Dow Jumps 400 as Investors Rotate Out of Tech; Chip and Memory Stocks Slide

It's Thursday, October fifteenth. 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, investors are moving money out of tech and into the rest of the market, so the Dow is rallying while the Nasdaq slips. Second, bonds are rallying even after a very hot producer price report. Third, a busy day of earnings, from Taiwan Semiconductor to the banks to Marsh McLennan and ManpowerGroup.

Here's the picture at midday. The market is split. As of about one o'clock Eastern, the Dow is up about eight-tenths of a percent, or roughly four hundred thirty points. The S-and-P is about flat, up less than a tenth of a percent. And the Nasdaq is down about four-tenths of a percent, on track for a fourth straight loss. The Dow is doing the heavy lifting, and small companies are joining in, with the Russell two thousand up about seven-tenths of a percent. Healthcare is the best group, up about two and a half percent. Technology is down more than one percent, and energy is the weakest group, down more than one and a half.

Start with rates. Producer prices jumped one-point-three percent in September and six-point-three percent from a year ago, the biggest gains since twenty twenty-two. You might expect that to push yields higher. Instead, investors are buying Treasuries for safety. The ten-year yield is down about a tenth of a percentage point, to about five-point-oh-nine percent. The two-year is lower too, near four-point-seven-six percent. Gold is up about one and a half percent, and the dollar is lower.

Now tech. Chip stocks are still under pressure. The Philadelphia semiconductor index is down about two and a half percent. Intel and A-M-D are each down more than four percent, Broadcom is down about two, and Nvidia is down almost two. Taiwan Semiconductor is down nearly three percent, even after another record quarter. Memory and storage names are hit hard, on worries about too much memory supply as competition from China grows. Seagate is down almost six percent, Western Digital is down more than five, and Sandisk is down about four. Some of the most beaten-up A-I names have bounced back from their morning lows, though. CoreWeave is close to flat after trading down about six percent early. Oracle has flipped to a gain of about two percent, and Micron has cut most of its early loss. Microsoft is up about one percent.

The banks are mixed. P-N-C is slightly higher after trading lower early. U.S. Bancorp is up almost two percent. Charles Schwab is down about two percent. Bank of America is up almost one percent after Baird upgraded it. Away from the banks, Marsh McLennan is up almost six percent after its earnings topped forecasts. ManpowerGroup is down about sixteen percent, after its revenue came in below expectations and it named a new chief executive to start in January.

Buyers are spreading out across the rest of the market. Eli Lilly is up almost five percent, UnitedHealth is up about four, and Amgen is up more than three. Home Depot is up more than three percent, Walmart is up about two after Deutsche Bank's upgrade, and Nike is up almost six percent. Crocs is up about six percent after a Barclays upgrade. Penske Automotive is up more than eight percent on its take-private deal. Rocket Lab is down about eleven percent after delaying its Neutron rocket.

Oil has bounced back from its early losses. Brent crude is about flat, near one hundred six dollars a barrel, and U.S. crude is up more than two and a half percent. Even so, energy stocks are lower, with Exxon and Chevron each down more than one percent.

After the close today, three reports to watch. Interactive Brokers reports, a read on how busy traders have been during this rough stretch, and it's about flat right now. J.B. Hunt, the trucking company, gives a look at freight demand and the economy, and it's up slightly. And Alcoa, the aluminum maker, reports with its stock flat.

Watch three things into the close. First, whether the ten-year yield holds near five-point-one percent, because lower yields have given the rest of the market room to rally. Second, whether chip and memory stocks find a floor, or keep dragging the Nasdaq lower. Third, whether the Dow can hold a gain of four hundred points into the final hour.

That's the midday picture. We'll be back this evening with a company deep dive on the day's biggest stories. Thanks for listening. I'm Trade and Ticker.