Index inclusion and deal speculation triggered some of the brisk moves seen in Thursday’s extended session after the major indices notched up new highs in regular trading.
Exuberance is high on Wall Street, with most key indices closing in uncharted territory following the release of the consumer price inflation data for August that largely aligned with expectations.
The final key data ahead of the Sept. 16-17 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting has solidified the case for a rate cut, with investors now debating whether it will be a 25-basis-point (bps) reduction or a larger 50-bps cut.
The S&P 500 Index, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, the Nasdaq 100, comprising 100 of the biggest non-financial tech companies, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average all closed at fresh highs.
Amid the market’s record run, the following stocks saw increased volume in Thursday’s extended session:
TechnipFMC Plc (FTI)
After-hours move: +1.12%
Trading volume: 23.07 million
Shares of the French-American oilfield services company fell 1.44% in the regular session before rebounding in the after-hours. The volume spike occurred ahead of the company’s inclusion in the S&P MidCap 400 Index, effective prior to the market opening on Friday.
The stock has been on investors’ radar ever since it announced that Petrobras had awarded it two subsea contracts for flexible pipe for use in multiple basins. The company did not quantify the contract but said one of them is “substantial” ($250 million to $500 million) and another is significant ($50 million to $250 million).
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward TechnipFMC stock improved to ‘bullish’ (55/100) by late Thursday from ‘neutral’ a day ago. The message volume on the stream stayed at ‘high’ levels.
TechnipFMC stock has gained nearly 40% this year.
Nvidia Corp. (NVDA)
After-hours move: +0.03%
Trading volume: 5.21 million
Nvidia traded ex-dividend on Thursday (Sept. 11), with traders buying the stock on or after the date not receiving the $0.01 per share dividend the company declared via its quarterly earnings release. Also, CEO Jesnsen Huang continued to offload his stake in the company as per a prearranged trading plan. On Thursday, the company disclosed in a Form 4 filing that Huang sold 225,000 Nvidia shares, valued at $39.3 million, in a series of transactions done between Sept. 9 and 11.
Separately, DA Davidson analysts in a note released Thursday upgraded Nvidia stock to ‘Buy’ from ‘Neutral’ and increased the price target to $210 from $195, citing their optimistic artificial intelligence compute demand forecast.
Retail continued to hold a pessimistic view of the stock, with the Stocktwits sentiment meter for it reading 41/100, suggesting a ‘bearish’ disposition. The message volume was also ‘low.’
For the year-to-date period, Nvidia stock is up about 32%.
Skechers USA, Inc. (SKX):
After-hours move: +0.06%
Trading volume: 5.14 million
Skechers’ stock will cease trading on the NYSE as it is being taken private by 3G Capital in a $9.4 billion deal. The stock elicited ‘bearish’ sentiment (43/100) from among Stocktwits users, with the sour mood accompanied by ‘normal’ message volume.
XP Inc. (XP)
After-hours move: +0.32%
Trading volume: 4.32 million
Cayman Islands-headquartered XP is a Brazilian financial services company. The stock’s volume surge came despite a lack of any company-specific catalysts.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward XP stock remained ‘bearish’ (42/100), and the message volume was also ‘low.’ The stock is up about 60% this year.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD)
After-hours move: +9.77%
Trading volume: 3.78 million
Warner Bros. Discovery stock experienced a bumper gain (29%) on Thursday’s session and rose further in the after-hours after a Wall Street Journal report, citing people familiar with the matter, said the company may be pursued by David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance (PSKY).
Retail sentiment toward Warner Bros. Discovery stock improved to an ‘extremely bullish’ level (95/100) by late Thursday from ‘neutral’ a day ago. The message volume also spiked to ‘extremely high’ levels.
Warner Bros. Discovery stock has gained nearly 53% this year, with much of that attributable to Thursday’s surge.
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