Oracle Shares Surge After Strong Earnings

Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed ahead of Tuesday evening’s presidential debate and Wednesday morning’s release of key inflation data that could factor into the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision on interest rate policy.

The S&P 500 advanced 0.5% in Tuesday’s session, continuing to claw back some of the prior week’s heavy losses, while the Nasdaq added 0.8%. The Dow closed the day 0.2% lower, as weakness from components in the financial, industrial, and energy sectors weighed on the blue-chip index. 

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares suffered the steepest daily loss of any stock in the S&P 500 on Tuesday, plunging 8.5% as the provider of enterprise technology solutions announced an offering of 27 million shares of mandatory convertible preferred stock for $1.5 billion. The firm plans to use the proceeds to cover fees and expenses related to acquiring networking equipment maker Juniper Networks (JNPR).

General Motors (GM) shares lost 5.4% after Wells Fargo trimmed its price target on the carmaker’s stock. Analysts predicted that vehicle production for the “Big Three” Detroit automakers will drop around 2% in 2025 compared with this year’s levels, noting the auto industry faces challenges related to pricing, regulations, and the transition to electric vehicles (EVs).

Automotive technology provider Aptive (APTV) said it will redeem its senior notes due in 2025 and issue $2.15 billion in new debt securities with maturities in 2029, 2034, and 2054. Following the plans to extend and diversify its debts, Aptiv shares fell 5.4%.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) dropped 5.2% after the banking giant’s chief operating officer (COO) warned its 2025 net interest income estimates could be overblown. With the Federal Reserve widely expected to begin a cycle of interest-rate cuts starting at its meeting next week, the capacity of banks to grow their interest income could come under pressure. The cautionary tone from the country’s largest bank sent ripples through the sector, with other financial stocks losing ground.

Oracle (ORCL) shares soared 11.4%, securing the top performance in the S&P 500, following the software giant’s fiscal first-quarter earnings report. Increasing cloud services revenue contributed to the strong results, and Oracle reported a surge in demand for training cloud-based AI large language models. The company also launched a new partnership with Amazon (AMZN) that it expects to drive additional cloud-related growth.

Shares of Broadcom (AVGO) gained 5.3% on Tuesday. The stock posted heavy losses last week after the chipmaker posted a quarterly loss and issued lower-than-expected sales guidance. However, following an Apple (AAPL) event on Monday where the tech giant introduced its new mobile and wearable products, analysts indicated that Broadcom is well positioned to benefit as a key component supplier, particularly for the forthcoming iPhone 16 lineup.

Digital Realty Trust (DLR) shares were up 5.0% after the data center-focused real estate investment trust (REIT) announced an offering of euro-denominated guaranteed notes. The firm plans to allocate the proceeds from the offering to environmentally sustainable projects, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable water management.