Stock market live Wednesday: S&P 500 record, Tesla tops $900, Virgin Galactic spikes
This is a live blog. Check back for updates.
4:01 pm: Dow finishes the day up 115 points
The Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped a three-day losing streak and rose 115 points on Wednesday. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite both posted records. Tech and Apple lead the way, with Apple up 1.5% and nearly making back all of its drop earlier in the week following a revenue warning related to the coronavirus. The speculative trade of the day, Virgin Galactic, finishes up a whopping 23%. -Melloy
3:06 pm: Final hour of trading: S&P 500 and Nasdaq head for record close as tech jumps
With roughly one hour left in the trading session, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq were up sharply and on pace to close at all-time highs. The Dow was up about 150 points, or 0.5%. Tech has been the best-performing sector on Wednesday, gaining more than 1%. —Imbert
2:31 pm: SmileDirectClub falls after report that top dentist could lose license
Shares of SmileDirectClub fell more than 3% after Reuters reported that the company's top dentist may loses his California license. A complaint from the state Attorney General's office detailed nine possible causes for discipline, including fraud, according to the report. A lawyer for the company called the complaint a "farce." The stock is now trading at $12.60 per share, just more than half of its IPO price when it debuted in September. —Pound
2:29 pm: Huge volume in Virgin Galactic as stock soars
More than 56 million Virgin Galactic shares have exchanged hands through early afternoon trading as the space travel stock continues its massive, speculative run higher. The stock's volume has blown by its 30-day average of 16 million shares traded. Virgin Galactic shares are also coming off their highest-ever trading volume day, exchanging hands more than 104 million times on Tuesday. —Imbert
2:11 pm: Fed minutes show rates will stay unchanged for now
Federal Reserve members at their January meeting said that interest rate policy was likely to remain unchanged for a while, according to minutes released Wednesday. Officials did make several mentions of possible dangers from the spreading Chinese coronavirus, though the deadly virus had just become an issue at the time of the meeting. "In addition, some trade uncertainties had diminished recently, and there were some signs of stabilization in global growth. Nonetheless, uncertainties about the outlook remained, including those posed by the outbreak of the coronavirus," the minutes said. Bond yields dipped slightly after the minutes were released. — Fitzgerald
1:21 pm: GE CEO sticks by cash flow guidance despite 737 MAX delays
GE CEO Lawrence Culp said at a Barclays conference that the company should deliver between $2 billion and $4 billion of free cash flow in 2020 despite taking a big hit from the continued grounding of the Boeing 737 Max in the first half of the year. Culp said first quarter cash flow would be negative $2 billion, of which about $800 million could be attributed to the troubled airliner. The industrial company reported $2.3 billion of free cash flow in 2019. — Pound
12:48 pm: Fed's Kashkari warns US could feel economic impact from persistent coronavirus
Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari warned Wednesday that U.S. would likely feel economic effects if the coronavirus continues to plague Asian commerce. Speaking at a symposium in Mankato, Minnesota, Kashkari explained the impact to Asia could bleed into the U.S. if the illness persists. "China's economy is a big engine of the world economy. So that will affect all of us," he said. "It's unlikely that if this continues that we're going to be completely immune from the economic effects of a slowdown in Asia." —Franck
12:46 pm: 58 S&P 500 stocks hit fresh record highs
Accenture, Arconic, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals are among the 58 S&P 500 stocks to hit record highs. Their moves higher lifted the broader index above a previous record of 3,385.09. Here are some of the other S&P 500 companies that notched record highs on Wednesday:
- Old Dominion Freight Line
- Waste Management
- Adobe
- Global Payments
- MasterCard
- Stryker
- Salesforce
- Costco
- Monster Beverage
—Imbert, Hayes
12 pm: Advancers outpace decliners at NYSE
Around eight stocks rose for every five decliners at the New York Stock Exchange, FactSet data shows. The market's strong breadth came as two of the three major U.S. stock indexes —the S&P 500 and Nasdaq — reached all-time highs while the Dow was on pace to snap a three-session slide. —Imbert
11:56 am: Markets at midday: Tech jump leads S&P 500 and Nasdaq to record highs
Around midday ET, the major stock averages were broadly higher as technology stocks such as Apple and Nvidia outperformed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq are up 0.6% and 0.9%, respectively, and both hit record highs. The Dow, meanwhile, is up 142 points, or 0.5%. —Imbert
10:48 am: Tesla overtakes highest price forecast on the Street
Shares of Tesla rose more than 8% on Wednesday to $930, surpassing Piper Sandler's $928 per share price target, which is the highest price forcast of any Wall Street firm. Piper Sandler told clients it is confident in Tesla's push into new areas of clean energy. Tesla's stock is getting close to its all-time high, touched on February 4, of $968.99 per share. —Fitzgerald
10:13 am: Tech ETF hits record high, momentum trade gains legs
The Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rose more than 1% to an all-time high, leading the broader market back to record levels. Shares of Nvidia and Analog Devices led the XLK higher, rising more than 4% each. Tech's move higher was part of a broader trend Wednesday that favored so-called momentum stocks, which are defined by their high growth expectations relative to the broader market. The iShares Edge MSCI USA Momentum ETF (MTUM) rose 0.4% and also reached record levels. The iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) climbed 0.6% to an all-time high. —Imbert, Francolla
10 am: Trio of speculative stocks spiking
Shares of speculative stocks Tesla, Virgin Galactic and Plug Power each spiked in early Wednesday trading. Shares of all three companies have become favorites among retail investors, with infamous Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets calling for users to buy Plug Power after recent frenzied buying in Tesla and Virgin Galactic. However, CNBC's Jim Cramer said earlier that a rally like the one in Virgin Galactic can end badly. –Sheetz
9:51 am: S&P 500 hits a record
The S&P 500 jumped 0.4% to a new record about 20 minutes after the open. Tech shares led the way with Apple up 1.1%. The stock has almost completely made up Tuesday's decline following its revenue warning about the coronavirus. - Melloy
9:31 am: Dow rises 100 points at the open
The Dow climbed 103 points at the open, poised to snap a three-day losing streak. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite also moved up 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. Apple rebounded from Tuesday's losses, up 0.6%. Tesla shares are on the rise again, surging more than 6% to above $900 a piece.— Li
9:26 am: Here are Wednesday's biggest analyst calls of the day
- Piper Sandler raised its price target on Tesla to $928 from $729
- Bernstein upgraded Nvidia to outperform from market perform and raised its price target to $360 from $300
- Guggenheim initiated iHeartMedia as buy
- Oppenheimer downgraded Tencent Music Entertainment to perform from outperform
- UBS raised its price target on Adobe to $430 from $360
- Argus downgraded Royal Caribbean to hold from buy
CNBC PRO subscribers can read more here. —Bloom
8:58 am: Blue Apron sinks 7%, explores "strategic alternatives" including a possible sale
Shares of the meal kit service slid more than 7% in Wednesday's premarket trading after the company reported disappointing fourth quarter earnings and said that it was considering "strategic alternatives." For the quarter Blue Apron lost $1.66 per share, which was larger than the $1.60 loss analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting. Revenue also missed estimates. As the company struggles – shares have shed more than 80% in the last year – the company said it was exploring options. "These alternatives could include, among other things, a strategic business combination, a capital raise through the public or private markets, a transaction that results in private ownership or sale of the company or its assets, or some combination of these," a press release said. -Stevens
8:56 am: Garmin jumps 8% following earnings
Shares of Garmin gained more than 8% ahead of the market's open following the company's fourth quarter earnings results, which topped analyst expectations on the top and bottom line. The fitness device maker posted earnings of $1.29 per share, compared to the consensus of $1.05, according to estimates from FactSet. Revenue came in at $1.10 billion, ahead of the $1.01 billion expected. The company also gave upbeat guidance, and raised its dividend. -Stevens
8:53 am: Producer prices post biggest increase in more than a year
The producer price index jumped by 0.5% in January, the biggest one-month advance since October 2018, as costs in health care and hotel accommodation services climbed, the Labor Department said. Wednesday's print easily beat a Reuters estimate of a 0.1% gain. Producer prices also gained 2.1% in the 12 months through January. —Imbert
8:51 Tesla's stock jumps on bullish Wall Street call
Shares of Tesla are up nearly 7% in premarket trading on Wednesday after Piper Sandler hiked its price target on the electric car maker to $928 per share, the highest target on Wall Street, according to FactSet. The firm said Tesla's push into new areas of clean energy will drive the stock higher. Tesla's move higher on Wednesday adds to its 100% rally in 2020 alone. – Fitzgerald
8:48 am: Virgin Galactic's speculative rally set to continue
Shares of the space tourism company climbed as much as 12% as investors continue to pour into the speculative name. Virgin Galactic's stock has become the most popular stock on the trading platforms of Fidelity and SoFi. Shares of Richard Branson's space company have gained 223% in the past three months. —Sheetz
8:47 am: Dow set to snap 3-day slide
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are trading higher, indicating a gain of more than 80 points at the open. That gain would snap a three-day losing streak for the 30-stock index. S&P 500 futures also rose while Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to record highs for the tech-heavy index. —Imbert
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—With reporting by Pippa Stevens, Yun Li, Michael Bloom, Gina Francolla, John Melloy, Maggie Fitzgerald and Christopher Hayes.