Market Update: Notable Movements in Stocks
Recently, several companies have caught attention in the realm of intraday trading. Enphase Energy saw its shares jump by 10% following the start of mass production shipments of its IQ9S microinverter. Barclays upgraded the stock’s rating from underweight to equal weight, possibly contributing to this rise.
In the realm of artificial intelligence and data center infrastructure, stocks related to these technologies surged. Corning shares went up by 7%, while Credo Technology increased by 5%. Additionally, Coherent and Applied Digital saw their shares rise by 4% and more than 2%, respectively.
On the energy front, the S&P 500 energy sector dipped nearly 2% after President Trump’s recent agreement with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian aimed at ending Middle Eastern conflicts. West Texas Intermediate futures for July delivery decreased to $73.58 a barrel, marking the lowest point since early March. Major energy players like ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum saw their stocks drop about 3%, while Exxon Mobil and Chevron fell by more than 2%.
Kroger’s shares fell over 6% after it reported first-quarter earnings of $1.58 per share, slightly below analysts’ expectations of $1.59 per share. However, the grocery chain generated revenue of $46.12 billion for the quarter, surpassing Wall Street’s estimate of $45.59 billion.
Steel Dynamics experienced a decline of 7% after it issued earnings guidance for the current quarter that fell short of Wall Street’s projections. The company anticipates second-quarter earnings between $3.51 to $3.55 per share, while the FactSet consensus was $4.16 per share.
Conversely, Intel shares soared by 10% following President Trump’s announcement on Truth Social that the company had secured a deal with Apple for chip design and manufacturing in the U.S. Apple’s stock, in contrast, rose by less than 1%. This positive momentum also lifted other chip manufacturers, with Marvell Technology climbing 12%, and Lam Research and Applied Materials up by approximately 6%.
Memory chip companies also saw their stock prices rise. Western Digital increased nearly 6%, Micron Technology enjoyed an 8% boost, and SanDisk rose roughly 11%.
In a less favorable turn, Pfizer’s stock fell about 3% following the news that Chief Financial Officer Dave Denton would resign on August 15. The company appointed Cécile Guegan, the senior vice president of finance for its biopharmaceutical division, as the interim financial director.
SpaceX’s stock fell nearly 10% after reporting a loss of about 5% on Wednesday. Impressively, however, the stock has gained almost 50% since its IPO last Friday, despite the recent dip.
Meanwhile, Accenture’s shares took a hit, dropping 17% after announcing its plan to acquire a majority stake in several companies, including asset intelligence firm runZero and cybersecurity company Dragos, for around $4.175 billion.
On a brighter note, lower oil prices helped boost cruise line stocks. Carnival shares rose nearly 4%, while Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Lines each climbed over 4%. Airlines also benefited from the decrease in oil prices, with United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and American Airlines all experiencing gains of more than 2%.
Lastly, Smith & Wesson reported a significant increase, with its stock rising about 20% after the company noted a rise in revenue and a 23% increase in handgun sales year over year. Remarkably, 80% of the units shipped in the quarter were handguns.
