Key Takeaways
Major U.S. equities indexes ticked higher as investors weighed the implications of President-elect Donald Trump's promise to impose new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China.
In addition, the minutes from this month's Federal Reserve meeting revealed that policymakers foresee more interest-rate cuts ahead but intend to take a cautious approach and respond to any indications of persistent inflation.
The S&P 500 added 0.6% Tuesday. The Dow traded in negative territory for much of the day but gained ground in the afternoon to end 0.3% higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was up 0.6%.
Tuesday's top performance in the S&P 500 belonged to shares of electricity generator NRG Energy ( NRG ), which surged 10.1% after Jefferies upgraded the stock to "buy" from "hold" and lifted its price target. Analysts pointed to improved expectations for NRG's cross-selling opportunities. They also increased their estimates for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) as they accounted for the company's growth plans.
Shares of fellow power producer Constellation Energy ( CEG ) jumped 7.2% as the firm requested that U.S. regulators fast-track a review process to update rules related to connecting power plants directly with onsite data centers. The "co-location" of plants and data centers has been the subject of criticism, given potential risks to the reliability of surrounding power grids. Constellation, the largest operator of nuclear power plants in the U.S., said the unclear regulatory framework for co-location has impeded its plans to develop data centers adjacent to its power plant sites.
J.M. Smucker ( SJM ) shares jumped 5.7% after the food maker r eported better-than-expected quarterly profits and boosted its full-year guidance. The company said robust demand for packaged and frozen foods, as well as higher coffee prices, helped drive the strong performance. However, Smucker expects a slump in convenience store traffic to weigh on sales for Hostess, the snack cake brand it acquired roughly a year ago.
In government news Tuesday, the Biden administration recommended that
weight-loss drugs be covered
under Medicare and Medicaid. The proposed changes would make popular anti-obesity treatments accessible to millions of additional patients in the U.S. starting in 2026. While costs for government health care programs would increase, there is a growing consensus that obesity is a chronic health condition that causes other ailments like diabetes and heart disease. Shares of Eli Lilly (
LLY
), maker of blockbuster GLP-1 agonists Zepbound and Mounjaro, gained 4.6% on Tuesday.
Shares of Super Micro Computer ( SMCI ) fell 10.4%, giving back a portion of the huge gains posted by the stock since the server maker submitted a compliance plan last week to maintain its listing on the Nasdaq as it addresses accounting issues. Although the submission helped allay delisting concerns, Supermicro remains the subject of an investigation by the Department of Justice and faces uncertainties related to its ability to capitalize on AI opportunities.
General Motors (
GM
) shares skidded 9.0% following Trump's warning about levying a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico. GM has a significant manufacturing presence in both neighboring countries, but especially Mexico, where the automaker produces full-size pickup trucks. Shares of Chrysler parent Stellantis (
STLA
), which also has manufacturing facilities in Mexico, slipped 5.7%.
Biopharmaceutical firm Amgen (
AMGN
) released data from a Phase II clinical trial of its weight-loss treatment MariTide. Although the study showed that patients who received injections experienced an average 20% drop in weight after a year, this result matched only the lower end of expectations, raising questions about how MariTide stacks up against competing treatments. Amgen shares dropped 4.8%.