Key Takeaways
Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed on Tuesday after the latest Producer Price Index (PPI) data showed a lighter-than-expected uptick in wholesale prices for December. The soft PPI report helped alleviate some concerns about the stickiness of inflation heading into Wednesday morning's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report.
The S&P 500 was volatile during the session, fluctuating above and below its opening level before closing with a minimal 0.1% gain. The Dow jumped 0.5%, boosted by outperformance from several of its industrial components, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.2%.
Among top S&P 500 gainers Tuesday, construction and industrial equipment provider United Rentals (
URI
) inked a $4.8 billion deal to acquire fellow heavy-duty equipment rental company H&E Equipment Services (
HEES
). United Rentals said the planned
acquisition
reflects its strategy to grow its core business, with H&E's assets boosting its capacity in key U.S. markets. United Rentals shares added 5.9%, notching the strongest gains of any S&P 500 stock on Tuesday, while
H&E shares skyrocketed
, more than doubling in value.
Shares of industrial chemical manufacturer Celanese ( CE ) jumped 5.4% after Bank of America upgraded its view on the stock to "buy" from "underperform." Analysts attributed the double upgrade to the stock's enticing valuation and expectations for an improvement in the acetyls market. In addition to anticipating a recovery in demand for Celanese's products, especially in India, the BofA team noted strong free cash flow should help the chemical maker address debt leverage issues.
Fresh off massive 2024 gains of more than 250% that made the electricity generator's stock one of the year's top S&P 500 performers, Vistra ( VST ) shares added 5.2% on Tuesday. On Monday, Zacks Equities Research highlighted Vistra stock as its "bull of the day," reiterating the utility's opportunity to meet high levels of energy demand from artificial intelligence data centers and noting that consensus estimates suggest that Vistra's already-impressive earnings growth trajectory could accelerate this year.
A positive update from Bank of America also helped lift GE Vernova (
GEV
) stock, which gained 4.2% Tuesday. BofA analysts boosted their
price target
on shares of the energy equipment firm, which
separated from General Electric
last year. This reflects a positive view of GE Vernova's position in the gas turbine market, which has benefited from strong pricing trends in recent years.
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly ( LLY ) reduced its full-year revenue outlook, indicating that demand for its diabetes and weight-loss treatments Mounjaro and Zepbound could fall short of elevated expectations. The company has been investing heavily to ramp up manufacturing capacity as it aims to meet surging demand for blockbuster drugs. Eli Lilly shares tumbled 6.6%, losing the most of any S&P 500 stock for the day.
Shares of Charles River Laboratories ( CRL ) sank 6.3% after the preclinical and clinical medical research firm issued underwhelming preliminary earnings guidance for 2025. Charles River said it expects full-year organic revenue to decline at a similar pace as last year, forecasting stable to slightly improving demand from biotechnology companies but limited demand from large pharmaceutical firms. In the wake of the updated forecasts, analysts at JPMorgan and Bank of America reiterated their "neutral" ratings on Charles River stock.
Las Vegas Sands ( LVS ) shares dropped about 4% after Morgan Stanley downgraded the casino operator's stock to "equal weight" and trimmed its price target. Analysts cited a deceleration of customer growth trends in Singapore and more limited expectations for economic growth in China as factors that could weigh on the resort and gaming company's performance.
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