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Markets Mixed as Target Cuts Forecast Ahead of Holiday Shopping Season

MarketDash Editorial Team
18 days ago
The Nasdaq jumped over 100 points Wednesday while the Dow slipped, as Target's earnings beat couldn't mask disappointing sales and a trimmed outlook. Meanwhile, WeShop surged 148% and crude oil inventories posted a sharper-than-expected decline.

U.S. markets couldn't quite agree on a direction Wednesday morning, with the Nasdaq doing the heavy lifting while the Dow decided to take a breather. The tech-heavy index gained more than 100 points, a solid showing that helped balance out weakness elsewhere.

Here's how the scoreboard looked: The Dow slipped 0.20% to 46,001.48, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.64% to 22,576.57. The S&P 500 split the difference, rising 0.35% to 6,640.59.

Sector Snapshot: Communication Wins, Energy Struggles

Communication services stocks led the charge Wednesday, jumping 1.4% as investors piled into the sector. On the flip side, energy stocks took it on the chin, falling 1.6% as oil prices retreated.

Target's Holiday Headache

The morning's big headline came from Target Corporation (TGT), which delivered one of those classic good-news-bad-news earnings reports that leave everyone feeling uncertain. The retail giant beat on earnings but stumbled on sales, and then proceeded to lower its full-year outlook right as the crucial holiday shopping season kicks into gear.

Target reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.78 per share, topping the analyst consensus of $1.72. But quarterly sales of $25.27 billion—down 1.5% year over year—missed expectations of $25.337 billion. Merchandise sales dropped 1.9%, suggesting consumers remain cautious about discretionary spending.

The real concern? Management tightened its 2025 adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $7.00 to $8.00, down from the prior $7.00 to $9.00 range and below the $7.36 consensus. The company also trimmed its GAAP EPS forecast to $7.70 to $8.70 from $8.00 to $10.00, compared with analyst estimates of $8.12.

Big Movers: Winners and Losers

Wednesday brought some eye-popping individual stock moves. WeShop Holdings Limited (WSHP) absolutely exploded, soaring 148% to $82.00 in volatile trading following its recent Nasdaq debut—the kind of action that makes day traders smile and risk managers nervous.

Freight Technologies, Inc. (FRGT) surged 77% to $1.1712 after announcing the commercial launch of Zayren, its AI-powered freight rate prediction and carrier matching platform. Semrush Holdings, Inc. (SEMR) jumped 74% to $11.79 after Adobe revealed plans to acquire the company.

On the losing end, Inspire Veterinary Partners, Inc. (IVP) plunged 53% to $0.1273. Carver Bancorp, Inc. (CARV) dropped 48% to $1.5499 after announcing plans to deregister its common stock with the SEC and delist from Nasdaq to move to the OTCQX market. Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. (TPST) fell 50% to $4.63 following news of an all-stock deal to acquire Factor Bioscience's Dual-CAR T programs.

Commodities Check

Oil traded down 2.3% to $59.35, while gold climbed 0.6% to $4,091.20. Silver gained 1.5% to $51.295, and copper edged up 0.5% to $4.9975.

Global Markets Roundup

European shares closed mostly higher. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.2%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index advanced 0.7%. London's FTSE 100 bucked the trend, falling 0.3%, while Germany's DAX 40 gained 0.2% and France's CAC 40 added 0.1%.

Asian markets wrapped up with mixed results. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.34%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.38%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.18%, and India's BSE Sensex climbed 0.61%.

Economic Data Highlights

U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 3.426 million barrels in the week ending November 14, significantly exceeding market forecasts of a 0.6-million-barrel drop. That's a much sharper drawdown than expected and helped explain some of the day's energy sector movement.

On the trade front, U.S. exports of goods and services increased $0.2 billion to $280.8 billion in August, while imports fell 5.1% to $340.4 billion. The trade deficit narrowed considerably to $59.6 billion in August from $78.2 billion the previous month, well below market expectations of a $61 billion gap.

Back to News

Markets Mixed as Target Cuts Forecast Ahead of Holiday Shopping Season

MarketDash Editorial Team
18 days ago
The Nasdaq jumped over 100 points Wednesday while the Dow slipped, as Target's earnings beat couldn't mask disappointing sales and a trimmed outlook. Meanwhile, WeShop surged 148% and crude oil inventories posted a sharper-than-expected decline.

U.S. markets couldn't quite agree on a direction Wednesday morning, with the Nasdaq doing the heavy lifting while the Dow decided to take a breather. The tech-heavy index gained more than 100 points, a solid showing that helped balance out weakness elsewhere.

Here's how the scoreboard looked: The Dow slipped 0.20% to 46,001.48, while the Nasdaq climbed 0.64% to 22,576.57. The S&P 500 split the difference, rising 0.35% to 6,640.59.

Sector Snapshot: Communication Wins, Energy Struggles

Communication services stocks led the charge Wednesday, jumping 1.4% as investors piled into the sector. On the flip side, energy stocks took it on the chin, falling 1.6% as oil prices retreated.

Target's Holiday Headache

The morning's big headline came from Target Corporation (TGT), which delivered one of those classic good-news-bad-news earnings reports that leave everyone feeling uncertain. The retail giant beat on earnings but stumbled on sales, and then proceeded to lower its full-year outlook right as the crucial holiday shopping season kicks into gear.

Target reported third-quarter adjusted earnings of $1.78 per share, topping the analyst consensus of $1.72. But quarterly sales of $25.27 billion—down 1.5% year over year—missed expectations of $25.337 billion. Merchandise sales dropped 1.9%, suggesting consumers remain cautious about discretionary spending.

The real concern? Management tightened its 2025 adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $7.00 to $8.00, down from the prior $7.00 to $9.00 range and below the $7.36 consensus. The company also trimmed its GAAP EPS forecast to $7.70 to $8.70 from $8.00 to $10.00, compared with analyst estimates of $8.12.

Big Movers: Winners and Losers

Wednesday brought some eye-popping individual stock moves. WeShop Holdings Limited (WSHP) absolutely exploded, soaring 148% to $82.00 in volatile trading following its recent Nasdaq debut—the kind of action that makes day traders smile and risk managers nervous.

Freight Technologies, Inc. (FRGT) surged 77% to $1.1712 after announcing the commercial launch of Zayren, its AI-powered freight rate prediction and carrier matching platform. Semrush Holdings, Inc. (SEMR) jumped 74% to $11.79 after Adobe revealed plans to acquire the company.

On the losing end, Inspire Veterinary Partners, Inc. (IVP) plunged 53% to $0.1273. Carver Bancorp, Inc. (CARV) dropped 48% to $1.5499 after announcing plans to deregister its common stock with the SEC and delist from Nasdaq to move to the OTCQX market. Tempest Therapeutics, Inc. (TPST) fell 50% to $4.63 following news of an all-stock deal to acquire Factor Bioscience's Dual-CAR T programs.

Commodities Check

Oil traded down 2.3% to $59.35, while gold climbed 0.6% to $4,091.20. Silver gained 1.5% to $51.295, and copper edged up 0.5% to $4.9975.

Global Markets Roundup

European shares closed mostly higher. The eurozone's STOXX 600 rose 0.2%, while Spain's IBEX 35 Index advanced 0.7%. London's FTSE 100 bucked the trend, falling 0.3%, while Germany's DAX 40 gained 0.2% and France's CAC 40 added 0.1%.

Asian markets wrapped up with mixed results. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.34%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 0.38%, China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.18%, and India's BSE Sensex climbed 0.61%.

Economic Data Highlights

U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 3.426 million barrels in the week ending November 14, significantly exceeding market forecasts of a 0.6-million-barrel drop. That's a much sharper drawdown than expected and helped explain some of the day's energy sector movement.

On the trade front, U.S. exports of goods and services increased $0.2 billion to $280.8 billion in August, while imports fell 5.1% to $340.4 billion. The trade deficit narrowed considerably to $59.6 billion in August from $78.2 billion the previous month, well below market expectations of a $61 billion gap.