The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7% to 28,184 on Tuesday as chipmakers rebounded, while a profit-margin warning from Apple Inc. (AAPL) dragged on the Dow. As a result, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) became the world's most valuable company.
Apple announced after Monday's close that its gross margin would land between 45% and 46% in the December quarter. That's below the 46.3% analysts expected, mainly because of higher memory costs. CEO John Ternus also said memory prices would keep rising beyond the holiday quarter.
The iPhone maker fell 2.2% to $330.97, erasing about $107 billion in market value. Nvidia rose 2.9% to $207.95, snapping a four-session losing streak and adding about $142 billion.
That flipped the leaderboard.
Cupertino, California-based Apple ended Monday about $68 billion ahead of Nvidia. By midday, Nvidia was worth $5.01 trillion, about $181 billion more than Apple's $4.83 trillion.
Job Openings Topped Forecasts
Treasury yields climbed after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 7.5 million job openings for September, topping expectations of 7.1 million ahead of the midterm elections. Factory orders increased 1.8% in September, beating the 1.2% forecast after a 0.3% gain in August.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to 7,574, up 33 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 195 points, or 0.4%, to 51,789.
The Russell 2000 advanced 0.8% to 2,827.
The 10-year Treasury yield rose 4 basis points to 4.95%. The 2-year yield edged up 2 basis points to 4.62%, and the 30-year yield climbed 4 basis points to 5.32%.
Gold fell 0.7% to $3,942 an ounce and silver dropped 2.2% to $49.77. West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 0.5% to $95.95 a barrel, while Brent lost 1.3% to $103.44. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) rose 1% to $77,479.
Tuesday's Performance In Major US Indices
According to market data:
- The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) rose 0.4%.
- The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) fell 0.5%.
- The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) gained 0.7%.
- The iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) advanced 0.6%.
Chipmakers Rebound As Memory Costs Hit Device Makers
Technology led the S&P 500 as chipmakers bounced back from last week's selloff:
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) rallied 4.9% ahead of its quarterly results after the bell
- The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rose 1.3%, and
- The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) gained 2.3%.
Materials lagged as industrial metals retreated. The Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB) fell 1.6%, with copper futures down 2.6% to $6.40 a pound.
Consumer staples were close behind. The Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLP) dropped 1.6% after a weak sales outlook from food distributor Sysco Corp. (SYY).
Elsewhere, industrials rose 1.2%, communication services gained 0.9% and health care added 0.4%, while consumer discretionary fell 1%, financials slipped 0.6%, energy and real estate eased and utilities were flat.
Housing stocks extended their slide with yields higher. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) lost 2%.
Among Large Caps
- Graphic Packaging Holding Co. (GPK) soared 18% after third-quarter sales of $2.19 billion and adjusted EPS of 23 cents edged past estimates. The paperboard maker guided 2026 adjusted EPS to 65 cents and said it expects price increases in the fourth quarter and into 2027.
- Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NBIX) jumped 14.8% after record third-quarter product sales above $1.1 billion, led by $801 million from Ingrezza. The company raised its full-year Ingrezza sales guidance to $2.9 billion to $2.925 billion, and Piper Sandler lifted its price target to $215 from $210.
2 AI Hardware Suppliers Post Double-Digit Gains
- Lattice Semiconductor Corp. (LSCC) rose 14% after record revenue of $291 million, up 118% from a year earlier, and a fourth-quarter revenue forecast of about $335 million. Fabrinet (FN) climbed 13.7% after fiscal first-quarter revenue rose 51% to $1.47 billion and its current-quarter revenue outlook of $1.6 billion to $1.65 billion topped the roughly $1.48 billion consensus.
- Fiserv Inc. (FISV) gained 12.3% after it affirmed its 2026 outlook, doubled its cost-savings target to $1 billion and said it plans to buy back $500 million of stock in the fourth quarter. Adjusted EPS came in at $1.75, while the company booked a $6.45 billion goodwill impairment.
On the Downside
Gartner Inc. (IT) sank 13.2% as its fourth-quarter forecast disappointed, even after the research firm beat third-quarter estimates and raised its full-year guidance.
Dynatrace Inc. (DT) slid 11.6% as higher cloud costs squeezed its subscription gross margin to 84%, overshadowing a 17% rise in revenue to $579.9 million. BTIG cut its price target to $63 from $73.
Medical Properties Trust Inc. (MPT) dropped 10.3% to below $2 a share, with no company-specific news, after RBC Capital Markets downgraded the hospital landlord to Underperform with a $2 price target last week.
Sysco (SYY) fell 8.3% after revenue missed estimates and it guided full-year sales growth to the low end of its 6% to 7% range, citing softer restaurant traffic. Adjusted EPS of $1.19 matched expectations.
Zebra Technologies Corp. (ZBRA) lost 8.2% as gross margin narrowed to 45.7% from 48%, mainly on higher memory component costs, even though third-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.95 and sales of $1.61 billion beat estimates.
Tuesday's Russell 1000 Top Gainers
Tuesday's Russell 1000 Top Losers
Looking Ahead
AMD reports after the close, with analysts expecting adjusted EPS of $1.95. Arista Networks Inc. (ANET) ($1.08) and Super Micro Computer Inc. (SMCI) ($1.23) are also on deck.
