Wednesday, Sept 24, 2025
The market fell today as it reacted to Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech on Tuesday. In it, Powell focused on market uncertainty and underlined stagflation.
- All the major indices closed lower.
- The oil and energy sectors continue to rise and emerge as the markets’ best performers.
- Total debit and credit card spending per household has strengthened in the past few months.
The S&P 500 was down 0.3%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 0.3% lower, still reeling from Tuesday’s low in tech stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average also slipped 0.4%, along with the Russell 2000, which, after enjoying a 52-week high just yesterday, closed 0.9% lower today.
The oil and energy sectors continue to rise and emerge as the best performers. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) gained 1.3% on the session.
Gold prices finally dipped 1.5% after weeks of rallying to record highs, although analysts still broadly believe prices will continue climbing.
The action further strengthens Powell’s take that while the economy is resilient, it is unbalanced. Investors expect new cuts and lower mortgage rates even with these mixed signals.
A Bank of America report stated that total debit and credit card spending per household grew in the past few months. Adding to it was a reported surge in new house sales, which, however, was dismissed by economists as a fluke, Reuters reported.
Lithium Americas, a Canadian mining company, saw its stock soar 95.5%, and Tesla gained 4% due to analyst conviction. uniQure, a Netherlands-based gene therapy company, emerged as the top stock, gaining 247.8%.
Image source: Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Stocks with notable action
Five S&P 500 stocks making big moves today are:
- Xcel Energy Inc XEL: +6.7%
- Intel Corp INTC: +6.4%
- Centene Corp CNC: +5.8%
- Mosaic Co MOS: +4.3%
- CF Industries Holdings Inc CF: +5.7%
The worst-performing five S&P 500 stocks today are:
- Freeport-McMoRan Inc FCX: -16.9%
- Axon Enterprise Inc AXON: -10.2%
- KKR & Co Inc KKR: -6.3%
- Apollo Global Management APO: -5.3%
- Synopsys Inc SNPS: -4.5%
Stocks also worth noting include:
- Nvidia NVDA: -0.8%
- Micron MU: -2.8%
- Alibaba ADR BABA: +8.2%
- Opendoor Tech OPEN: +15.8%
- Baidu BIDU: +5.9%.
Advancements in gene therapy cause stock surge
uniQure (QURE) , a Gene therapy company, announced today that it had positive results from the Phase I/II study of its AMT-130, which is used to treat Huntington’s disease.
After this groundbreaking news, the company’s stock surged 247.8%, reaching a 52-week high.
More Economic Analysis:
- Fed official drops bold 3-word message
- JP Morgan sends strong recession message on Fed interest-rate cut
- Fed rate cut could boost your wallet, job, and portfolio
Sarah Tabrizi, director of the University College London Huntington’s Disease Center, said in a statement,
I believe these groundbreaking data are the most convincing in the field to date and underscore potential disease-modifying effects in Huntington’s disease, where an urgent need persists. These data indicate that AMT-130 has the potential to meaningfully slow disease progression – offering long-awaited hope to individuals and families impacted by this devastating disease.
Huntington’s is a neurodegenerative disease, mostly inherited, where nerve cells in the brain decay over time and impact the physical, cognitive and emotional abilities of an individual. It is incurable; however, this new data shows 75% disease slowing in three years of this gene therapy.
Related: Tesla enthusiasts take Elon Musk’s cross-country FSD challenge
Tesla’s stock tracks analyst sentiment
Tesla (TSLA) traded 4% higher today after investment firm Mizuho raised the firm’s price target to $450 from $375, keeping an Outperform rating.
Analysts saw the increased 17% year-over-year sales in US EV vehicles as a vote of confidence in the auto sector. It also stated that they saw minimal impact of tariffs on new vehicle prices.
Even UBS increased Tesla’s Q3 deliveries to 475,000 from its previous view of 431,000. However, as reported at The Fly, a decrease in Q4 deliveries is expected after the tax credit on electric vehicles expires.
Related: Stock Market Today: Stocks sink for second straight day
President Donald Trump shows interest in this Canadian company
Lithium Americas soared 95.5% after Reuters reported that the Trump administration is considering a 10% equity stake in this Canadian mining company.
This stake is part of a Thacker Pass Loan renegotiation, but JPMorgan sees it as overblown “amid unanswered questions such as what, if any, revised offtake agreement(s) could look like.” It is also challenging to fairly value a 10% government stake with such uncertainty, as TheFly reports.
Meanwhile, Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander also lowered the firm’s price target to $7 from $8, keeping a Buy rating.
Related: Italian chain closes most restaurants in Chapter 11 bankruptcy
#Top #Stocks #today #uniQure #Lithium #Americas #Tesla #soar