Midday Fly By: Apple, Amazon upbeat reports lift Nasdaq

The major averages were mostly higher as strong quarterly reports from tech giants Amazon and Apple spurred traders’ confidence in artificical intelligence. Technology and AI-linked stocks appear to be leading this session, with investor attention turning to how the recent surge in cloud revenue and holiday forecasts will translate into 2026 earnings growth.

At the same time, macro and geopolitical headwinds are still casting shadows. While a trade truce between the U.S. and China is viewed as a positive, China’s weak manufacturing data and a strengthening U.S. dollar are dampening parts of the global equity rally. Additionally, the U.S. government shutdown is on the verge of hitting the one-month mark.

Looking to commodities, gold prices were marginally higher, with the “safe-haven” asset remaining above $4,000. Oil prices were also higher near noon.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• Apple (AAPL) reported better-than-expected Q4 results and provided upbeat Q1 revenue guidance
• Amazon (AMZN) reported upbeat Q3 earnings and revenue including an acceleration in growth in its AWS cloud unit
• Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) both reported better-than-expected Q3 results
• Reddit (RDDT) reported upbeat Q3 results and CEO Steve Huffman said he was happy with execution across the board
• Colgate-Palmolive (CL) reported better-than-expected Q3 results and reiterated its FY25 EPS outlook

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Jefferies (AAPL) to Hold from Underperform
• Goldman Sachs upgraded Roblox (RBLX) to Buy from Neutral following the Q3 report
• Meanwhile, Roblox was downgraded at Benchmark, which noted margin pressure through FY26
• Comcast (CMCSA) downgraded to Neutral at Seaport, here’s why
• Erste Group downgraded Netflix (NFLX) to Hold from Buy

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• Aquarian Holdings is in advanced talks to take Brighthouse Financial (BHF) private in a $4B deal that could be announced as soon as this weekend, FT reports
• Ford (F) intends to invest roughly $370M in Indian to build new engines as the U.S. car maker restarts a factory it shut down four years ago, Bloomberg reports
• Disney (DIS) channels have been removed from Google’s (GOOGL) YouTube TV platform after the companies failed to reach a new distribution agreement, WSJ says
• Pfizer (PFE) could use its connections within President Donald Trump’s administration to try to best Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) rival bid to acquire U.S. obesity biotech firm Metsera (MTSR), Reuters reports
• Palantir (PLTR) has filed a lawsuit against former employees Radha Jain and Joanna Cohen, alleging they stole confidential data to build a rival AI firm, Percepta, WSJ reports

4. MOVERS:

• AXT Inc. (AXTI) and Adrelyx (ARDX) gain after reporting quarterly results
• Getty Images (GETY) higher after entering a multi-year licensing agreement with Perplexity
• Butterfly Network (BFLY) increases after reporting Q3 results and reaffirming its guidance for FY25
• Savers Value Village (SVV) and Newell Brands (NWL) fall after reporting quarterly results
• SPS Commerce (SPSC) lower after reporting Q3 results, with revenue missing consensus

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• AbbVie (ABBV) reported Q3 results, increased its guidance for FY25, and raised its quarterly dividend
• Coinbase (COIN) reported Q3 results, with the company commenting, “Q3 was a strong quarter for Coinbase”
• Standard Motor (SMP) reported Q3 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• Grainger (GWW) reported Q3 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• CN (CNI) reported Q3 results and provided guidance for FY25

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was down 0.03%, or 14.12, to 47,508.00, the Nasdaq was up 0.83%, or 194.97, to 23,776.12, and the S&P 500 was up 0.32%, or 21.77, to 6,844.11.