Wall Street opened split on Election Day Tuesday: the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 300 points while the Nasdaq Composite climbed, and Apple slid about 3% after its holiday-quarter outlook disappointed investors despite a record quarter.
As of 9:45 a.m. EST, the Dow was down 338 points, or 0.7%, at 51,646, while the Nasdaq was up 187 points, or 0.7%, at 25,351. The S&P 500 was little changed.
Apple traded at $328.53, down 2.9%, after falling nearly 4% in the opening minutes. In results reported after Monday’s closing bell, Apple said fiscal fourth-quarter revenue rose 12% to a record $114.5 billion, with earnings of $2.10 a share and iPhone revenue up 17% – but the company forecast holiday-quarter revenue growth of 7% to 10% and warned that rising memory-chip costs will squeeze margins.
Intel jumped about 4% to roughly $62, bouncing after a two-session slide of about 35% that had left the stock below $60 at Monday’s close. Palantir fell about 4% to around $171, extending Monday’s decline even after the data-analytics company reported third-quarter revenue up 96% to $2.31 billion – its first $2 billion quarter – and raised its full-year outlook.
Shopify sank about 9% to $142 after the e-commerce platform’s revenue missed analyst estimates for the first time since 2022, one of the morning’s biggest single-stock declines. Fiserv jumped about 6% after the payments company beat estimates, doubled its cost-savings target and restarted share buybacks.
In bond and commodity markets, the 10-year Treasury yield rose to about 4.93%. U.S. crude steadied near $96 a barrel after Monday’s 7.4% plunge, as traders weighed overnight U.S. strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island – which officials described as defensive – against hopes for a diplomatic deal with Tehran. Gold slipped about half a percent to around $3,950 an ounce.
The split open comes as Americans vote in the midterm elections, with control of Congress at stake and polls closing this evening. Before that, the September job-openings report lands at 10 a.m. EST, and chipmaker AMD headlines earnings after the closing bell.
What it means for you: The 10-year Treasury yield near 4.93% keeps mortgage and loan rates in their recent range, still well below the roughly 5.3% touched a month ago – helpful if you are shopping for a home or car loan. U.S. crude’s drop from $104 on Friday to about $96 a barrel, roughly 7.5% in two days, points to some relief at the gas pump in the coming weeks if it holds. For retirement savers, a split open like this one is a reminder that a diversified 401(k) cushions single-stock hits like Apple’s. And Apple’s warning about memory-chip costs is the kind of squeeze that can show up in holiday gadget prices.
JBizNews Desk | Wall Street
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