S&P 500 Hits Record; Constellation Energy, Marvell and Option Care Surge

It's Tuesday, October sixth. This is Trade and Ticker — the lunch report. Here's your midday check on U.S. stocks.

Three things still matter into the afternoon. First, the S-and-P five hundred, which hit a new all-time high this morning and is trying to lock in its first record close since mid-August. Second, the A-I and power trade, with Constellation Energy, Marvell, and A-M-D all making big moves. Third, Constellation Brands, the beer company behind Corona and Modelo, reporting after the bell tonight.

Here's the picture at midday. It's a broad rally, and all three averages are moving together. As of late morning, the S-and-P is up a bit more than eight-tenths of a percent. The Nasdaq is up about eight-tenths of a percent, and it's at another record too. The Dow is up about seven-tenths of a percent, or roughly three hundred sixty points. On the New York Stock Exchange, rising stocks are outnumbering falling ones by nearly three to one, and every major sector is higher, with utilities and real estate out front. That breadth is the signal: this isn't just a handful of megacaps doing the work.

What's behind it? Lower yields and lower oil. The ten-year Treasury yield is down about five basis points, to around five-point-two-seven percent, after a run up to multi-year highs. Traders still see roughly a four-in-five chance the Fed holds steady this month, but a December rate hike is still mostly priced in. Oil is down about two percent, with Brent back below a hundred dollars a barrel, as Middle Eastern exports hold up and the G-seven countries release emergency stockpiles.

On the data, the trade deficit widened more than expected in August. It came in at one hundred five-point-six billion dollars, up from ninety-two-point-eight billion in July, and above forecasts of about one hundred two billion. Imports hit a record high, which means trade will likely subtract from economic growth again in the third quarter. The stock market is mostly looking past it.

Now the movers. Constellation Energy, the nuclear power producer, is the top gainer in the S-and-P, up more than ten percent. Google signed a twenty-year deal to buy power from upgrades at Constellation's existing nuclear plants, plus a separate fifteen-year supply agreement. Together that's nearly thirty-six hundred megawatts. Other power names, including GE Vernova, are getting a lift too.

Marvell Technology is up more than six percent after its investor day. The chip designer raised its fiscal twenty twenty-eight revenue forecast to about twenty billion dollars, up from about eighteen billion, and laid out a path to seventy to ninety billion dollars a year by fiscal twenty thirty-one. A-M-D is up more than three percent after C-E-O Lisa Su said the company plans to substantially increase chip supply next year to meet A-I demand. Nvidia is up about one percent, pushing its market value close to six trillion dollars. Meta, Tesla, Amazon, and Microsoft are all higher as well.

In health care, Option Care Health is up about a third. McKesson and the private equity firm Clayton Dubilier and Rice agreed to buy the home infusion company for thirty-two dollars and five cents a share, a deal worth about five-point-eight billion dollars including debt. The stock is trading just below that offer price. And Lamb Weston, the french fry maker, is higher after beating forecasts and raising its outlook this morning.

After the close tonight, the one big name is Constellation Brands. Analysts are looking for revenue of about two-and-a-half billion dollars. The number to watch is beer depletions, which track how much Corona and Modelo are actually selling through stores, bars, and restaurants. The stock has been under pressure on worries about weaker beer demand, so the outlook and management's tone matter more than the headline. Then tomorrow afternoon, minutes from the Fed's September meeting come out. And third-quarter earnings season kicks off next week, with analysts expecting S-and-P five hundred profits to jump more than thirty percent from a year ago.

Watch three things into the close. First, whether the S-and-P holds its gain and books its first record close since mid-August. Second, the ten-year yield, and whether today's pullback holds or bonds start selling again. Third, Constellation Energy and the rest of the power trade, and whether the day's biggest winners keep their gains into four o'clock.

That's your midday map. We'll be back this evening with a company deep dive on today's biggest stories, including Constellation Energy's Google deal and Marvell's big new targets. Thanks for listening. I'm Trade and Ticker.