Stock market today: Live updates

Shares of Trump Media fell 10.5% in premarket trade after Tuesday evening’s presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

The shares had rallied ahead of the live TV debate between the two presidential candidates, but dipped after the pair butted heads over topics including the economy, immigration and abortion.

The company, which is majority owned by the former president, has been on a rocky path since it debuted on the Nasdaq in March 2024, with volatility rising in recent weeks as the Nov. 5 election draws nearer.

— Karen Gilchrist

European stocks were higher on Wednesday as global markets focus on the latest U.S. inflation data set to be released later in the day.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.39% by 8:30 a.m. London time, with the majority of sectors and all major bourses ticking higher. Mining stocks were up 1.78%, while health care fell 0.49%.

Retail stocks rose 1.72%, led by gains for Spanish fashion house Inditex, which added 4.2% after reporting a rebound in sales.

On top of an already weak September that has historically pushed stocks lower, Wall Street could see another jolt ahead, according to Strategas Research Partners partner and head of technical analysis Chris Verrone.

“I don’t think we get through the next four five six weeks without some punch in the stomach,” Verrone told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Tuesday. “Will that be viable? I do think ultimately it will be. The trends underneath it are probably strong enough, but there are questions that we have about what is the countercyclical message of markets and macro telling us about 2025.”

— Brian Evans

Next year’s ambitious earnings growth forecasts rely on stronger results from technology and health-care stocks far more than any other sector, Strategas Securities analysts Ryan Grabinski and Jonathan Byrne wrote to clients Tuesday.

Tech and health care are forecast to contribute half of the 15% expected growth in S&P 500 profits in 2025. “With those two sectors being particularly important for next year’s growth, any downward revisions there will slow the growth rate significantly,” Strategas said. Financials and communications services stocks are also expected to show large contributions to next year’s profits, while consumer staples and consumer discretionary stocks are only forecast to boost 2025 profits by 10% combined.

Assumptions also rely on sky-high profit margins for corporate America as a whole.

The 15% earnings growth analysts see in 2025 would lift S&P 500 earnings to $280, and implies profit margins “next year would have to reach an all time high of 13.9%. This would be more than 1 percentage point higher than any point in the last 35 years. The highest operating EPS margin achieved was 12.4% in 2021 which was also a time when costs were way down due to closures and spending was up due to government transfers. For next year, it’s very difficult to see how nearly 14% margins can be achieved,” Strategas added.

— Scott Schnipper

These are the stocks moving the most in after-hours trading:

• Petco Health & Wellness — Shares rose 4% after the pet retailer posted second-quarter earnings that came in line with expectations, while Petco’s revenue of $1.52 billion was slightly below the $1.53 billion analysts surveyed by LSEG had anticipated.
• Dave & Buster’s Entertainment — The arcade chain’s stock climbed 8% after Dave & Buster’s posted earnings per share of 99 cents, while analysts polled by LSEG had expected just 84 cents.
• Morgan Stanley — The bank stock fell 1% following a downgrade to neutral from buy at Goldman Sachs.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stock futures opened near the flatline Tuesday night.

Futures linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all trading marginally lower in extended trading hours.

— Lisa Kailai Han