S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today: Carmakers Lose Ground as Analyst Cites Challenges

Key Takeaways

• The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% on Wednesday, Sept. 25, retreating from the prior day's record close as concerns about economic growth resurfaced.
• Shares of General Motors and Ford moved lower after Morgan Stanley downgraded both stocks, citing competition from China and a challenging consumer environment.
• Vistra stock surged as several research firms boosted their price targets on shares of the utility, expressing increased confidence in the company's data center opportunities.

Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed on Wednesday as the upbeat mood that followed last week's interest-rate cut showed signs of dissipating.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% on the day, receding from the all-time closing high posted in the previous session. The Dow fell 0.7%, failing to extend its streak of four consecutive record closes. The Nasdaq eked out a minimal daily gain of less than 0.1%.

Shares of the financial technology company Global Payments (GPN) plunged 6.5%, posting the widest loss of any stock in the S&P 500 for the second straight day. The payment solutions provider issued underwhelming profit guidance at an investor conference earlier this week, noting it expects a year of transition in fiscal 2025. Analysts at the financial firm BTIG downgraded Global Payment stock to neutral, citing a lack of visibility in the company's growth trajectory that they believe leaves the stock in "no man's land" over the coming quarters.

Amgen (AMGN) shares lost 5.5% after the drugmaker released data from a Phase 3 clinical trial of an experimental eczema treatment. Although Amgen's drug met its primary endpoint in the study, analysts question whether the results were strong enough for the treatment to merit a strong share in a market already served by Dupixent, a medication jointly developed by Amgen rivals Sanofi (SNY) and Regeneron (REGN).

Shares of major U.S. automakers moved lower following unfavorable comments from analysts at Morgan Stanley. The investment firm downgraded General Motors (GM) to "underweight" from "equal weight" and scaled back its view on Ford Motor (F) to "equal weight" from "overweight," citing increased competition in China and a challenging environment for U.S. consumers. GM shares were down 4.9% on Wednesday, while Ford shares slid 4.1%.

Vistra (VST) shares soared 5.9%, securing the S&P 500's top daily performance after Jefferies and Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on the utility stock. Analysts reacted positively to Vistra's recent acquisition of the remaining stake in its Vistra Vision subsidiary.

In addition, the analysts said they believe the recent deal by fellow electricity generator Constellation Energy (CEG) to power Microsoft (MSFT) data centers sets a positive precedent for other attractive agreements. Constellation Energy shares were up 3.7% on the day.

Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) jumped 5.1% as Barclays upgraded the stock to "overweight" and lifted its price target. Analysts pointed to signs of recovery in the enterprise hardware business and said they view HPE stock as one of the best ways to invest in this trend. Barclays also believes HPE can continue to increase sales of its artificial intelligence (AI) servers, make gains in the storage market, and benefit from its acquisition of Juniper Networks (JNPR) announced at the beginning of the year.

Intel (INTC) shares added 3.2%, extending strong gains posted this week amid reports of a potential investment of up to $5 billion from asset management firm Apollo Global Management. Intel has also reportedly drawn interest from fellow chipmaker Qualcomm (QCOM). In addition, Intel launched two new AI products on Tuesday that are central to its strategy of improving its position in the data center market.

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