Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday

Advancers

• Kellanova (K) shares soared 7.8%, outperforming the other stocks in the S&P 500, after candymaker Mars 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:announced an agreement to acquire the snack company. Home to well-known brands like Cheez-It crackers and Eggo waffles, Kellanova separated from cereal giant WK Kellogg (KLG) in October 2023. The purchase would mark the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:biggest M&A deal this year and the largest transaction in the food industry since Heinz bought Kraft Foods in 2015, according to Dealogic.
• Property and casualty insurer Progressive (PGR) posted strong figures in an update on its performance last month, and its shares popped 5.4% to reach a record high. Companywide insurance lines were up 11% year over year in July, while total personal auto lines increased 12% from a year ago. A report from Zacks Equities Research published Wednesday highlighted Progressive's potential as a momentum stock, pointing to a steady string of recent gains.
• Shares of fellow insurer Allstate (ALL) added 5.2% after the firm announced the sale of its employer voluntary benefits business to StanCorp Financial Group (The Standard) in a $2 billion transaction. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2025.

Decliners

• Shares of Albemarle (ALB), the world's largest lithium producer, turned in the weakest performance in the S&P 500 for the second day this week. Wednesday's loss of 5.7% followed an even steeper drop on Monday and a relatively flat Tuesday. The stock has been under pressure as 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:declining lithium prices, driven by lower demand for electric vehicles, hinder the profitability of Albemarle's business. The company's CEO recently called on governments around the world to work on limiting China's dominance in the lithium industry.
• Etsy (ETSY) shares slipped 4.7%, extending losses posted earlier in the week when analysts at Loop Capital lowered their price target and reiterated their "sell" rating on the stock. The online crafts marketplace faces challenges related to shifting e-commerce trends, and it reported a year-over-year decline in gross merchandise sales for the second quarter. Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has taken 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:a sizable stake in Etsy and earlier this year appointed a partner to the company's board.
• Shares of Tesla (TSLA) fell 3.1% on Wednesday, giving back a portion of the strong gains posted in the previous session. The EV maker's stock has been trending downward since the company reported a significant year-over-year decline in profits in its 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:second-quarter results released last month.
  

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Michael Bromberg

Schwab Reports Gains in Client Assets, Brokerage Accounts

Charles Schwab (SCHW) shares surged on Wednesday after the provider of brokerage, banking, and other financial services 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:reported healthy gains in client assets and new brokerage accounts during July.

According to Schwab's latest Monthly Activity Report, core net new assets coming into the company reached $29.0 billion in July, more than doubling the asset-gathering total from the same month a year ago. These figures include assets brought in by new as well as existing Schwab clients.

The uptick in new assets helped Schwab achieve gains in total client assets as well, which came in at $9.57 trillion as of the end of July, up 16% from a year earlier. Schwab added 327,000 new brokerage accꦆounts last month, an 8% year-on-year increase.

In addition to the solid monthly growth figures, Schwab launched its first 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:actively managed fixed-income 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:exchange-traded fund (ETF) this week. The Schwab Ultra-Short Income ETF (SCUS), which began trading on Tuesday, invests in sꦬhort-term, investment-grade debt securities.

Schwab shares were among the top gainers on the S♈&P 500 Wednesday, rising 4.6% to close at $65.36. The stock remains well down from its 52-week high of just under $80 recorded in May.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Michael Bromberg

Allstate Sells Employer Voluntary Benefits Unit; Stock Jumps

Allstate (ALL) shares reached an all-time high Wednesday after 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:the insurance provider announced it sold its Employer Voluntary Benefits business to 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:privately owned Stan⭕Corp Financial Group, also known as The Standard, for $𝔉2 billion.

The insurer said Tuesday that the move was the first step in its plan to enable its three Allstate Health & Benefits insurance units—Employee Voluntary Benefits, Individual Health, and Group Health—to "realize their full growth potential by combining them with companies that have additional capabilities."

CEO Tom Wilson said that Allstate was continuing discussions to sell off the Individual Health and Group Health segments, which "are expected to achieve the same success." CFO Jess Merten said that Allstate believes the agreement with StanCorp will "generate a gain of about $600 million and increase deployable capital by $1.6 billion."

Allstate was among the top gainers on the🎃 S&P 500 Wednesday, rising 5.2% to an allꦺ-time high.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Bill McColl

Should Investors Buy the Chipotle Dip?

The 7.5% fall Chipotle (CMG) 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:shares took Tuesday following the news that CEO Brian Niccol will 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:leave for the top job at Starbucks (SBUX) puts the stock in a good position for investor🦩s to buy, according to analysts.

Wedbush analysts upgraded the stock and lifted their price target to $58 from $54 for Chipotle Wednesday, citing the chain's "compelling growth drivers." Meanwhile, analysts from Raymond James and Baird 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:said Tuesday that the news provides a near-term negative for the stock, but an executive shakeup doesn't change existing growth factors like 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:sales momentum that have lifted 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:recent earnings reports.

"While we await further details on who will be permanent CEO, this pullback could create an attractive buying opportunity as we believe the company’s strong sales momentum (positive traffic), operations (throughput, automation), and long-term unit growth opportunity remains firmly intact," Raymond James analyst Brian Vaccaro wrote.

The chain still has an experienced executive team in place after Niccol departs, and is poised to "sustain market share gains in a more challenging macro backdrop for restaurants," Wedbush analysts wrote.

Chipotle has been able to weather the recent pullback on restaurant spending thanks to a strong value proposition compared to some of its fast food competitors, analysts have said in recent months. Strong sales have helped Chipotle withstand the industry's recent 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:pivot to emphasizing value.

Chipotle shares were♍ down 0.4% at $51.50 in recent tr𒁃ading.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Aaron McDade

Annual Inflation Slips to Lowest Level Since 2021

Consumer price data released Wednesday provided the latest indication that the Federal Reserve's policy of high interest rates is working, albeit slowly, to bring inflation down to the central bank's target of 2% annually.

🐎 The latest data followed another encouraging report Tuesday on producer prices, reinforcing the idea that the Fed will start cutting its benchmark fed funds rate at the next policy meeting, in September.

The question that's on the mind of most investors and economists is: how deep will the cut be? The rate is currently at a range of 5.25% to 5.50%, its highest level since 2001, and concerns have risen in the past several weeks that failure to cut rates aggressively could spur a significant weakening of the economy.

Traders are pricing in about a 42% chance the Fed wi🐈ll cut the benchmark rate by half a point in September, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data. At the beginning of last week, after a worse-than-expected jobs report for July spurre💯d fears of a recession, traders were pricing in a near-100% chance that the Fed would make a half-point cut.

Could the DOJ Break Up Google

The Department of Justice is reportedly considering breaking up Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) following a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:federal court's decision that the tech giant maintains an illegal monopoly over the search market, though analysts saidꦕ it's an unlikely outcoꦇme.

Some of the other options the DOJ is considering include making Google share more data with rivals, and other measures to avoid giving Google an unfair edge over competitors, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous 🉐sources clos💯e to the matter.

Breaking up Google would be "a stretch," Wedbush analysts said, adding the case could potentially be tied up in the court system for years before reaching a final outcome. Google has already 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:said it plans to appeal the ruling.

The analysts said that if Google's appeal is unsuccessful, the most likely outcomes could include fines, forced changes in Google's distribution agreements with Apple (AAPL) and others to offer Google as the default search option. This could benefit competitors like Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing or OpenAI's recently announced 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:SearchGPT, and a🐽ffect companies involved in the distribution agreements 🧔like Apple.

Alphabet shares were down 3% recently and were among the big decliners 𒊎on the S&P 500.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Naomi Buchanan

Starbucks Slumps After Tuesday's CEO Change-Fueled Surge

Starbucks  (SBUX) shares were among the main decliners on the S&P 500 early Wednesday after surging 25% yesterday on news it had appointed Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) CEO 🍨Brian Niccol as its ꧅new chief executive.

The company's share price has confirmed a double bottom, a chart pattern that signals a reversal from a prior down move to a new uptrend. 

Despite the bullish technicals, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:relative strength index, indicates overbought conditiಞons, with a reading above the ꦚ70 threshold, increasing the chances for short-term profit-taking.

Starbucks 🀅shares may find support around $90 aꦐnd $83, but encounter resistance near $98 and $107.50.

ꦛ The stock was down 3.5🃏% at $92.56 in recent trading.

Read the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:full technical analysis here.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Timothy Smith

Kellanova Shares Surge on $36 Billion Deal With Mars

Candy giant Mars has agreed to acquire Pop-Tarts and Pringles maker Kellanova (K) for $83.50 per share, or a total enterprise value of $35.9 billion, in🍌 what would be the biggest ♊M&A transaction this year.

The purchase by Mars, which makes M&M's and Skittles, was earlier reported to be imminent by The Wall Street Journal, which along with Reuters flagged the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:potential transaction earlier this month.

According to data provider Dealogic, it would be the biggest M&A transaction this year and the largest deal in the food space since 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Heinz acquired Kraft Foods in 2015.

News of the deal sent Kellanova's shares up more than 7% in premarket trading.

-澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Nisha Gopalan

Stock Futures Linked to Major Indexes Little Changed

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Avera💦ge were down l🔥ess than 0.1%.

S&P 500 futures were up less than 0.1%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were up less than 0.1%.