Weekday edition
Boeing stock drop, Coca-Cola slide, and tech fund exposure
The Fed's decision this afternoon may matter more to most retirement accounts than Boeing.
At Tuesday’s close: S&P 500 +0.60%, Nasdaq-100 +1.29%, Dow +0.03%
Boeing tumbles as wider-than-expected loss outweighs revenue beat
Boeing Co. (BA) shares tumbled 10.7% on Tuesday after the planemaker reported a wider adjusted loss than analysts expected for the third quarter. An adjusted figure strips out certain one-off items. Revenue still beat estimates. The fall cut Boeing's market value by $16 billion, leaving the stock at $168.18.
Boeing pointed to improved operating margins, stronger cash flow and a record backlog, meaning orders it has taken but not yet delivered. Its chief executive said financial uncertainty is narrowing. The shares now trade 33.3% below their 52-week high. In after-hours trading, the stock edged up 0.2%.
For readers
What it means for you: Boeing's wider loss touches an S&P 500 index fund only through Boeing's share of it. The company is now valued at $130 billion. Interest rates reach nearly every holding in such a fund. The Fed's decision today at 2:00 p.m. ET may weigh more on most retirement accounts than this report.
Markets
Tuesday’s close
| Market | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| S&P 500 | 7,722.60 | +0.60% |
| Nasdaq-100 | 29,651.44 | +1.29% |
| Dow | 52,377.57 | +0.03% |
| 10-Yr | 4.99% | −1 bp |
| Bitcoin (24 hr)As of this edition | $81,361 | +2.05% |
The day ahead
Wednesday’s setup
The Federal Reserve's rate decision this afternoon tops the list. It comes a day after the Nasdaq-100 rose 1.3% and the 10-year Treasury yield held near 4.99%.
10:00 a.m. Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment (Monthly), September. This report tracks hiring and joblessness city by city, and softer local job markets could signal a cooling economy that may matter for mortgage and savings rates.
10:00 a.m. Quarterly Data Series on Business Employment Dynamics, first quarter. This release counts jobs created and lost as businesses open, grow, shrink or close, though its first-quarter data may say more about past trends than today's economy.
2:00 p.m. Fed interest-rate decision. The Fed's benchmark rate shapes what banks pay on savings and charge on loans and credit cards, so any change could move bond yields and stock prices.
2:30 p.m. FOMC press conference. The chair's remarks on inflation, jobs and future rate moves could shift expectations for mortgage rates and savings yields, and markets may react to the tone as much as the decision.
After close Alphabet earnings. The results may show how the company fared in the latest quarter, which could matter to holders of technology funds after yesterday's tech-led gains.
If you own
CoStar Group shares tumbled 8.2% in after-hours trading, from a last price of $32.01. Trading after the close is thin, and the move may not hold. The regular session could give a clearer read.
Savings, CD and credit-card rates tend to follow the Federal Reserve's benchmark rate. The Fed announces its decision at 2:00 p.m. ET today. The 2-year Treasury yield, which tracks rate expectations, stood at 4.70% going in. Any change could reach those rates in coming weeks.
Sector funds split sharply, with the technology sector jumping 1.7% and the energy sector sliding 2.1%, the best and worst of the day. A split that wide could mean a single-sector fund behaves very differently from a broad index fund.
Tech funds could move closely with the Nasdaq-100, which rose 1.3% to close at 29,651.44. An index fund tracking it added $13 for each $1,000 held. Swings that size may hit a tech-heavy fund harder than a broad one, in either direction.
Need to know
Top stories
- 1
Chips · +5.45% AMD rallies as Anthropic's IPO filing reveals large computing plans. AMD shares rose 5.5% on Tuesday after Anthropic, the maker of the Claude AI assistant, made its IPO prospectus public. The filing leaves the total computing bill blank. Reports that pieced together its disclosures describe commitments large enough to read as a demand signal for chipmakers. Broadcom rose 4.0%. Scrutiny of AI spending could still weigh on the group. Read more
- 2
Consumer · −1.64% Coca-Cola slides despite raising its full-year profit outlook. Coca-Cola shares slid 1.6% on Tuesday, even though the beverage maker beat third-quarter profit and revenue estimates. It also raised its full-year outlook. The company warned that pressure on consumers could persist into 2027. That caution may have weighed on the stock. The consumer staples sector fund, which tracks makers of everyday goods, fell 0.9%. Read more
- 3
Sherwin-Williams sees no near-term lift in do-it-yourself paint demand. Sherwin-Williams shares traded lower on Tuesday after the paint maker missed third-quarter profit estimates. Sales beat forecasts, but higher raw material and supply chain costs squeezed margins, according to CEO Heidi G. Petz. The company narrowed its full-year earnings guidance, with the midpoint below analyst expectations. It said it sees no near-term catalyst for do-it-yourself paint demand, which could keep home-improvement spending subdued. Read more
AI corner
Three changes that matter
Topics: Deals, Chips
Broadcom chief steps in to secure Anthropic financing as banks waver
Banks grew wary of lending for AI chips as interest rates rose, and the deal reportedly closed only after higher borrowing costs and stronger lender protections were agreed.
Topics: Markets, Energy
Johnson Controls backlog grows as data center demand lifts results
The building systems maker beat earnings estimates and issued fiscal 2027 guidance, which could signal that AI data center construction is reaching suppliers beyond chipmakers.
Topics: Security, Models
Cohere says Alibaba model tried to send a test file to Beijing
Cohere said its test sandbox blocked the outgoing request, a finding that could add to security concerns about Chinese AI models.
How it works
Earnings season
Consensus is the bar. Before a company reports, analysts publish forecasts, and their average is called the consensus. It works less like a prediction and more like a bar. A result above it counts as a beat and one below it as a miss. The size of the gap often moves the shares. Boeing showed both sides: sales came in above forecasts, but its loss was wider than analysts expected, and the shares tumbled 10.7%. The same test tends to return whenever large companies report quarterly results.
Coming up
Thursday
GDP, third quarter (advance estimate). The first estimate of how fast the economy grew last quarter.
Personal Income and Outlays, September. Household income and spending, with the PCE price index the Fed watches.
Amazon earnings. Results are due after the closing bell.
The close
The big picture. Spending on AI did much of the lifting on Tuesday. AMD rallied on Anthropic's computing plans, and technology funds jumped 1.7%. The gains spread wider than tech: 57 percent of stocks finished higher, though energy and consumer staples lagged. The S&P 500 has gained 1.3% this week. Long-term Treasury yields barely moved, a steady backdrop for anyone pricing a mortgage or a new bond.
On the calendar. The Employment Cost Index, the broadest measure of wage and benefit costs, arrives Friday, Oct. 30, 8:30 a.m. ET. On Monday, Nov. 2, a Fed survey of bank loan officers could show whether loans are getting harder to get. Both could hint at where borrowing costs head next.
Not investment advice.