Dow Sets All-Time High on Hopes US Government Shutdown Will End Wednesday; Nasdaq Slips

US Airline Stocks Rise as Government Shutdown Seen Ending Soon

8 minutes ago

The 43-day U.S. government shutdown may be near its end. Domestic airlines stocks are surging on the development.

Shares of several U.S. carriers advanced Wednesday ahead of an expected House of Representatives vote on legislation to fund the government and end the shutdown.

The biggest domestic airlines—Delta (DAL), United (UAL), American (AAL), and Southwest (LUV)—all were 4% to 5% higher, while smaller carriers Frontier (ULCC), Alaska (ALK), and JetBlue (JBLU) were up a respective 6%, 2.5%, and 2%. The U.S. Global Jets ETF (JETS) advanced 3%.

The airlines have been forced to cancel thousands of flights in recent days as air-traffic controllers and TSA agents have gone unpaid and called out sick with increasing frequency.

This Blue-Chip Company Just Announced Quantum Computing ‘Breakthroughs.’ Its Stock Hit a New High

1 hr 4 min ago

IBM says its latest quantum computing developments could give it a big advantage soon.

International Business Machines (IBM) on Wednesday announced what it called “breakthroughs” in quantum computing. At the Quantum Developer Conference, IBM touted “fundamental progress on its path to delivering both quantum advantage by the end of 2026 and fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2029.”

IBM shares were up 0.5% recently, after rising nearly 4% this morning to an all-time high of $324.90. The stock has gained 44% since the start of the year, making it the third-biggest gainer in the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average so far in 2025.

The company announced several developments, including its IBM Quantum Nighthawk processor, which is “designed with an architecture to complement high-performing quantum software to deliver quantum advantage next year: the point at which a quantum computer can solve a problem better than all classical-only methods.”

Read the full article here.

Palantir Helps Pull Nasdaq Lower Wednesday

1 hr 24 min ago

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares are hindering the Nasdaq for a second straight day.

Palantir was the worst-performing stock in the tech-heavy index Wednesday, with shares down about 5% in recent trading. The Nasdaq was down about 0.3%.

Yesterday, the data analytics software company’s shares slipped 1.3% as the Nasdaq ended 0.3% lower. They had gained 9% Monday to pace the benchmark S&P 500.

Despite their two-session pullback, Palantir shares have soared about 140% this year.

Here’s Who Could Qualify for Trump’s Proposed Tariff Stimulus Checks

2 hr 27 min ago

New details are emerging over how a stimulus proposal from President Donald Trump could take shape.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News on Wednesday that Trump is considering a stimulus check of $2,000 for families making $100,000 a year or less. Those income levels would be similar to the qualifications for COVID stimulus checks, said Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation.

“There are a lot of options here,” Bessent said in the interview. “The president is talking about a $2,000 rebate and that would be for families making less than, say, $100,000.”

Bessent acknowledged in the interview that no decision has been made on the stimulus proposal. 

Bessent’s comments come after Trump posted on Truth Social this weekend that a “dividend of at least $2000 a person” would be paid to “everyone.” However, his post noted that “high-income” earners would not receive the payment. The payments would be funded through tariff revenues, Trump wrote.

Read the full article here.

–Terry Lane

Oklo Stock Rises Despite Larger-Than-Expected Loss

3 hr 31 min ago

Oklo (OKLO) shares surged 6% even though it reported a bigger-than-expected third-quarter loss, thanks to an expanded collaboration.

After the close yesterday, the nuclear technology startup, which has yet to produce revenue, reported a loss of $0.20 per share. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha had anticipated a loss of $0.12 per share.

However, the company announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Idaho National Laboratory’s management and operating contractor, Battelle Energy Alliance (BEA), “to expand collaboration on scientific and technological research and development in areas such as advanced fuel and materials work that are mutually beneficial and support Oklo’s commercial deployment.”

Oklo shares have soared more than 400% this year.

This Sneaker Company Says You Shouldn’t Expect ‘Black Friday’ Discounts

4 hr 6 min ago

Consumers continue to snap up On Holding’s premium sneakers. But they shouldn’t expect them to get cheaper this holiday season.

Shares of On Holding (ONON) soared more than 20% in Wednesday trading after the Roger Federer-backed Swiss sneaker maker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook yet again. On posted adjusted earnings of 0.43 Swiss francs ($0.54) per share on net sales that jumped 25% year-over-year to 794.4 million Swiss francs ($994.2 million). Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected CHF 0.28 and CHF 770.4 million, respectively.

The company lifted its guidance for a third straight quarter. It now expects full-year sales to grow by 34% on a constant-currency basis, up from at least 31%; gross profit margin of around 62.5%, up from 60.5% to 61%; and adjusted EBITDA margin above 18.0%, up from 17.0% to 17.5%.

On co-founder and executive co-chairman Caspar Coppetti told CNBC the company won’t be offering Black Friday deals and will be “full price through the holiday season.” CEO Martin Hoffmann— Investopedia interviewed him earlier this year—said that On’s “focus on premium, on full-price sales, on innovation, on that intersection between performance and design is just resonating very strongly with the consumer, and it’s really setting ourselves apart.”

Read the full article here.

AMD CEO Lisa Su Said AI Demand Is ‘Insatiable.’ The Chipmaker’s Stock Is Soaring

5 hours ago

Advanced Micro Devices shares are getting a boost from its outlook.

The stock was up about 10% in early trading Wednesday, leading gains on the S&P 500 after the chipmaker yesterday unveiled ambitious new targets at its first analyst day. Chip stocks were broadly rising, too, with the SOX index of semiconductor shares up 1.5%.

CEO Lisa Su on Tuesday told analysts the company is seeing “insatiable” AI demand, suggesting that its revenue growth could climb to 35% per year over the next three to five years, with gross margins of 55% to 58%. AMD (AMD) said last week its third-quarter adjusted gross margin was 54%.

AMD said it now believes its total addressable AI market could be over $1 trillion by 2030, up from a previous target of $500 billion by 2028.

Several Wall Street analysts said they remain bullish on the chipmaker’s stock following the event, though they declined to raise their price targets amid persistent worries about an AI bubble and the possibility that AMD’s upward momentum could reverse course if it pops.

Read the full article here.

–Kara Greenberg

IBM Stock Rises as It Touts Quantum-Computing ‘Breakthroughs’

5 hr 40 min ago

International Business Machines (IBM) was one of the top-performing stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average soon after the opening bell after the information technology giant announced what it called “breakthroughs” in quantum computing.

At the Quantum Developer Conference on Wednesday, IBM touted “fundamental progress on its path to delivering both quantum advantage by the end of 2026 and fault-tolerant quantum computing by 2029.”

The company announced several developments, including its IBM Quantum Nighthawk processor, which is “designed with an architecture to complement high-performing quantum software to deliver quantum advantage next year: the point at which a quantum computer can solve a problem better than all classical-only methods.”

IBM shares rose 3% early Wednesday and have added nearly half their value this year.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp Questions the Value of a College Degree—So His Company Developed An Alternative

6 hr 19 min ago

Palantir Technologies, whose share price has more than tripled in the past year, is paying 22 high school graduates about $5,400 a month this fall to forgo college, with several turning down Ivy League offers to do it.

The data analytics giant’s “Meritocracy Fellowship” promises teenagers a shortcut past the traditional degree: four months of training, including lectures in philosophy and history, then the potential for full-time engineering roles.2 Students were caught off guard spending their first month in seminars about Western civilization and American history, with one participant admitting to a program lecturer that he’d “never taken a note in his life” before the coursework, according to The Wall Street Journal.

While CEO Alex Karp calls American universities “broken,” the company hasn’t confirmed how many fellows will actually receive job offers—or what happens to those who don’t make the cut.

Karp has been vocal about the value of a college education, although he has three degrees himself: a B.A. from Haverford College, a J.D. from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. from Goethe University in Germany.

Earlier this year, he noted that where an employee went to college ultimately didn’t matter once they joined the company.

“If you did not go to school or you went to a school that’s not that great or you went to Harvard or Princeton, Yale, once you come to Palantir, you’re a Palantirian. No one cares about the other stuff,” said Karp, per an Investing.com earnings call transcript.

Read the full article here.

–Trina Paul

Circle Internet Group Stock Drops on Raised Adjusted Operating Expenses Forecast

7 hr 11 min ago

Circle Internet Group (CRCL) stock fell about 5% an hour before the bell after the USDC stablecoin issuer lifted its adjusted operating expenses forecast for the fiscal year.

Circle now sees full-year adjusted operating expenses of $495 million to $510 million, up from the prior projection of $475 million to $490 million. It said the change reflected “growing investment in building our platform, capabilities and global partnerships to meet the accelerating market interest and opportunity, as well as higher payroll taxes anticipated from option exercises.”

For the third quarter—its second financial report since its initial public offering (IPO) in early June—Circle reported earnings of $0.64 per share on revenue that increased 66% year-over-year to $739.8 million, easily topping Visible Alpha consensus forecasts of $0.13 and $708.5 million, respectively.

Circle said at quarter end, USDC in circulation was $73.7 billion, up 108% year-over-year and above analysts’ expected $72.45 billion.

Shares of Circle Internet Group entered Wednesday up 18% since their IPO.

On Holding Stock Soars as Swiss Sneaker Maker Again Lifts Outlook

8 hr 12 min ago

Shares of On Holding (ONON) jumped 9% in premarket trading after the Roger Federer-backed Swiss sneaker maker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results and raised its full-year outlook yet again.

On posted adjusted earnings of 0.43 Swiss francs ($0.54) per share on net sales that jumped 25% year-over-year to 794.4 million Swiss francs ($994.2 million). Analysts polled by Visible Alpha had expected CHF 0.28 and CHF 770.4 million, respectively.

The Zurich-based company, which lifted its guidance for a third straight quarter, now expects full-year sales to grow by 34% on a constant-currency basis, up from at least 31%; gross profit margin of around 62.5%, up from 60.5% to 61.0%; and adjusted EBITDA margin above 18.0%, up from 17.0% to 17.5%.

On co-founder and executive co-chairman Caspar Coppetti told CNBC the company won’t be offering Black Friday deals and will be “full price through the holiday season.” CEO Martin Hoffmann added On’s “focus on premium, on full-price sales, on innovation, on that intersection between performance and design is just resonating very strongly with the consumer, and it’s really setting ourselves apart.”

Stock Futures Rise on Hopes US Government Shutdown May End Wednesday

8 hr 47 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% higher.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.3%.

Nasdaq 100 contracts rose 0.5%.