The stock market is trading higher midday, recovering from Tuesday’s losses.
The S&P 500 gained 0.29%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ticked up 0.11%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.56%, and the Russell 2000 Index climbed 1.6%.
Semiconductor stocks are recovering from Tuesday’s wipeout. Nvidia gained 2.5%, while Taiwan Semiconductor added 0.5%. AMD traded flat, and Broadcom rose 0.9%.
Except for Nvidia and Tesla, other Magnificent 7 stocks were down midday.
United Airlines disclosed a $1.5 billion share repurchase plan, its first since before the pandemic.
S&P 500 big stock movers today
Five S&P 500 stocks making big midday moves are:
United Airlines (UAL) +11.6% Morgan Stanley (MS) +6.8% Universal Health Services (UHS) +5.6% Delta Air Lines (DAL) +5.1% Vistra (VST) 4.7%
The worst-performing five S&P 500 stocks with midday drops are:
Synopsys (SNPS) -3.6% Agilent Technologies (A) -3.5% Ulta Beauty (ULTA) -3.4% Revvity (RVTI) -3.1% Tyler Technologies (TYL) -2.3%
Stocks also worth noting include:
Nvidia (NVDA) +2.5%Apple (AAPL) -1.2%Tesla (TSLA) +0.4% Cisco (CSCO) +3.2%Palantir (PLTR) -1.5%
Cisco gains on analyst upgrade
Cisco Systems added 2% after Citi upgraded the networking technology stock to buy from neutral, with a price target of $62, up from $52, thefly.com reported.
The investment firm says Cisco will gain from a growing AI ethernet market and sees its valuation gap with competitors narrowing. Although AI is a minor part of Cisco’s business now, Citi sees potential for a bigger impact.
Related: Analyst revamps Nvidia stock price target after investor meetings
Citi expects investors to keep shifting away from semiconductors and hardware toward networking equipment.
Cisco specializes in networking hardware, software, and telecommunications equipment, serving primarily large enterprises, governments and service providers.
United Airlines surges after earnings beat
United Airlines jumped 12% after the carrier posted better-than-expected Q3 earnings.
The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.33, beating Wall Street’s consensus estimate of $3.17. Revenue reached $14.84 billion, above the $14.78 billion analysts anticipated.
For the fourth quarter, United expects adjusted earnings of $2.50 to $3 a share, up from $2 a year earlier and aligning with analysts’ $2.68 forecast.
Related: United Airlines sounds alarm about competitors’ plans
The airline also disclosed a $1.5 billion share repurchase plan, its first since before the pandemic.
“We’re now in a position to add a share repurchase program as we continue to invest in and deleverage our business,” United Airlines Chief Financial Officer Michael Leskinen said in a statement.
“We are simultaneously targeting net leverage below 2 times in the next few years. We intend this buyback to be the beginning of a consistent and disciplined return of capital that is paced by our ability to generate increasing levels of free cash,” Leskinen said.
Morgan Stanley pops on quarterly results
Morgan Stanley climbed more than 7% after the bank reported higher-than-expected quarterly results.
The investment bank reported third-quarter earnings of $1.88 per share, beating Wall Street’s consensus $1.58 estimate, and revenue of $15.38 billion, exceeding the $14.41 billion forecast.
Morgan Stanley CEO Ted Pick noted a constructive global environment supporting the bank’s growth.
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“The firm reported a strong third quarter in a constructive environment across our global footprint,” Pick said in a statement.
“Institutional Securities saw momentum in the markets and underwriting businesses on solid client engagement. Total client assets have surpassed $7.5 trillion across wealth and investment management, supported by buoyant equity markets and net asset inflows.”
Morgan Stanley stock is up 29% year-to-date.
Related: Veteran fund manager sees world of pain coming for stocks
