S&P 500 Gains and Losses Today: NetApp and GM Rise; Hormel and Las Vegas Sands Fall

· Investopedia

Key Takeaways

  • The S&P 500 fell 0.1% on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, giving back early gains as enthusiasm around earnings, economic growth, and Fed policy faded in the last hour.
  • Shares of NetApp soared as cost-cutting moves helped the data storage firm beat forecasts for profit, sales, and full-year guidance.
  • Las Vegas Sands shares slumped as its biggest shareholder moved to sell $2 billion in stock to buy a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks.

U.S. equities gave up early gains in the last hour and ended mixed and little changed, with the S&P 500 falling 0.1%,

The markets had received a boost earlier in the session after reports of strong corporate earnings, rising gross domestic product (GDP), and anticipation of no more Federal Reserve rate hikes to bring down inflation.

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) shares dropped 4.9% when Miriam Adelson and family, the casino operator's largest shareholder, put $2 billion worth of stock up for sale so she could buy a majority stake in the NBA's Dallas Mavericks from billionaire Mark Cuban.

Hormel Foods (HRL) shares tumbled 4.6% after the maker of Spam and other processed foods posted profit and sales that were less than anticipated due to lower volumes and sales in its retail business and "softness" in China.

Shares of Cigna (CI) and Humana (HUM) lost 8.1% and 5.5%, respectively, on a report that the two health care firms were in merger talks.

NetApp (NTAP) shares skyrocketed 14.6% as the data storage company exceeded forecasts for quarterly profit and sales, as well as for its full-year outlook, following layoffs and other cost-cutting measures implemented this year.

General Motors (GM) shares rose 9.4% after the carmaker said that it would raise its dividend, buy back $10 billion worth of shares, and reduce spending.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) shares picked up 6.4% after the business information technology company's profit beat estimates. The firm noted that it was seeing "promising indicators" of demand for its key products, especially artificial intelligence (AI).

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