Stock market today: Live updates

Institutional clients were net buyers of U.S. equities last week, while hedge funds and retail clients were net sellers, according to Bank of America.

Additionally, strategist Jill Carey Hall outlined that small-cap exchange-traded funds saw record inflows.

“Small cap ETF momentum continued, with inflows in 22 of the 23 past weeks, and largest weekly inflow in our data history since ’17 (mainly Retail-driven buying). Despite more positive sentiment, positioning in small caps remains light and valuations remain inexpensive vs. history,” she wrote.

Sector-wise, communications services led last week’s inflows, while health care and tech stocks saw the biggest outflows.

“The last three weeks have been the three biggest weeks of Comm. Svcs. net buying in the history of the sector since ’18. The sector also has the longest recent buying streak of any sector (16 weeks),” Hall added.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Nvidia’s earnings report on Wednesday evening is likely to be a key factor in whether the momentum trend that has pushed stocks to new highs can continue, according to Wolfe Research.

Strategist Chris Senyek said in a note to clients that the momentum trade is showing signs of weakening during the recent hiccup for stocks but that it was still too soon to call for a bigger reversal. Momentum is a trading factor that can serve as a bet that hot stocks will keep leading the market higher.

“While there could be some more near-term downside, we believe that the key event to derail the Momentum trade will be indications that AI demand and Tech fundamentals broadly are starting to soften. Along this vein, NVDA’s report tonight has the potential to be a major market moving event — both to the upside and the downside,” Senyek said.

— Jesse Pound, Michael Bloom

These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Tech earnings should continue to support an already impressive earnings season, according to Barclays.

“U.S. tech exceptionalism has remained a massive theme, and should be underlined by Nvidia earnings this week…margin expansion for the second straight quarter is all about U.S. mega-cap tech firms,” analyst Ajay Rajadhyaksha wrote in a Tuesday note. “In sum, we believe that much of the equity rally is justified based on better earnings, and so is less vulnerable to a pullback.”

Earnings per share growth year-over-year in the U.S. was 5%, higher than in Europe, Rajadhyaksha pointed out. Nearly four-fifths of the broader market have beaten on EPS expectations, while 68% have beaten on sales, he said.

Nvidia, which is expected to post earnings after the bell on Wednesday, has been the crown jewel of the market since last year amid the excitement around advancements in AI, which also boosted shares of ‘Magnificent 7’ tech peers such as Meta and Amazon. Investors are eyeing the chipmaker’s results to gauge how far the stock can rally.

— Pia Singh

Teladoc shares dropped more than 20% before the bell on Wednesday, the morning after the online health-care company posted worse-than-expected revenue and guidance.

The company reported $661 million in revenue, below the $671 million forecast of analysts polled by LSEG. However, Teladoc saw a loss of 17 cents per share, smaller than the 21-cent figure anticipated by analysts surveyed.

For the current quarter, Teladoc guided revenue between $630 million to $645 million. That’s lower than the estimate of $673 million from analysts, per LSEG.

Teladoc shares have dropped almost 5% so far in 2024, underperforming the broader market.

— Alex Harring

SolarEdge shares dropped 20% in the premarket after the company posted mixed quarterly results. The solar inverter maker posted fourth-quarter revenue of $316 million, less than an LSEG estimate of $354 million. It also reported a smaller-than-expected loss for the quarter.

However, first-quarter revenue guidance came in well below analyst expectations.

— Fred Imbert

Check out the companies making headlines after the bell.

Palo Alto Networks – Shares declined nearly 19% after the cybersecurity company’s full-year guidance missed expectations. Palo Alto Networks said it predicts full-year revenue growth of 15% to 16%, down from earlier guidance of 18% to 19% growth. The company also reduced its full-year billings forecast. Meanwhile, adjusted earnings and revenue in the fiscal second quarter topped analysts’ estimates.

Diamondback Energy — Shares gained 1.6% after the energy company beat on both top- and bottom-lines in the fourth quarter. Diamondback posted adjusted earnings of $4.74 per share on $2.23 billion in revenue. Analysts polled by LSEG had forecasted $4.66 in earnings per share on revenue of $2.17 billion. 

Caesars Entertainment — The hotel and resorts stock lost more than 1% after posting a revenue miss in the prior quarter. Caesars reported $2.83 billion in revenue while analysts had estimated $2.85 billion, according to LSEG. 

— Hakyung Kim