half of our position.
