Nasdaq Leads as SpaceX and Super Micro Lift AI Stocks; Netflix and AT&T Fall

It's Wednesday, October twenty-first. 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, SpaceX and Super Micro Computer have the Nasdaq leading, up more than one percent. Second, Netflix, A-T-and-T, and Abbott are lower after their reports. Third, Meta and Tesla report after the close.

Here's the picture at midday. Tech is back in charge today. As of about one o'clock Eastern, the Nasdaq is up a little more than one percent. The S-and-P is up about six-tenths of a percent. And the Dow is up about four-tenths of a percent, or roughly two hundred twenty points. The Russell two thousand is up about half a percent. That's a flip from Tuesday, when the Dow led and the Nasdaq finished flat.

Technology is the best group in the S-and-P, up nearly two percent, and industrials are up about one percent. Health care is giving back some of yesterday's record run, down about three-quarters of a percent, and communication services is down about the same.

SpaceX is the story. It's up about ten percent after revenue jumped one hundred sixty-one percent to about fourteen-point-six billion dollars, and Elon Musk said a merger with Tesla would be a good idea. Both companies have formed special committees to look at it. Nothing has been agreed. Tesla is up more than three and a half percent ahead of its own report tonight. Other space stocks are up too, with Rocket Lab up more than four percent.

Super Micro Computer is up almost ten percent after raising its revenue outlook to between eighteen and a half and nineteen and a half billion dollars for the quarter. Dell is up almost five percent, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise is up about three. The chip stocks are joining in. The Philadelphia chip index is up about two percent, with Nvidia up about two percent and A-M-D up more than three. Meta is up about two percent ahead of its report. Alphabet is the weak spot among the megacaps, down about two percent, after OpenAI said its models will be offered on Google's cloud.

Now the morning's earnings. Capital One is up more than three and a half percent after its profit rose from a year ago. United Airlines is up more than six percent. It missed forecasts and gave a weak profit outlook because of fuel costs, but revenue hit a record and travelers are still booking. On the other side, Netflix is down almost five percent after it narrowed its full-year revenue forecast to the low end of its range. A-T-and-T is down about six percent, even after it beat forecasts and raised its profit outlook. Intuitive Surgical is down about three percent, a smaller drop than the morning, after it tightened its forecast for growth in robotic surgeries. Abbott is down more than three and a half percent after cutting its sales growth forecast for the year. Danaher was down in early trading, and now it's up more than two and a half percent.

Now oil and rates. U.S. crude is down about one percent, and Brent is about flat, near one hundred nine dollars a barrel. The ten-year Treasury yield is a little lower, at about five-point-one percent. The Treasury is selling twenty-year bonds at one o'clock Eastern, so watch for a reaction in yields this afternoon.

After the close today, the two big ones are Meta and Tesla. For Meta, investors want to see its heavy spending on A-I data centers turning into ad growth, and they'll be listening for next year's spending plans. For Tesla, every question will come back to the SpaceX merger talk. I-B-M, Texas Instruments, and Lam Research also report. Texas Instruments is up about three and a half percent today. I-B-M and Lam Research are each up more than one percent.

Watch three things into the close. First, whether the Nasdaq can hold a gain of more than one percent heading into Meta and Tesla. Second, whether yields stay near five-point-one percent after the twenty-year bond sale. Third, whether SpaceX keeps its ten percent jump, or traders start taking profits.

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.