Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Tuesday
1 hr 7 min ago
Advancers
Shares of insurance giant UnitedHealth Group (UNH) soared 8.6%, notching the top daily performance in the S&P 500. In a regulatory filing on Tuesday, UnitedHealth forecast that 78% of Medicare Advantage (MA) members would be enrolled in plans rated 4 stars or higher. The official Star Ratings for MA plans, which cover people age 65 and older, are typically released in October by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and determine an insurer’s eligibility for quality bonus payments. Shares of health insurance peer Centene (CNC) added 7.7%.
Finland-based tech firm Nokia (NOK), once known for its flip phones and currently engaged in the networking infrastructure and software spaces, on Monday announced a partnership with the artificial intelligence server maker Super Micro Computer (SMCI). The two will collaborate to develop AI-optimized networking solutions for cloud computing providers, AI hyperscalers, and other enterprises. Supermicro shares added 7.2% on Tuesday, while Nokia’s American Depositary Receipts slipped 0.1%.
Shares of Coinbase Global (COIN), operator of the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, advanced 5.5%. Coinbase on Tuesday announced it had hired the founders of crypto-yielding platform Sensible to advance its on-chain consumer strategy as part of its effort to build “an everything exchange.”
Decliners
Shares of Humana (HUM) plunged 12%, falling the most of any S&P 500 stock on Tuesday. In contrast with fellow insurer UnitedHealth, which benefitted from a favorable outlook for its MA star ratings, Humana took a hit after analysts at Leerink Partners reported the CMS may adopt more stringent criteria for evaluating the plans in 2026. In July, Humana refiled a previously dismissed lawsuit aimed at contesting its previous MA ratings.
According to reports, a major lithium producer in China intends to restart production at a mine that had been idle since last month. While the suspension of operations at the facility in August initially raised optimism for a moderation of oversupply conditions and a rebound in prices for the key battery component, news of the impending resumption renewed pressure on the lithium industry. Shares of Albemarle (ALB), the world’s largest lithium producer, tumbled 11.5%.
Fox Corp. (FOXA, FOX) shares sank more than 6% after the family of founder and media mogul Rupert Murdoch settled a longstanding dispute about who would control the family trust. Under the terms of the agreement, Murdoch’s eldest son Lachlan is set to control the media empire, with his three older siblings receiving new trusts payed for by stock sales from the existing trust.
Michael Tran / AFP / Getty Images
-Michael Bromberg
Oracle Shares Soar in Extended Trading on Strong Outlook
2 hr 10 min ago
Oracle shares surged in late trading Tuesday after the cloud computing giant said it added several large new clients and boosted its outlook for cloud infrastructure sales on booming AI demand.
Shares of Oracle (ORCL) were up over 25% in after-hours trading. The stock has added close to half of its value in 2025 through Tuesday’s close, with most of the gains coming after the company posted strong quarterly results in June.
Oracle on Tuesday said it now sees cloud infrastructure sales jumping 77% to $18 billion this fiscal year as AI demand grows, up from a June forecast of more than 70%. And that figure could surge to $144 billion over the next four years, CEO Safra Catz said.
“We expect to sign up several additional multi-billion-dollar customers,” in the coming months, Catz said, after a “brilliant start” to its new fiscal year with four multibillion-dollar contracts signed in the quarter ended in August.
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Oracle posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.47 in the fiscal first quarter on revenue that rose 12% year-over-year to $14.9 billion. Both figures were slightly below Wall Street analysts’ estimates as compiled by Visible Alpha. Oracle said its growing backlog from new contracts contributed to its more robust outlook, and Catz said the company intends to offer more details on its financial plan at an event scheduled for next month.
Co-founder and CTO Larry Ellison said the company also plans to use the event to unveil a new service called “Oracle AI Database” that will allow customers to use top AI models, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, xAI’s Grok, and Google’s Gemini, on top of the Oracle Database to analyze their data.
Ellison said he expects Oracle’s AI offerings to support “dramatically” larger cloud demand and consumption in the years to come, adding “AI changes everything.”
-Kara Greenberg
Could Inflation Dampen Investors’ Rate-Cut Hopes?
5 hr 7 min ago
A weak jobs report has markets embracing the need for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, but the risk of inflation rearing its head again may dampen some of the enthusiasm.
Lower interest rates would give a needed jolt to a clearly weakening economy, but some analysts warn that they could also overstimulate demand and push up prices. That would come at a time when inflation remains somewhat elevated, and tariffs threaten to raise prices further.
The Fed’s job is to balance interest rates so that the country has maximum employment and stable prices.
Given the “anemic” pace of job growth in August, the Fed will likely cut interest rates and support its maximum employment mandate, Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave wrote on Friday. The jobs report will prompt the Fed to shift “from worrying about inflation to focusing on labor weakness,” he wrote.
That doesn’t mean the Fed can ignore its price stability mandate, however. Inflation “is still problematic” and “will keep the Fed cautious” as it cuts rates, Bhave wrote.
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-Polo Rocha
Apple Launches Its iPhone 17—What You Need to Know
5 hr 37 min ago
Apple (AAPL) launched its latest iPhone lineup Tuesday, with a number of updates that CEO Tim Cook called the company’s “biggest leap ever for iPhone.”
The event, themed “awe dropping,” showcased four models including the iPhone 17 Air, Apple’s most durable and thinnest phone ever. Cook said he believes the iPhone 17 Air will be a “game changer” with its slimmer design. (You can watch the streamed event here.)
Meanwhile, Apple’s entry-level iPhone 17, iPhone Pro, and iPhone Pro Max come with longer battery life, more scratch-resistant materials, and better camera capabilities than earlier models. Apple said its iPhone 17 will start at $799—the same price it launched its iPhone 16—with the Air at $999, the Pro at $1,099, and Pro Max at $1,199. Pre-orders for the iPhone 17 line open Friday, with availability starting next Friday, Sept. 19.
Apple also announced its next generation of Airpods, highlighting live translation and hearing aid functions, and updates to its Apple Watch portfolio with new health-related features such as a “sleep score” and a blood pressure monitor that can alert users to hypertension. Apple said the Airpods and new Apple Watches may be pre-ordered now, and will become available Sept. 19.
However, Investors hoping for bigger design changes, like a foldable phone, and more updates on some delayed AI features like an AI-enhanced Siri might have to wait.
Citi analysts told clients ahead of Tuesday’s event that they expect product launches next year could be stronger after executives said at the company’s developers conference in June that Apple needs more time to work on teased AI upgrades.
-Kara Greenberg
Why UnitedHealth Group Stock Soared on Tuesday
5 hr 50 min ago
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) was the best-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 on Tuesday after the health care giant said the vast majority of its Medicare Advantage enrollees are likely to qualify for bonus payments from the federal government.
UnitedHealth, in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, estimated that 78% of its Medicare Advantage membership would be enrolled in plans rated 4 stars or higher, according to an internal review of preliminary ratings by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The forecast, based on ratings that have yet to be finalized, “is consistent with our expectations and in line with historical performance,” the company said.
Shares of UnitedHealth Group were up 9% in recent trading, but remain down about 30% since the start of the year.
Medicare Advantage—Medicare coverage administered by private health insurers rather than the federal government—has been a major reason for UnitedHealth’s rough year. Shares suffered their worst day in more than 25 years in April after UnitedHealth cut its full-year earnings outlook, citing “heightened care activity indications” in its MA business. Simultaneously, the health care industry broadly, and UnitedHealth in particular, have faced increased scrutiny amid a surge in public outrage over high health care and drug costs.
Medicare Advantage plans with ratings of 4 stars or higher are eligible for quality bonus payments, which plan administrators can, but are not required to, use to lower costs or provide additional benefits to plan participants. The CMS is expected to distribute $12.7 billion in bonus payments to Medicare Advantage plans in 2025, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis.
UnitedHealth’s estimated enrollment runs slightly ahead of the average in 2025, when 75% of Medicare Advantage participants were enrolled in 4-star or higher plans.
-Colin Laidley
Strategy Misses S&P 500 Inclusion This Month: Will It Ever Make the Cut?
6 hr 51 min ago
Bitcoin true believers were dealt a blow on Friday when Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, was passed over for inclusion in the S&P 500.
Last week, the internet buzzed with speculation that Michael Saylor’s pioneering bitcoin treasury company would be added to the benchmark stock index as part of its quarterly rebalancing. Instead, mobile app monetization company AppLovin (APP), digital trading platform Robinhood (HOOD), and engineering firm Emcor (EME) got the nod of approval, and Strategy was left out in the cold.
Companies and their shareholders have good reason to want to be added to the S&P 500. An estimated $22 trillion is attached to products that track or are benchmarked to the index, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart. An analysis from financial services firm Stephens found that fund managers would have to buy an estimated 50 million Strategy shares worth approximately $16 billion if the company were added.
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-Colin Laidley
The Economy Just Lost Nearly A Million Jobs, On Paper
8 hr 7 min ago
It turns out the job market was weaker than previously thought.
The U.S. economy added 911,000 fewer jobs in the 12 months through March 2025 than previously reported, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday in a preliminary annual revision to its job creation data.
Although the revision only reduces the estimated size of the U.S. workforce by 0.6%, it means the economy added only about half as many jobs over that time period as the bureau said in its monthly job market reports.
While this routine revision doesn’t reflect the current labor market conditions, the downward shift could amplify fears that the job market is faltering.
Jobs growth is weakening under the weight of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the Federal Reserve’s high interest rates. It may put pressure on the Fed to cut its key interest rate to lower borrowing costs and bolster the job market.
“Labor market momentum is being lost from an even weaker position than originally thought, reinforcing expectations of meaningful interest rate cuts,” James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, wrote in a commentary.
The revision is part of a routine process for the BLS that has come under scrutiny in the Trump era. The president has criticized the bureau for the accuracy of its data, and last month fired the bureau’s commissioner after a large downward revision to job creation statistics.
-Diccon Hyatt
CoreWeave Stock Rises on News of Firm’s VC Fund for AI Investments
8 hr 44 min ago
CoreWeave (CRWV) shares gained 4% in morning trading after the artificial intelligence (AI) cloud computing platform announced plans to support new AI efforts.
The Nvidia-backed company said it was starting CoreWeave Ventures to provide “investment resources, technical expertise, and compute” to help AI founders bring new ideas to the market more quickly.
The assistance will range “from direct capital investment and compute-for-equity transactions to technical collaboration and go-to-market opportunities.”
Co-founder and Chief Development Officer Brannin McBee explained CoreWeave Ventures is designed “to give other audacious, like-minded founders the support they need to drive technical advancements and bring to market the next class of innovation.”
-Bill McColl
Lachlan Murdoch Gets Control of Father’s Media Empire After Settlement
9 hr 11 min ago
Shares of News Corp (NWSA) and Fox (FOXA) declined after Rupert Murdoch’s media empire settled a yearslong family fight over which of the mogul’s children will control the Murdoch family trust.
News Corp announced that Murdoch’s oldest son, Lachlan, who is chair of News Corp and CEO of Fox Corp., will be in charge of the trust. Previously, Lachlan and siblings Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch had equal voting shares.
Under the new arrangement, Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch, and James Murdoch will give up their claim to the trust and receive new trusts paid for by the sale of some of the MFT’s stock holdings. In addition, new trusts will be created for Lachlan and the two children Rupert Murdoch had with Wendi Deng, Grace and Chloe Murdoch.
A holding company owned by Lachlan, Grace, and Chloe Murdoch will control all the shares that were in the Murdoch trust, which amounts to approximately 33.1% of News Corp’s Class B stock and 36.2% of Fox Class B stock.
The family had been feuding over the trust after Rupert Murdoch moved to amend the trust and put Lachlan in charge, a step the three older children opposed. The battle led to litigation in a Nevada court, which News Corp now explained was terminated following the settlement.
-Bill McColl
Nvidia-Backed Nebius Stock Soars 50% on $17.4B AI Deal With Microsoft
10 hr 6 min ago
Shares of Nebius Group (NBIS) soared 50% in early trading Tuesday after the artificial intelligence infrastructure company struck a deal with Microsoft that could be valued as much as $19.4 billion.
Microsoft agreed to pay the Nvidia-backed firm, which completed its split from Russian internet giant Yandex last year, $17.4 billion over five years to provide artificial intelligence infrastructure for a new data center in New Jersey.
Microsoft “may also acquire additional services and/or capacity” for another $2 billion under the agreement.
Founder and CEO Arkady Volozh said this was the first of what Nebius expects will be “significant long-term committed contracts with leading AI labs and big tech companies.”
-Bill McColl
Anglo American, Teck to Merge, Create $53B Copper Giant
12 hr 25 min ago
Anglo American and Canada’s Teck Resources have agreed to merge, creating a $53 billion copper giant at a time when electricity demand by data centers to feed the AI boom is soaring.
Anglo Teck, the name of the merged company, will “offer more than 70% copper exposure” and be headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, the companies said. Its primary listing will be London though it will also be traded in New York, Johannesburg, and Toronto.
Copper prices have risen by around 15% this year on the back of not just demand for electricity to power AI data centers but also to meet the power needs of the transition to renewable energy, including for electric vehicles. Prices for the metal commonly used in electrical wiring have come off record highs fueled by pre-tariff buying, however, after President Donald Trump’s 50% import levies on the metal kicked in at the start of August.
Shareholders of Anglo American will own around 62.4% of Anglo Teck while the Canadian firm’s shareholders will have roughly 37.6%. The companies said they expect the deal to be completed in around 12-18 months, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals, though the boards of both have green lit the deal.
-Nisha Gopalan
Major Index Futures Point to Slightly Higher Open
12 hr 58 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.1%.
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S&P 500 futures rose less than 0.1%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.1%.
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