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Key Takeaways
- The S&P 500 jumped 1.6% on Wednesday, July 31, 2024, as the Fed announced its widely expected interest rate hold and tech stocks surged.
- Shares of Vistra Corp. soared as the nuclear power generator announced a license extension for one of its plants and power market prices moved higher.
- Humana shares tumbled after the health insurer said high inpatient hospital admissions and net costs could restrain its profits for the rest of the 2024.
Major U.S. equities indexes rallied on the final day of July as the Federal Reserve announced its widely anticipated decision to hold interest rates at their current levels. The Fed’s statement recognized recent declines in inflation and cooling in the labor market, boosting already high expectations for a rate cut when the central bank convenes for its next meeting in September.
The S&P 500 was up 1.6% on Wednesday. The Nasdaq jumped 2.6%, lifted by a resurgence in the tech sector, while the Dow added 0.2%.
Shares of Vistra Corp. ( VST ) soared 14.8%, marking Wednesday’s top performance in the S&P 500, after the power generation firm reported that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved an extension of the company’s license to operate the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in its home state of Texas. The new authorization allows Vistra to continue operating the 2,400-megawatt plant through 2053.
Vistra received an additional boost as PJM, the largest U.S. electrical grid operator, announced an 800% year-over-year price increase in its annual power market auction. Shares of fellow nuclear power provider Constellation Energy ( CEG ) also notched significant gains on the day, jumping 12.5%.
Shares of Match Group ( MTCH ) jumped 13.2% after the operator of Tinder and other online dating platforms topped sales estimates with its second-quarter results. Revenue from Hinge, the company’s dating app that uses an algorithm to display potential compatible matches, helped drive the strong performance, growing 48% year over year. Match Group’s CEO highlighted a stabilization in monthly active user (MAU) trends and progress on attracting paying users compared with the prior year.
After slipping in the previous session, semiconductor stocks moved higher on Wednesday following a strong earnings report from chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ). AMD topped second-quarter sales estimates, driven record revenue from its data center segment amid surging demand for its artificial intelligence (AI) chips, and its shares added 4.4% on the day.
Moreover, a report suggested that export restrictions on key chipmaking equipment may not apply to firms in certain countries , providing an additional boost to the industry and helping many chip stocks push higher. Shares of AI semiconductor behemoth Nvidia ( NVDA ) gained 12.8%, while Broadcom ( AVGO ) stock was up 12.0%.
Humana ( HUM ) shares tumbled 10.6%, suffering the steepest drop of any stock in the S&P 500, after the health insurer provided disappointing full-year earnings guidance. Although Humana beat second-quarter sales and profit estimates, elevated levels of inpatient hospital admissions and net costs dragged on the results, and the company expects these headwinds to continue for the rest of the year.
Shares of Verisk Analytics ( VRSK ) slipped 8.5% after the data analytics and risk assessment company released a mixed second-quarter earnings report, beating profit forecasts but falling short of revenue expectations. The company’s full-year sales guidance also came in below consensus forecasts. Wednesday’s declines could represent profit-taking after the stock reached a record high earlier this week.
Shares of Bunge Global ( BG ), the world’s largest oilseed processor, fell 8.1% after the company posted lower-than-expected profits for the second quarter. Lower crushing margins contributed to the lackluster performance. Meanwhile, crop prices remain at low levels amid elevated supplies of corn and soybeans, making it less advantageous for farmers to sell their harvests and pressuring the business of processors like Bunge.