Stock Market Live October 13: S&P 500 (VOO) Rises On Hopes Trade War Can Be Avoided
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Palo Alto Climbs Higher
BTIG analyst Gray Powell upgraded Palo Alto Networks (Nasdaq: PANW | PANW Price Prediction) stock to buy with a $248 price target this morning.
“”We spoke with seven contacts on PANW,” says Powell, and “feedback was surprisingly positive and improved meaningfully from our work in prior quarters. As a result, we came away with greater confidence in PANW’s ability to achieve growth targets calling for 14% total revenue growth and 26% growth in NGS ARR in FY26 … we think PANW can maintain 12%+ growth over the next few years.”
Palo Alto stock is up nearly 2% in response. The Voo is now up 1.4%.
Fastenal Unbuckles
S&P 500 component company Fastenal (Nasdaq: FAST) missed earnings by a penny this morning, reporting a Q3 profit of $0.29 per share. Revenue was on target at $2.1 billion, however.
Fastenal stock is down 6.2%, but the Voo is still up 1%.
JPMorgan: Strategic Investor
Speaking of big banks, JPMorgan in particular is grabbing headlines ahead of its earnings news. CEO Jamie Dimon promised today his bank will invest $10 billion over the next 10 years in four areas JPM sees as “essential for our national security.”
Over the next decade, investors can expect to see the investment banker increase loans to and direct investments in companies in the defense and aerospace, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, energy technology, and advanced manufacturing sectors.
Basically, Jamie Dimon just unrolled a treasure map showing what his bank sees as the key investing opportunities for the next decade.
As trading gets underway for the day, the Vanugard S&P 500 ETF is up 1.2%.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) tumbled 2.7% on Friday, erasing earlier gains and ending with a 2.4% loss for the week, after (1) China announced severe restrictions on rare earth exports and (2) President Trump retaliated with a threat to impose a “massive increase of tariffs” on Chinese exports to the U.S. if the restrictions are not lifted.
As Monday dawns, though, the ETF is bouncing right back, rising 1.3% premarket after President Trump reassured investors Sunday everything “will all be fine,” implying that he doesn’t really want to impose the tariffs — and that China may not be serious about the rare earth restrictions, either. “Highly respected President Xi just had a bad moment,” said Trump in a post on Truth Social. “He doesn’t want Depression for his country, and neither do I.”
The President seems to be pointing China to an off-ramp before a new trade war starts. It remains to be seen whether China will take it however, and for the time being many investors are taking Mr. Xi at his word — and investing in U.S.-based rare earth startups as a hedge against trade restrictions.
USA Rare Earth (Nasdaq: USAR) stock climbed 15% on Friday, and is up more than 17% premarket today.
MP Materials (NYSE: MP) stock gained 2% Friday, and is up another 9% premarket today.
Earnings season resumes
Earnings season returns to the Street again this week, with multiple major big banks expected to report Q3 earnings on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tuesday, October 14: Citigroup (NYSE: C), JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) will report before market-open.
Wednesday, October 15: Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) will all report — also premarket.
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
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