Wall Street Mixed, Semiconductors Tumble As AMD Disappoints, Alphabet Rallies, SMCI Plummets: What's Driving Markets Wednesday?

Wall Street experienced a mixed trading session on Wednesday as investors weigh a batch of corporate earnings and fresh economic data.

The U.S. economy grew at an annualized rate of 2.8% in the third quarter, according to advance estimates. This marks a slight deceleration from the previous quarter's 3% pace and falls short of analyst expectations of 3%.

On the employment front, the ADP National Employment report showed private payrolls surged by 233,000 in October —well above the 115,000 forecast and a significant increase from the revised 159,000 in September. This stronger-than-expected job growth underscores the resilience of the labor market ahead of Friday’s official jobs report.

In corporate news, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. AMD dropped 10% after posting quarterly results that met expectations but failed to excite investors. The decline in AMD shares dragged down the broader semiconductor sector, with the iShares Semiconductor ETF SOXX sliding over 3%.

In contrast, Alphabet Inc. jumped more than 5% following a robust earnings report that beat Wall Street expectations, boosting optimism around mega-cap tech stocks.

At midday, major U.S. indexes were trading mixed. The S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 remained flat, while the small-cap Russell 2000 outperformed with a 0.5% gain.

Gold prices extended all-time highs, up 0.5% to $2,787 per ounce. Oil prices surged 2%, fueled by supply concerns.

Bitcoin BTC/USD eased 0.8% to $72,100, pulling back from recent highs.

Wednesday’s Performance In Major US Indices, ETFs

Major Indices	Price	1-day %
Russell 2000	2,246.40	0.4%
Dow Jones	42,309.80	0.2%
S&P 500	5,838.86	0.1 %
Nasdaq 100	20,505.98	-0.1%

According to Benzinga Pro data:

• The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY inched 0.1% higher to $582.16.
• The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average DIA rose 0.2% to $423.25.
• The tech-heavy Invesco QQQ Trust Series QQQ eased 0.2% to $499.18.
• The iShares Russell 2000 ETF IWM rose 0.5% to $222.76.
• The Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund XLC outperformed, up by 1.3%. The Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund XLK lagged, down 0.9%.

Wednesday’s Stock Movers

• Super Micro Computer Inc. SMCI tumbled 33% after auditors Ernst & Young announced their resignation amid reporting issues, five days ahead of the company’s earnings report.

Large-cap stocks reacting to earnings were:

• Eli Lilly and Company LLY, down 8%,
• Visa Inc. V, up 3.6%,
• AbbVie Inc. ABBV up over 5%,
• Caterpillar Inc. CAT, down 1.4%,
• Chubb Ltd. CB, down 1%,
• Mondelez International Inc. MDLZ, up 1%,
• Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. CMG, down over 7%,
• Snap Inc. SNAP, up 15%,
• Reddit Inc. RDDT, up 38%,
• Automatic Data Processing Inc. ADP, up 1%,
• Garmin Ltd. GRMN, up 24%.

Major companies reporting earnings after the close Wednesday include Microsoft Corp. MSFT, Meta Platforms Inc. META, Amgen Inc. AMGN, and Booking Holdings Inc. BKNG.

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