Dow ekes out narrow gain Wednesday as Middle East tensions weigh on markets: Live updates

The major averages ended Wednesday just above the flatline as rising tensions in the Middle East weighed on markets.

The S&P 500 added 0.01% to 5,709.54, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.08% to 17,925.12. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 39.55 points, or 0.09%, to finish at 42,196.52.

Nike slid 6.8% after the sneaker giant pulled full-year guidance ahead of its CEO change. Tesla dropped 3.5% after the company reported delivery numbers, though the technology sector was buoyed by a 1.6% rise in Nvidia.

That action follows a losing session after Iran's firing of ballistic missiles on Israel dented risk appetite and investor enthusiasm for the new trading month and quarter. Investors are readying for more uncertainty as Israel begins a ground operation into Lebanon and tensions escalated with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices rose on Wednesday, building on Tuesday's jump following the Middle East news. Energy stocks outperformed once again and was the only S&P 500 sector up more than 1% in the session. The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) rose 1%, notching its fourth straight positive session.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), also known as Wall Street's fear gauge, pulled back after a spike Tuesday.

"We're really seeing the market have a little bit of a hiccup with this recent spike in geopolitical tensions," said Lisa Erickson, head of public markets due diligence at U.S. Bank Wealth Management. "While investors typically don't worry too much about those events until there's a clear economic impact, we're just seeing some nervousness."

ADP data released Wednesday showed better-than-expected private payroll growth in September. That comes ahead of Friday's closely followed nonfarm payroll report, which could play a major role in the market's direction and the Federal Reserve's next rate move as its cutting cycle begins.

Correction: Ryan Detrick is chief market strategist at Carson Group. An earlier version of this story misidentified the firm.

Dow finishes modestly higher

The Dow finished Wednesday's session with a slight gain.

The Dow added nearly 0.1%, as did the Nasdaq Composite. The S&P 500 ended a hair above flat.

— Alex Harring

China outperformance will help U.S. stocks, says Strategas

U.S. equities have historically benefited from periods of Chinese stimulus and credit expansion, according to Strategas Securities.

"During periods where the credit impulse measure expanded in the past, the S&P 500's median advance was 15.0% with 6 of the 7 periods showing positive returns," strategist Ryan Grabinski wrote in a Wednesday note.

Materials have typically outperformed during these periods, while financials and health care have lagged, he noted.

"We will be watching for outperformance of Materials as an indicator for the validity and effectiveness of China stimulus moving forward," Grabinksi said.

— Hakyung Kim

Stocks are little changed entering final hour

The three major averages continued flickering around their flatlines entering the final hour of trading.

The S&P 500 was around flat shortly before 3 p.m. ET. The Dow and Nasdaq Composite each rose 0.1%.

— Alex Harring

Is it time to sell Rosh Hashanah, buy Yom Kippur?

Investors looking for a strategy to playing the market over the next 10 days may want to take a cue from an age-old Wall Street adage.

The saying — known as sell Rosh Hashanah, buy Yom Kippur — suggests that investors should sell into the Jewish new year and buy into the day of atonement.

The start of the Jewish new year begins Wednesday evening, with Yom Kippur starting Oct. 11.

— Samantha Subin

Citi's Scott Chronert is avoiding defensive assets for now

Despite rising volatility in the stock market as the November election approaches, Citi strategist Scott Chronert is avoiding the more defensive parts of the market, which he believes are historically expensive.

"We don't see any urgency to go back to those sectors. We prefer to either go down the growth path or begin to kind of set up for the other side of this hawkish Fed narrative," he told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Wednesday morning.

Instead, Chronert is currently bullish energy, banks and cyclical names.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks can still go higher from here, Barclays says

Stocks may be near all-time highs in a seasonally poor month, but Barclays still has an optimistic outlook on equities.

"The path of least resistance remains to the upside, as the global rate-cutting cycle and China stimulus keep a soft landing on track," Emmanuel Cau wrote on Wednesday.

Cau said an improving outlook on the consumer has him closing his underweight rating on autos and discretionary stocks, though soft growth in the European Union has him cutting his rating in banks to market weight from overweight.

— Sarah Min

19 stocks hit new 52-week highs

19 stocks in the S&P 500 were trading at new 52-week highs on Wednesday.

Of these names, 13 tickers were trading at new all-time highs. Stocks that hit this milestone included:

• Tractor Supply trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in 1994 after being taken private by an LBO in 1982
• Ameriprise Financial trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in October 2005
• Automatic Data Processing trading at all-time high levels back through our history to 1974
• Raytheon Technologies trading at all-time highs back to when the United Technologies name was adopted in 1975
• NRG Energy (NRG) trading at all-time highs back to its IPO in May, 2000
• Vistra trading at all-time highs back through our history to September 2016

Humana was the only stock in the index trading at new 52-week lows during Wednesday's session.

— Lisa Kailai Han, Christopher Hayes

Nvidia rises, clawing back some of Tuesday's losses

Shares of Nvidia have gained 1.5% on Wednesday as the chip stock looks to shake off a decline of more than 3% in yesterday's session.

The rise for the nearly $3 trillion market cap stock is helping to stabilize the broad market indexes on Wednesday.

However, shares of Nvidia are down over the past three months as some of the momentum of the artificial intelligence trade appears to be fading. One small research firm downgraded the chip stock on Wednesday, citing a slowdown in data center demand.

— Jesse Pound

Richmond Fed's Barkin cautions on 'significant uncertainty' for the economy

Though he supported September's aggressive rate cut, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said Wednesday that it's too soon to declare economic victory.

"Victory means different things to different people, and — while we have made real progress — there remains significant uncertainty on both inflation and employment," Barkin, a voter this year on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, said in remarks for an economic group in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Cutting the benchmark borrowing rate by half a percentage point was a "recalibration," he added, pointing out that the FOMC consensus pointed to another half percentage point, or 50 basis points, in reductions before the end of the year.

"This dial back in restraint just takes a little bit of the edge off," he said. Barkin provided no specifics of where he sees policy heading.

"While we are working hard to deliver for the U.S. economy, we almost certainly won't get it perfect," he said. "So as we decide how fast to move and how far to go during this rate reduction cycle, we are just going to need to be attentive and learn as we go."

— Jeff Cox

Stocks on the move midday

Here are the stocks making the biggest moves during midday trading:

• Tesla — Shares declined about 4% after the electric vehicle company fell short of third-quarter delivery estimates. Deliveries came in at 462,890, versus a FactSet estimate of 463,310.
• Nike — The athletic apparel and footwear stock lost 6% after Nike withdrew its full-year guidance and postponed its investor day, which was originally scheduled for November, given an impending CEO change.
• Humana – The health-care stock plummeted more than 17% following its preliminary 2025 Medicare Advantage data. Humana said in an 8-K filing that 25% of its total members are currently enrolled in plans rated 4 stars and above for next year.

Read the full list here.

— Samantha Subin

Rally in China stock ETFs continues

Exchange-traded funds overseas that track Chinese stocks continued their stimulus-triggered rally Wednesday even as mainland markets were shut for a week-long holiday.

Several popular China ETFs in the U.S. — KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF (KWEB), iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI), iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) and Invesco Golden Dragon China ETF (PGJ) — all jumped at least 5% in morning trading. KWEB and PGJ advanced for a fifth straight day.

These funds mostly invest in Chinese equities that trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or U.S. exchange-listed companies that are headquartered or incorporated in China. Chinese equities turned around last week after Beijing unleashed a flood of stimulus measures to aid a deep economic slump.

— Yun Li

Energy stocks outperform

Energy stocks in the S&P 500 outperformed once again on Wednesday as investors assessed the escalation of tensions within the Middle East.

The sector rose about 0.5%, helped by advances of more than 1% in Williams Companies, Exxon Mobil and Diamondback Energy. With that, the group's week-to-date gain jumped to around 3.5%.

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) was on track for its fourth straight positive session due to those gains.

— Alex Harring

Humana heads for worst day since 2009

Shares of Humana plunged 20% in morning trading on the heels of the health-care company's grim preliminary 2025 Medicare Advantage data. If the stock closes around this level, it'll mark its worst day since the Great Recession.

In an 8-K filing, Humana reported that about 25% of its total members — or 1.6 million — are currently enrolled in plans rated 4 stars or higher for next year. That marks a sharp decrease from 94% in 2024.

"Humana is exploring all available options to mitigate the expected 2026 revenue headwind related to its 2025 Star ratings in the event its challenges to the results are unsuccessful," the company said in the filing. "The 2025 Stars results are not expected to impact the Company's financial results or outlook for 2024 or 2025."

Rivals CVS Health and UnitedHealth rose more than 3% and around 1%, respectively, following the news. Meanwhile, shares of the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) were marginally lower.

— Sean Conlon

'There is still plenty of fuel left in this bull market,' investing strategist says

Investors should not be deterred by the tough start to October's trading month, according to Mary Ann Bartels, chief investment strategist at Sanctuary Wealth.

"October, which is historically a seasonally choppy and spooky month for markets, may bring some noticeable stock market turbulence," Bartels said. "But the overall trend is clear: stocks on the rise and yields on the decline."

"Our message to investors is to embrace October's volatility," the strategist added. "There is still plenty of fuel left in this bull market."

Specifically, Bartels said the S&P 500 could hit 6,000 before year-end as interest rates continue to fall and the consumer shows strength. That's about 5% higher than where the broad index finished Tuesday's session.

Rising oil prices as a result of the escalating Middle East conflict can give reason for pause, Bartels said. But she said stocks can still advance as long as oil remains under $100 per barrel and corporate profits hold up.

— Alex Harring

Stocks open lower

The three major averages kicked off Wednesday's trading session down.

The Dow traded lower by more than 100 points, which equates to a loss of about 0.3%, shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite each also slipped 0.3%.

— Alex Harring

Tesla falls 3% on third-quarter delivery numbers

Tesla shares declined more than 3% before the bell after the electric vehicle company shared third-quarter delivery numbers.

The company said total deliveries came in at 462,890 and total production hit 469,796. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected 463,310 deliveries for the period.

— Samantha Subin

Crude oil jumps nearly 3% as traders fear Israel could hit Iran's oil industry

U.S. crude oil jumped nearly 3% on Wednesday, after Israel vowed a "painful" response to Iran's ballistic missile attack against the country.

The U.S. benchmark gained $1.92 to $71.75 per barrel, while global benchmark Brent rose 2.32%, or $1.71, to $75.27 per barrel.

"The next turn in this retaliation spiral may very well involve oil – via the degrading of Iran's oil capacity or Iran's proxies attacking oil and gas shipping from the Persian Gulf," Piper Sandler analysts told clients in a Wednesday note.

— Spencer Kimball

Humana, Nike among the names making moves premarket

These are some stocks making big moves in premarket trading:

• Humana — Shares plunged more than 22% after the health-care company announced dire preliminary Medicare Advantage data for 2025. The company said in an 8-K filing that 25% of its members are currently enrolled in plans rated 4 stars and above for next year, which is down from 94% in 2024.
• Nike — Shares sank 7% after the athletic apparel and sneaker company withdrew its full-year guidance. Nike, which posted an earnings beat and revenue miss for its fiscal first quarter, also postponed its investor day as its new CEO prepares to take office.
• China stocks — Shares of Chinese companies continued to gain amid the broader stimulus rally. E-commerce company JD.com and electric vehicle maker Li Auto both advanced more than 9%, while tech company Baidu and Temu parent PDD moved more than 6% higher. Fellow e-commerce company Alibaba also jumped more than 4%.

Read here for the full list.

— Sean Conlon

Private payrolls grew more than expected in September, ADP says

More jobs were added than economists forecast for private payrolls in September, according to data from ADP published Wednesday morning.

Companies added 143,000 jobs for the month. That marks an increase from the upwardly revised 103,000 in August, and came in better than the consensus forecast of 128,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones.

— Alex Harring, Jeff Cox

Oil prices jump again

Oil prices advanced once again on Wednesday morning, underscoring continued investor focus on the escalating conflict in the Middle East.

West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.5%, or $2.48, to $72.30. ICE Brent crude climbed 3.2%, or $2.37, to $75.93.

— Alex Harring

European markets higher; defense stocks rally

European stocks were slightly higher Wednesday as investors attempted to look beyond escalating tensions in the Middle East and awaited fresh employment data out of the region.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.39% in morning trade, with the majority of sectors and major bourses moving in the green.

Oil and gas stocks added 2.42% on the prospect of supply disruptions in the Middle East, while defense stocks including Saab, BAE Systems and Rheinmetall also moved higher.

— Karen Gilchrist

Nike slumps 5% after pulling guidance, delaying investor day

Nike shares dropped 5% in extended trading after the sneaker giant withdrew its full-year outlook and pushed off its investor day as it readies for new CEO Elliott Hill later this month.

The company also posted mixed fiscal first-quarter results, topping earnings expectations by 70 cents a share. Revenue came in at $11.59 billion and behind the $11.65 billion expected by analysts polled by LSEG.

Nike also posted a 10% year-over-year decline in sales.

— Samantha Subin, Gabrielle Fonrouge

Stock futures open little changed

Stock futures opened near the flatline Tuesday following a turbulent start to the new trading month and quarter.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 30 points, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq-100 futures were little changed.

— Samantha Subin