Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on June 18, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached new heights on Thursday as a Federal Reserve interest rate cut followed by disappointing Oracle results prompted investors to move out of high-flying tech stocks and into names that can benefit from a growing U.S. economy.
The 30-stock Dow rose 520 points, or 1.1%, and hit a new record high, boosted by a rise in Visa shares after the name was upgraded at Bank of America. The broad market S&P 500 shed 0.3%, while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 0.9%.
Oracle shares tumbled 14% after the cloud computing company posted disappointing quarterly revenue and raised its spending forecast, heightening concerns about the company’s debt.
The report added more fuel to the debate about how quickly tech companies will be able to see returns on their AI investments, spurring a rotation trade. Other AI plays were trading lower, including Nvidia, Broadcom and AMD, which were each down 3%. CoreWeave fell 5%. Meanwhile, cyclical stocks like Home Depot were higher.
“The market is properly concerned with Oracle and, by extension, with the AI trade in general, because there’s literally trillions of dollars of commitments out there, but there’s clearly a difficulty in figuring out how this is going to transpire, and Oracle, to some extent, is acting like the canary in the coal mine,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers.
The downbeat sentiment toward tech put a damper on the momentum garnered during the previous session, which saw the S&P 500 close just inches away from a new record after a divided Fed announced an interest rate cut for the third time this year and ruled out a rate hike. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee cut its key overnight borrowing rate by a quarter percentage point to a 3.5%-3.75% range and signaled a slower pace of rate cuts ahead.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank is “‘well positioned to wait and see how the economy evolves” and noted President Donald Trump’s tariffs have been a driver of inflation.
Along with the three major indexes finishing Wednesday’s session in the green, the Russell 2000 index of small-capitalization stocks notched a record close. Smaller companies tend to benefit more from lower rates than larger companies because their borrowing costs are more closely linked to market rates.
Russell 2000 hits new high
Russell 2000, 1-day
This comes after the index hit a fresh all-time high during the previous session after the Federal Reserve lowered its key interest rate by another quarter percentage point.
— Sean Conlon, Nick Wells
Here are the big takeaways from Wednesday’s Fed rate decision
U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell speaks as he holds a press conference following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), at the U.S. Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C., U.S., Dec. 10, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday approved a much-anticipated quarter percentage point interest rate cut at a meeting that was packed with intrigue and surprises. Here’s a look at five top takeaways:
- The hawkish cut is real — kind of. Wall Street had been anticipating the Fed would deliver a strong dose of caution along with the cut, with a warning that the bar was high for additional easing. Markets, though, didn’t seem to mind: Stocks posted solid gains on the day while Treasury yields fell.
- While a 9-3 vote might suggest broad support for the move, the Federal Open Market Committee is different. Three dissents is a lot, the most, in fact, since September 2019. And one of the “no” votes came from an unexpected source: Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee. Governor Stephen Miran wanted a half-point cut, while Goolsbee and Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid favored holding steady. A total of six of the 19 participants at the meeting said they wouldn’t have voted for the cut, giving voice to “soft dissents” who think the easing has gone far enough.
Read the other takeaways here.
— Jeff Cox
Dow notches new high
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 400 points, or around 1%, on Thursday, reaching a fresh all-time intraday high.
This marks the index’s first since Nov. 12. If it scores a new closing record, that would be its 18th of the year.
Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1-day
— Sean Conlon, Nick Wells
Visa upgraded at Bank of America
Bank of America upgraded Visa to buy from neutral on Thursday, calling the global payments technology company a “great business on sale.”
The stock is trading at its lowest relative multiple in 10 years, said analyst Mihir Bhatia. Its integration of stablecoin will likely strengthen its position, not undermine it, he added.
“We view Visa as a solid business with a strong and defensible moat with strong fundamentals, Bhatia wrote. “On our estimates, Visa is well positioned to deliver double digit revenue and EPS growth over the medium term.”
Shares gained 3% in morning trading.
— Michelle Fox
S&P 500, Nasdaq open in the red
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite began Thursday’s session with losses.
The broad market index fell 0.4% shortly after 9:30 a.m., while the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 0.7%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, rising 146 points, or 0.3%.
— Sean Conlon
Disney strikes $1 billion deal with OpenAI, enabling its more than 200 characters to feature in AI-generated Sora videos
Disney CEO Bob Iger gives a thumbs up on the court before a game between the LA Clippers and Phoenix Suns at Intuit Dome on October 24, 2025 in Inglewood, California.
Jordan Teller/isi Photos | Isi Photos | Getty Images
The Walt Disney Company has struck a $1 billion deal to license its content to Chat-GPT maker OpenAI, a first-of-its-kind deal that could help the artificial intelligence firm gain a significant edge over its competitors as the pressure to secure content to feed AI-powered applications mounts.
Under the three-year agreement, OpenAI’s content creation application Sora will be able to tap more than 200 characters from the Disney universe, enabling its users to create videos with those characters. Some of the fan-created videos will become available to stream on Disney+.
Disney will also make a $1 billion equity investment in OpenAI, and it will receive warrants to purchase additional equity in the firm.
Over the past two years, Hollywood players have mounted legal challenges against AI firms that have used their content without permission, forcing OpenAI and its competitors to seek deals with major studios. Those efforts have largely lagged as entertainment industry players remain skeptical of the emerging technology. But, Disney’s deal with OpenAI could represent a major turning point in AI firms’ efforts to ally with Hollywood and mine its content.
— Liz Napolitano
Jobless claims post unexpectedly large gain
Job seekers at the Appalachian State University internship and job fair in Boone, North Carolina, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025.
Allison Joyce | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Initial jobless claims spiked last week, reversing an unexpected drip from the Thanksgiving holiday, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Filings for unemployment benefits totaled a seasonally adjusted 236,000 for the week ended Dec. 6, up 44,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised level and above the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 223,000.
Multiple states saw large spikes in claims following the holiday period, including California (14,499), Illinois (11,207) and New York (10,600), according to unadjusted figures.
Continuing claims, which run a week behind, totaled 1.84 million, a sharp fall of 99,000 from the previous week and well above the FactSet estimate for 1.93 million.
— Jeff Cox
Oracle hits new low in premarket trading
Shares of Oracle dropped 13.3% on Thursday, hitting a fresh low in the premarket.
ORCL, 1-day
— Sean Conlon
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
- Oracle — The software giant tumbled more than 12% after reporting fiscal second-quarter revenue that missed analyst expectations. Analysts across Wall Street raced to lower their price targets.
- Adobe — Shares fell slightly after the software company issued lackluster guidance for fiscal year 2026. Adobe sees earnings per share in a range of $23.30 to $23.50. Analysts polled by FactSet expected a forecast for $23.38 per share.
- Oxford Industries — The Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer parent tumbled 21.9% after the apparel maker gave weak current-quarter guidance and cut its full-year earnings outlook. Oxford said to expect between $2.20 and $2.40 in earnings per share, excluding items, in the year, while analysts polled by FactSet penciled in $2.90 per share.
Read the full list here.
— Sarah Min
Bessent to propose overhaul of regulatory body formed in financial crisis aftermath
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks as he and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hold a press conference on the sidelines of the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Washington, D.C., U.S., Oct. 15, 2025.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is proposing a major change in the approach to how the government approaches financial regulation and stability, CNBC has learned.
In a letter set to be released Thursday, Bessent will recommend changing the approach of the Financial Stability Oversight Council.
Whereas the agency’s focus had been tightening regulations and oversight of the institutions it oversees, the new approach will switch that, and push for looser regulation and a freer approach. Read more.
— Steve Liesman, Jeff Cox
Oracle slides over 12% in premarket trading
Oracle shares plummeted over 12% in premarket trading on Thursday, extending yesterday’s losses after the firm reported disappointing results. Read more.
ORCL, 1-day
— Tasmin Lockwood
Eli Lilly shares rise after obesity drug’s late-stage trial results
A screen displays the logo and trading information for Eli Lilly and Company on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., Nov. 21, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Eli Lilly on Thursday said its next-generation obesity drug delivered what appears to be the highest weight loss yet in a late-stage trial while reducing knee arthritis pain, clearing the first of several upcoming studies on the weekly injection.
The highest dose of the drug helped patients with obesity and a type of knee arthritis lose an average of 23.7% of their body weight at 68 weeks, when analyzing all participants, including those who discontinued treatment. The company said some patients lost so much weight that they decided to drop out of the trial.
When evaluating only patients who stayed on the drug – essentially the best-case scenario – the highest dose delivered 28.7% weight loss on average. Read more.
LLY, 1-day
— Annika Kim Constantino
Nvidia, CoreWeave follow Oracle lower
Oracle’s declines spurred selling in other AI-related names, with Nvidia and CoreWeave losing 1.6% and 2.9%, respectively. The State Street Technology Select ETF (XLK) shed 1.2%.
CRWV 5–day chart
— Fred Imbert
Synopsys, Planet Labs and Adobe move on earnings results
A few software stocks outside of Oracle were moving in extended trading Wednesday on the back of their earnings results. Take a look:
- Synopsys — Shares of the electronic design automation company rose more than 2% after Synopsys topped quarterly expectations. Synopsys earned $2.90 per share, excluding items, on revenue of $2.26 billion for the fourth quarter, while analysts polled by LSEG expected $2.78 in earnings per share and $2.25 billion in revenue. The company earlier this month received a $2 billion investment from Nvidia as part of a strategic partnership.
- Planet Labs — The satellite imagery provider saw shares rally more than 14% after Planet Labs reported $81 million in revenue for its fiscal third quarter, surpassing the $72 estimate from analysts surveyed by LSEG.
- Adobe — Adobe, a design software maker, reported a beat on top and bottom lines for its fourth quarter and said it expects double-digit recurring revenue growth in 2026 as its AI efforts expand. The stock was fell less than 1% after market close.
— Pia Singh
Oracle shares slide after revenue misses Wall Street’s expectations
A sign is posted in front of the Oracle headquarters in Redwood Shores, California, on March 11, 2024.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
Oracle shares sank 11% in extended trading on Wednesday after the database software maker reported lower quarterly revenue than expected despite booming demand for its AI infrastructure.
Here’s how the company did in comparison with LSEG consensus:
- Earnings per share: $2.26 adjusted vs. $1.64 expected
- Revenue: $16.06 billion vs. $16.21 billion expected
Oracle expects fiscal third-quarter adjusted earnings to be between $1.70 and $1.74 per share, while revenue should rise 19% to 21% from a year ago. The LSEG consensus called for earnings of $1.72 per share and revenue of $16.87 billion, implying 19% growth.
Remaining performance obligations, a measure of contracted revenue that hasn’t yet been recognized, soared 438% to $523 billion, topping the $501.8 billion average analyst estimate, according to StreetAccount. Doug Kehring, Oracle’s principal financial officer, said in the release that RPO were driven “by new commitments from Meta, Nvidia and others.”
More on Oracle’s quarterly results here.
— Jordan Novet
