Dow falls 100 points, heads for second straight decline after a slightly hotter core inflation report: Live updates – CNBC

The Dow would be a lot lower Wednesday if it weren’t for Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, both up 1.1%, and Honeywell, higher by 1%.

— Scott Schnipper

Analysts are mostly finding the positive in Apple‘s Tuesday launch event, but one surprise could heighten risks of a revenue shortfall on the margin, according to one analyst.

Read more on Wall Street’s take what the latest news means for the stock here.

— Samantha Subin

With a government shutdown on Oct. 1 looming over the market, Wells Fargo recommends investors take a more defensive portfolio position.

“We encourage investors to look beyond the market’s twists and turns in the weeks before, during, and immediately following a potential shutdown by aligning with our more defensive portfolio guidance, positioning for an economy approaching an anticipated recession,” strategist Gary Schlossberg said in a Wednesday note.

The firm believes a government shutdown this year could potentially drag on for at least a few weeks, due to an increasingly polarized Congress.

Equities have historically posted returns during the gaps between government funding, Schlossberg noted. However, he added that the event could be yet another catalyst that could spark increased volatility and weakness in stocks, “given the underlying vulnerabilities we see in the broader economy.”

— Hakyung Kim

— Jennifer Elias, Sarah Min

Goldman Sachs shares rose more than 1% in afternoon trading, making it the second-best performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Still, the 30-stock index was last trading virtually flat.

Those moves come ahead of the return of some large public offerings this week. Chip designer Arm is set to begin trading Thursday in the year’s biggest IPO. The return of new listings would be a boon for Goldman Sachs, which is more reliant on investment banking.

Some upgrades to the latest iPhone model could be a positive for certain semiconductor and connectivity stocks, according to KeyBanc Capital Markets.

“We see moderately positive implications for the Apple supply chain given content increases” for Broadcom, Qorvo, Skyworks Solutions and Cirrus Logic, said John Vinh in a Tuesday note.

The analyst called the adoption of Wi-Fi 6E “moderately positive” for both Broadcom and Skyworks, while two new 5G should benefit these names, along with Qorvo. He also sees the content growth of antenna tuners and share gains over Broadcom as another slight positive for Qorvo.

Meanwhile, Cirrus should experience an uptick in content growth connected to camera upgrades, Vinh said.

— Samantha Subin

UMB Financial‘s stock could get a boost as the Fed’s rate hiking cycle comes to an end, according to Piper Sandler.

Analyst Nathan Race upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral and said in a note to clients on Wednesday that UMB Financial should outperform its peers in terms of net interest income in the coming years.

“With fewer, if any, additional Fed rate hikes expected going forward, we believe UMBF can generate superior NII growth in 2H23 and 2024 (particularly next year in a ‘higher for longer’ S-T rate environment) with ongoing expansion in loan yields … redeployment of ~$300M in quarterly securities cash flow run-off, and less upward deposit cost pressure from UMBF’s ~35% indexed funding base,” the note said.

— Jesse Pound

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

• Redwire — The space infrastructure stock soared 11.6% Wednesday after Roth MKM initiated research coverage of the company with a buy rating. The firm said Redwire, which went public via a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, has “several billions worth of pipeline revenue opportunity.”
• Corteva — The seed and crop protection solutions provider added 1.7% during midday trading after launching Reklemel, a new product that will help protect a variety of food and row crops from plant-parasitic nematode damage, according to a Wednesday press release from the company.
• Moderna — Shares of the vaccine maker rose 3.1%. The action comes a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cleared updated Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna for Americans ages 6 months and up, following approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The mRNA vaccines are designed to target a relatively new omicron subvariant called XBB.1.5.

Read more here.

— Pia Singh

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas knows that his bullish Tesla upgrade earlier this week caught some by surprise.

“Investor feedback to our Tesla upgrade has skewed towards push-back,” he said in a note to clients Tuesday.

Tesla shares are higher by more than 1% in afternoon trading.

CNBC Pro can read more about his reasoning and the investor reaction by clicking here.

— Alex Harring

A drop in 3M shares weighed on the Dow in Wednesday’s session.

The manufacturer fell more than 4% in the session, while the blue-chip average shed just 0.4%. Dow, Inc. and Caterpillar were the next worst performers, with both down more than 1%.

Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and Honeywell helped the Dow advance with gains of more than 1% each.

After menu improvements and a delivery app launch announcement, Domino’s improved loyalty program offers another reason to like the stock, BTIG said.

“As expected, Domino’s announced changes to its loyalty program this morning in conjunction with the start of the fall season and 4Q23,” analyst Peter Saleh said when reiterating his buy rating and top pick call for the pizza chain. “We view this as one of several sales catalysts that should regenerate the company’s prior momentum.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story.

— Alex Harring

Oracle shares could see more pain ahead — even after the stock posted its worst day in more than two decades on the back of earnings, according to JPMorgan.

“In our view, Oracle’s accomplishments are still very legitimate and investors will likely remain interested in the story,” analyst Mark Murphy said when downgrading the stock to neutral from overweight and cutting his price target. “However, we also sense potential for some offsetting dynamics which may take some time to work through the system and become factored in.”

However, the stock gained 1.5% in midday trading.

CNBC Pro subscribers can click here for the full story.

— Alex Harring

Tech giant Intel is currently the most extended Dow stock, according to research firm Bespoke Investment Group. Investors have been bullish on the tech company amid the AI and semiconductor rally.

Shares of Intel are trading about 2.5 standard deviations above their 50-day moving average, the firm said. Intel is also the second best-performing Dow stock in 2023, gaining more than 46% and trailing only Salesforce, which is up more than 65%. 

It’s time to buy shares of TKO, according to Guggenheim. Shares of the media conglomerate started trading this week from the merger of Ultimate Fighting Championship and World Wrestling Entertainment.

The firm initiated coverage of TKO stock on Monday with a buy rating and a $130 price target, saying it could come out ahead of its competitors as U.S. sports rights continue to grow in value. Shares ticked lower by less than 1% in midday trading.

“The two biggest potential catalysts ahead are the U.S. media rights renewal for the WWE (underway) and UFC (next year),” wrote analyst Curry Baker. “Given 1) EDR’s [Endeavor’s] track record, 2) the significant corporate expense at WWE, and 3) the structural overlap of these two complementary assets: We believe net operating synergies will be at the high-end of the initial range provided – and very likely above.”

— Lisa Kailai Han

Blackstone should have a good 2024 thanks to the likelihood it will improve its private net wealth flows, Bank of America said in a note Wednesday.

The alternative asset manager will also be facing a lower interest rate environment, wrote analyst Craig Siegenthaler, who reiterated his buy rating on the stock after meeting with Blackstone President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray. Bank of America economists are forecasting Federal Reserve rate cuts in the second half of 2024.

“BX and the Alts remain in a period of robust secular growth as institutions, individuals and insurers are expected to raise their allocations to private investments and in parallel consolidate their GP [general partner] relationships — benefiting the largest/best platforms (like BX),” Siegenthaler said.

Blackstone’s stock is up more than 50% year to date.

— Michelle Fox

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser announced a corporate reorganization Wednesday amid a stock slump.

Fraser said the move would reduce management layers and accelerate decisions. The company will be divided into five main business lines that report directly to her. Previously, the firm had two main divisions catering to consumers and large institutional clients.

The changes will also include an unspecified number of job cuts.

Shares are down more than 7% year to date, amid a broader 14.8% decline over the last 12 months.

The stock was little-changed Wednesday morning, trading just 0.1% higher.

— Hakyung Kim, Hugh Son

The major averages opened higher Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 90 points higher, or 0.3%. The S&P 500 rose 0.2%, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.

— Sarah Min

Gold prices hit a low not seen in three weeks on Wednesday.

The metal reached a session low of 1,927.2. That’s the lowest since Aug. 23, when it hit 1,926.2.

— Alex Harring, Gina Francolla

These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

Moderna — Moderna shares rose more than 3% in early trading after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended updated Covid vaccine shots for all Americans ages 6 months and older.

Ford — Shares of the automaker rose 1.5% premarket after UBS analyst Joseph Spak initiated research coverage with a buy rating and a $15 price target implying 21% upside.

BP — Shares rose more than 1% before the open one day after BP CEO Bernard Looney resigned a little more than three years after assuming the post.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han