Nasdaq pops more than 1% for third straight winning day as tech rebounds from August slump: Live updates

Stocks closed higher on Tuesday, as a tech rally helped the S&P 500 notch its third-consecutive winning session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed more than 292 points, or 0.85%, to close at 34,852.67. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite added 1.74% to finish at 13,943.76, while the S&P 500 added 1.45% to close at 4,497.63.

— Brian Evans

The approach of Labor Day has been a benchmark employers have used in recent years to double down on efforts to coax employees back to the office. Indeed, in recent weeks, companies such as Meta and Amazon have reiterated their policies.

Three years after the pandemic started, the number of people working from home at least part of the week has stabilized at about 20% to 25%, Goldman Sachs chief economist Jan Hatzius wrote in a research note. While that’s down from its pandemic peak of 47%, it’s far above the average 2.6% rate prior to Covid.

Hatzius attributed the persistance of the trend to both structural (technology) and cyclical factors (a tight labor market). The firm found that for every 1 percentage point increase in the job-worker gap, there was a 0.3 percentage point increase in the number of remote job postings.

But the trend could swing the other way, it warned.

“This implies that further labor market rebalancing should reduce the share of remote job postings from 11.5% to 10.8% in the next 3 years,” Hatzius said.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

J.P. Morgan is removing Salesforce from its list of top stock picks after the stock’s AI-driven boom so far this year.

Although the firm still sees valuation upside, it views the company’s outperformance and other sluggish metrics as a potential near-term drag on the stock. The move comes before the Dow Jones Industrial Average member reports earnings after the bell Wednesday.

Shares are trading just below flat on Tuesday afternoon. The stock has gained more than 59% in 2023.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Pia Singh

NextEra fell 0.1% after Raymond James said its yield spread signals a buying opportunity.

The stock’s current yield of 7% is 290 basis points above the 10-year Treasury. That’s wider than the long-term median of 170 basis points. The only time the spread surpassed 300 basis points was during the initial stages of the pandemic.

“Having been on the sidelines year-to-date – and following most of 2022 with an Underperform rating – we are upgrading NEP from Market Perform to Outperform,” said analyst Pavel Molchanov. “This is an opportunistic rating change following the stock’s steepest sell-off since the early days of COVID.”

Molchanov also said the stock is “not priced for perfection.”

— Alex Harring

Biogen may be undervalued in its long-term sales potential, according to RBC Capital Markets, which is bullish on the company’s Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi.

Analyst Brian Abrahams raised his price target on Biogen by $3 to $357 on Tuesday. The firm’s new forecast suggests 34.7% upside for the Massachusetts-based biotech company.  

Shares are up 0.6% on Tuesday. The stock has declined 3.7% so far this year.

“Our analysis of prescription trends—which we believe may reasonably reflect unit demand—suggest Leqembi’s growth trajectory is remaining steep including in July following full approval/broad [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid] reimbursement,” Abrahams said. “We expect Leqembi will inflect further in the coming months with increased efficiencies in screening, formularies, and monitoring, and contribute meaningfully to BIIB’s top line over time.”

The firm expects Leqembi to attract $1.4 billion worth of sales in 2026, reaching $10.4 billion end-user sales by 2032. 

Leqembi was fully approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July, making it the first Alzheimer’s antibody treatment to receive full FDA approval and the first such drug to receive broad coverage through Medicare.

— Pia Singh

Telecommunication giants AT&T and Verizon are turning a corner that will make it easier for both companies to maintain their high dividend yields, according to Citi.

Shares of AT&T added 2.6% on Tuesday and Verizon gained 2.4%, after losing 20.8% and 12.8% so far this year, respectively.

“A variety of concerns have weighed on Telco sentiment and valuation, including competition, industry structure, higher rates and lead. We see a more constructive investment case for large-cap Telcos,” Analyst Michael Rollins wrote in a Monday note. “The wireless competitive environment is showing positive signs of stabilization that should help operating performance.”

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Pia Singh

All three major indices are trading above their respective 50-day moving averages on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 is above its 50-day moving average for the first time in nearly two weeks. If this pace is maintained, the S&P 500 could close above its 50-day moving average for the first time since August 14.

The Nasdaq Composite and Dow Jones Industrial Average meanwhile, are both trading above their 50-day moving averages for the first time since August 24.

— Brian Evans, Nick Wells

Apple just sent out invites for its September press event, where it’s expected to announce the iPhone 15 and new Apple Watches.

The new iPhone models, likely branded as the iPhone 15, are expected to use a USB-C charging port. Some of the new devices Apple debuts could be made out of titanium, according to reports.

Shares of Apple were up nearly 2% on the day.

— Yun Li, Kif Leswing

Shares of Ginkgo Bioworks surged more than 21% after the biotechnology company announced a five-year cloud and AI partnership with Google Cloud.

Through the deal, the company aims to create new AI tools for biology and biosecurity applications powered by Google Cloud’s Vertex AI platform.

Shares of parent-company Alphabet were last up more than 3%.

— Samantha Subin

The push for a spot bitcoin ETF took a big step forward on Tuesday when a court ruled against the Securities and Exchange Commission in a lawsuit with Grayscale.

The court decision does not automatically trigger the creation of a spot bitcoin ETF, but the lawsuit was seen as a key roadblock to such a fund.

Cryptocurrencies and related stocks soared following the ruling. Shares of Coinbase jumped 13%. The price of bitcoin rose 6%.

— Jesse Pound

The U.S. Dollar is up 0.5% against the Japanese Yen at 147.24, the highest level of the year. This marks the Dollar’s highest level against the Yen back to Nov. 7, 2022 when it traded as high as 147.56 against the yen.

The Nikkei is down -2.85% in August, on pace for the worst month of the year back to Dec. 2022, when the Nikkei lost -6.7%.

The Japan ETF (EWJ) is down almost -4.6% month to date, on pace for the first negative month in six. The decline has been led by Sysmex, Yamaha, Olympus and more, which have lost almost 20% or greater this month.

— Hakyung Kim, Gina Francolla

It’s time to start loading up on U.S. stocks and other risk assets, HSBC said.

“A key difference to a month ago is that our short-term sentiment and positioning index is now way off contrarian sell territory and much more neutral now,” Kettner said in a Tuesday note. “So we think this presents a pretty good tactical entry point into risk assets, above all into US equities.”

Notably, the analyst pointed out that the U.S. economy has largely gone from “strength to strength,” especially when compared to Europe and other parts of the world.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read the full story here.

— Sarah Min

Investors were jumping into stock funds last week as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite snapped three-week losing streaks, according to Bank of America.

“Clients were net buyers of US equities ($3.7B) for a fourth straight week. But clients bought ETFs and sold single stocks, opposite of the previous three weeks’ trend of stock inflows outpacing ETF inflows,” Bank of America strategist Jill Carey Hall said in a note to clients.

The inflows to equity ETFs is a notable change from earlier this month, when funds were enduring outflows.

The equity buying came from both retail and institution clients, and in both small caps and large caps, according to Bank of America. However, clients did sell mid-cap stocks.

— Jesse Pound

Economic data capturing the state of consumer confidence came in notably cooler than economists anticipated in August.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index came to 106.1 for August. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecasted a reading of 116.

That also marks a pullback from July, which was revised to 114.  Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, noted that August’s data erased the back-to-back increases seen in June and July.

“August’s disappointing headline number reflected dips in both the current conditions and expectations indexes,” she said. “Write-in responses showed that consumers were once again preoccupied with rising prices in general, and for groceries and gasoline in particular.”

— Alex Harring

The number of open job postings fell to 8.8 million in July from 9.5 million a month prior, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. That’s also the lowest level since March 2021.

The report points to more stability in the labor market and could provide clues on where the Federal Reserve might take its monetary policy outlook.

— Fred Imbert

Wall Street analysts are saying there weren’t many big surprises on a list of drugs that will be subject to Medicare price negotiations. Wells Fargo analyst Mohit Bansal said the most notable inclusions were Merck‘s Januvia, Johnson & Johnson’s Stelara and AstraZeneca’s Farxiga as well as insulins.

“Stelara [, a Crohn’s disease treatment,] and Farxiga [, a type 2 diabetes drug,] are big surprises as these 2 products may be facing generic/biosimilar competition ahead of 2026 discounts,” Bansal wrote, adding that the two drugs may ultimately be excluded from the final list.

The exclusion of Pfizer’s Xtandi is a “minor positive” for the company. The drug, which treats prostate cancer, had been expected to be included on the list.

The analyst added inclusion of Januvia shouldn’t be a big hit to Merck as the type 2 diabetes medication was expected to face generic challenge in May 2026 anyway.

At the moment, the stocks appear to be taking the news in stride, with only modest movement in premarket trading. That said, many of these stocks have logged declines for the year. Pfizer shares are down 29% year to date, while Bristol-Myers’ stock has shed 14% of its value over that time.

Bristol’s Eliquis, which protects against blood clotting, is on the list. It is one of several companies that has sued to blog implementation of the law.

—Christina Cheddar Berk

First Bancshares is now “an attractive combo of offense and defense,” according to Davidson.

Analyst Kevin Fitzsimmons upgraded the regional bank to buy. He maintained his price target at $34, which implies almost 19% upside from Monday’s close. 

Shares are still down more than 8% year to date following a sharp sell-off beginning in March. However, the stock has rallied 10.6% on the back of a better-than-expected second-quarter earnings report.

“The bank boasts solid defensive characteristics, including favorable comps vs. peers on funding and liquidity, while capital and credit quality remain solid,” Fitzsimmons said in a Tuesday note. “At the same time, FBMS seems incrementally upbeat on loan pipelines, and appears poised to continue demonstrating above-peer core profitability.

— Hakyung Kim

First Bancshares is now “an attractive combo of offense and defense,” according to Davidson.

Analyst Kevin Fitzsimmons upgraded the regional bank to buy. He maintained his price target at $34, which implies almost 19% upside from Monday’s close. 

Shares are still down more than 8% year to date following a sharp sell-off beginning in March. However, the stock has rallied 10.6% on the back of a better-than-expected second-quarter earnings report.

“The bank boasts solid defensive characteristics, including favorable comps vs. peers on funding and liquidity, while capital and credit quality remain solid,” Fitzsimmons said in a Tuesday note. “At the same time, FBMS seems incrementally upbeat on loan pipelines, and appears poised to continue demonstrating above-peer core profitability.

— Hakyung Kim

These are the companies making the biggest moves before the bell:

Read the full list of stocks moving before the bell here.

— Samantha Subin

Best Buy shares rose more than 1% in premarket trading Tuesday after it posted strong quarterly results.

The electronics retailer reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.22 for its fiscal second quarter on revenue of $9.58 billion, beating expectations of $1.06 on revenue of $9.52 billion.

The company also tempered expectations for the rest of the year, pointing to a lull in post-pandemic spending on home appliances, computer monitors and other electronics.

— Melissa Repko, Tanaya Macheel

Want some context on how tough August has been for stocks? Here’s a stat: Monday marked the first time all month that the S&P 500 posted consecutive gains. The broader market index climbed 0.6% on Monday after gaining nearly 0.7% during Friday’s session.

For the month, the S&P 500 is down 3.4% — on pace for its biggest one-month slide since December.

— Fred Imbert

U.S. Treasury yields declined on Tuesday as investors braced themselves for a series of key economic data releases due this week that will shed light on the latest developments around inflation and the labor market, and could inform the Federal Reserve’s next monetary policy moves.

At 4:30 am ET, the yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by more than two basis points to 4.1922%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last trading at 4.9979% after falling by over one basis point.

Yields and prices move in opposite directions and one basis point is equal to 0.01%.

— Sophie Kiderlin

European stocks made a positive start to Tuesday’s trade, tracking positive momentum around the world.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.6% in early trade, with mining stocks adding 1.7% to lead gains as all sectors and major bourses opened in positive territory.

– Elliot Smith

Toyota has halted operations in 12 assembly plants in Japan as a result of a system glitch, the world’s largest automaker said, according to Reuters.

While the cause of the problem has not been identified, it is most likely not from a cyberattack, Toyota’s spokesperson said.

Toyota‘s shares last traded 0.39% lower.

— Reuters, Lee Ying Shan

Tech and industrial stocks powered the Shenzhen Composite to become the best performing index in Asia on Tuesday, with the index up 2.16%.

Battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology, commonly known as CATL, was the best performing stock by index points in Shenzhen, gaining as much as 5.39%.

Other top performers also include electric vehicle maker BYD as well as distillery Luzhou Laojiao.

— Lim Hui Jie

Japan’s unemployment rate came in at 2.7% for July, higher than the 2.5% in June and also higher than the 2.5% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

The country’s jobs-to-applicants ratio fell from 1.3 in June to 1.29 in July to mark the third month of decrease, against economists’ forecast for the ratio to remain flat.

— Lim Hui Jie

Investors sitting in fixed income would do well to stay there, according to Newfleet Asset Management’s David Albrycht.

“We’re getting all-in yields we haven’t seen going back to the global financial crisis,” said Albrycht, the firm’s chief investment officer, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell.” Short-term Treasury yields jumped on Monday, with the rate on the 1-year note briefly touching 5.553% — its highest level dating back to Aug. 25, 2000.

“It’s a great time, if you’re not in fixed income, to be dollar cost averaging,” he said. “If you’re in fixed income, stay.”

Investors should also think about their reinvestment risk and their timing if they’re sitting in money market funds and certificates of deposit, Albrycht added. Indeed, the Crane 100 Money Fund Index has an annualized 7-day current yield of 5.15%.

 “It was the right move to get out of your bank account, your deposit account, but think about dollar cost averaging into fixed income, especially if the Fed can orchestrate a softer landing or a mild recession,” he said.

–Darla Mercado

With just three sessions left in the trading month, the major indexes remain on pace to end August with losses. Here’s where each stands:

— Alex Harring

Though the majority of earnings season is now in the rearview mirror, some stocks were moving after the bell following their reports.

Engine and aircraft part manufacturer HEICO slid 5.6% in extended trading. HEICO saw $723 million in revenue for the fiscal third quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $702 million from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

On the other hand, LifeVantage climbed 6.8% in after-hours trading. The wellness company earned 17 cents per share, excluding items, in its latest quarter. That is up from the 1 cent per share seen a year ago. Revenue came in at $54.2 million, above the $50.9 million a year ago. LifeVantage also declared a one-time special dividend of 40 cents.

Meanwhile, education stock Afya advanced 0.6% after the bell. The company reported higher adjusted net income, revenue and EBITDA than the same quarter a year prior. Afya also reaffirmed its full-year guidance.

— Alex Harring

Stock futures were little changed shortly after 6 p.m. ET.

Futures tied to the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 all traded near flat.

— Alex Harring