Major U.S. equity indexes were mixed on the final day of the trading week, with financial headlines dominated by the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.
The S&P 500 fell 0.2% on Friday, a day after hitting an all-time low in the wake of the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates. After wobbly for most of the session, the Dow rallied in the afternoon and closed up less than 0.1 percent, notching its second consecutive record high. The Nasdaq ended Friday’s session down 0.4 percent.
Shares of FedEx ( FDX ) fell 15.2%, the steepest decline of any S&P 500 stock, after the package delivery company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results and its full year. Trimmed the predictions. The company specifically cited soft demand trends in US markets. After the earnings release, analysts at investment bank Jefferies lowered their price target on FedEx stock.
Lennar ( LEN ) topped sales and profit estimates with its fiscal third-quarter results, but the homebuilder’s shares fell 5.4% after it forecast its gross margin on home sales from the quarter. will be more flat. Friday’s downdraft reversed gains posted by Lennar stock in the previous session after the Fed’s rate cut announcement.
Shares of Old Dominion Freight Line ( ODFL ) also gave back gains made after the Fed decision, falling 5.2% on Friday. The less-than-truckload (LTL) freight company is navigating a number of headwinds, pressures on shipment volumes and rates amid soft freight demand, rising capital costs and a driver shortage.
Electric utility Constellation Energy ( CEG ) announced plans to restart operations at the Three Mile Island Unit 1 nuclear plant in Pennsylvania to provide environmentally friendly energy for Microsoft ( MSFT ) data centers. Constellation said it has signed a 20-year deal with the software company to build the Crane Clean Energy Center, which will generate carbon-free electricity to power Microsoft’s data centers on the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland power transmission system. will be done Shares of Constellation Energy rose 22.3 percent on Friday, outpacing the S&P 500’s top performance.
Nakshatra’s announcement also helped lift shares of other power generators, including power utility Vistra ( VST ), which rose 16.6 percent. Vistra also announced that it will acquire the remaining 15 percent stake it does not currently hold in its subsidiary Vistra Vision, which includes nuclear, solar and energy storage assets. Meanwhile, shares of Texas-based power generator NRG Energy ( NRG ) rose 6.4 percent.
Shares of CrowdStrike Holdings ( CRWD ) rose 8.1% after positive comments from analysts at Citigroup. The cyber security firm drew negative attention in July when a flaw in its security software led to massive technology outages around the world. However, analysts praised the transparency of the company’s management team following the incident. Citi also pointed to CrowdStrike’s success in limiting customers and keeping prices down.
Mixed Day for Major U.S. Indexes: FedEx Struggles While Constellation Energy Soars
On the last trading day of the week, major U.S. equity indexes showed mixed results, influenced heavily by the Federal Reserve’s recent policy meeting. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2% after reaching an all-time low due to the Fed’s interest rate cut. The Dow Jones managed to close up slightly, marking its second straight record high, while the Nasdaq fell by 0.4%.
FedEx (FDX) faced the biggest drop, plummeting 15.2% after it reported disappointing quarterly results and lowered its annual forecasts. The company pointed to weak demand trends in the U.S., prompting analysts at Jefferies to reduce their price target for FedEx stock.
In contrast, Constellation Energy (CEG) saw a significant gain of 22.3% after announcing plans to restart operations at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. This initiative aims to provide clean energy for Microsoft’s data centers. The news also boosted shares of other power companies, such as Vistra (VST), which rose 16.6%.
Meanwhile, CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) climbed 8.1% following positive analyst comments, recovering from earlier setbacks caused by security flaws. Overall, the mixed results reflected the ongoing fluctuations in the market.
