Israel stocks higher at close of trade; TA 35 up 1.00%

Investing.com -- Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP) continues to struggle despite implementing two major restructuring programs, according to a newsletter released Wednesday by J Capital Research.

The activist research firm, which describes itself as a "short- and long-research shop publishing investigative reports on publicly traded companies," warned investors against the auto parts retailer, noting that AAP has managed to address liquidity constraints in 2025 by raising cash, extending debt maturities, selling assets, and streamlining operations.

However, J Capital suggested these measures have nearly exhausted the company’s options. The report highlighted AAP’s declining market share and poor performance compared to competitors, with sales decreasing despite the restructuring efforts.

The research firm pointed out that AAP’s effective debt might be higher than it appears, as most of its accounts payable represent debts to banks through supplier factoring. Net interest payments on its bonds are already high and expected to increase further, with J Capital suspecting the company may be paying elevated but hidden rates to finance inventory.

J Capital warned that if banks become less willing to extend supplier credit on competitive terms, AAP might face difficulties purchasing inventory, further compounding its problems.

The newsletter identified AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) and O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ:ORLY) as AAP’s main competitors, noting that while all three companies carry significant debt, AZO and ORLY have stronger debt servicing capabilities due to better profitability. J Capital concluded that AAP is "the one to avoid."

AAP stock remains relatively flat despite the cautious report.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Wednesday’s market has seen swings in various stocks based on news and other factors. Today, stocks like Pepsico and EchoStar are rallying, while stocks like Microsoft and AeroVironment are falling. Below are highlights of some of the biggest stock movers, from mega-caps to small caps.

Mega-Cap Movers ($200B+ Market Cap)

• Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR); U.S. Navy partners with Palantir on $448 million ShipOS initiative: +2.42%
• Pepsico (PEP); Pepsico stock rating upgraded by JPMorgan on innovation and productivity: +2.42%
• Alibaba-exch (BABA); ByteDance, Alibaba keen to order Nvidia H200 chips after Trump green light - Reuters: +2.35%
• Microsoft Corp (MSFT): -2.35%

Large-Cap Stock Movers ($10B-$200B Market Cap)

• GE Vernova LLC (GEV); GE Vernova stock upgraded to Outperform by Oppenheimer on AI infrastructure potential: +11.38%
• EchoStar Corp (SATS); Morgan Stanley upgrades Echostar stock to Overweight on spectrum value: +5.62%
• Ally Financ (ALLY); Ally Financial announces $2 billion share repurchase program: +4.82%
• Bloom Energy Corp (BE): -7.43%
• Maplebear (CART): -6.6%
• GameStop Corp (GME): -5.74%
• Venture Global Inc (VG); Venture Global subsidiary closes $3 billion senior secured notes offering: -5.19%
• MercadoLibre (MELI): -4.66%
• AeroVironment (AVAV); AeroVironment shares slide 6% as Q2 earnings miss overshadows revenue beat: -10.69%
• Polestar Automotive Holding Plc (PSNY): -20.18%

Mid-Cap Stock Movers ($2B-$10B Market Cap)

• Braze (BRZE); Braze spikes 7% on strong Q3 revenue growth, upbeat FY guidance: +16.87%
• Warby Parker (WRBY): +11.06%
• Dynergy (DYN); Dyne Therapeutics prices upsized public offering at $18.44 per share: +10.39%
• Americold Realty Trust (COLD): +7.11%
• John Bean Technologies Corp (JBTM); JBT Marel stock rating upgraded by Jefferies on strong growth outlook: +6.42%
• Terns Pharmaceuticals (TERN); Terns Pharmaceuticals prices upsized $650 million public offering: +8.73%
• Olema Pharmaceuticals Inc (OLMA): +8.17%
• Wave Life Sciences Ltd (WVE); Wave Life Sciences prices public offering at $19 per share: -8.68%
• Nuscale Power (SMR): -5.92%
• Transocean Ltd (RIG): -5.84%

Small-Cap Stock Movers ($300M-$2B Market Cap)

• Photronics (PLAB); Photronics shares soar 15% as Q4 results beat expectations: +43.3%
• Dave & Busters Entertainment (PLAY); Dave & Buster’s shares lose 5% as on wider-than-expected Q3 loss, revenue miss: +16.94%
• Daktronics (DAKT); Daktronics shares soar 8% as Q2 earnings beat expectations: +14.41%
• Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co II (NXDR): +13.68%
• Junee (SUPX): +12.8%
• Destiny Tech100 (DXYZ): +10.56%
• DSW Inc (DBI): +9.17%
• Aimei Health Tech (AFJK): -48.59%
• Broadstone Acquisition (EVTL): -14.84%
• Pepco Holdings Inc-Exch (POM): -77.12%

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This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

Investing.com -- Rheinmetall AG (ETR:RHMG) Chief Executive Officer Armin Papperger is making renewed efforts to acquire part of rival KNDS NV to create a European land defense champion, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Papperger has recently discussed investment options with German politicians and representatives of state-owned development bank KfW about bringing the two tankmakers closer together, the sources said.

The CEO is exploring several possibilities, including purchasing a significant stake in KNDS from the German family that currently owns 50% of the company. The other half of KNDS is owned by the French state. Rheinmetall has also expressed interest in acquiring KNDS’s German operations, which merged with France’s Nexter about a decade ago to form KNDS but have reportedly struggled with integration issues.

The German unit, formerly known as Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, currently makes up the majority of KNDS’s business, according to the sources.

Any potential investment by Rheinmetall in KNDS would likely face resistance from KNDS itself and the French government, which maintains decision-making authority in corporate and ownership matters, the sources added.

The proposed deal aims to consolidate Europe’s fragmented defense market through the combination of two major tankmakers. Rheinmetall AG stock is down 3.4% in European trading following the news, as investors discern the costs of such a deal.

Investing.com -- Boeing is entering 2026 with improving execution, accelerating production, and a multiyear free-cash-flow ramp that TD Cowen believes the market is still underestimating.

Analyst Gautam Khanna named Boeing one of the firm’s Best Ideas for 2026 in a note Wednesday, reiterating a Buy rating and a $240 price target.

TD Cowen said it favours Boeing because of its “ramping plane production cadence, FCF growth over the next 3+ years, associated de-leverage, & mixed investor sentiment that can improve.”

Khanna argued that aerospace original equipment remains “a rare, long-cycle, visible growth, industrial vertical,” supported by years of undersupply.

As demand eventually shifts away from the aftermarket toward new aircraft, TD Cowen believes Boeing is positioned to benefit.

The firm said Boeing’s execution “has turned the corner,” noting that performance on the 737 and 787 programmes now offers an “extended runway.”

TD Cowen models free cash flow of $2.8 billion in 2026, rising to $7.7 billion in 2027 and $11.7 billion in 2028, excluding Spirit AeroSystems following its December 8 closing.

Khanna said what the market may be missing is the “direction & magnitude of BA’s FCF growth potential,” calling the path to more than $11.5 billion in free cash flow by 2028 “believable” due to CEO Kelly Ortberg’s “operational reset.”

TD Cowen added that most cash outflows tied to Boeing Defense’s $3 billion in charges “should end in C26,” with deferred production balances implying materially higher free-cash-flow margins on the 787 and 737 by 2027.

Key catalysts are said to include rate hikes on the 737 and 787, certification milestones for the 777X and 737-7/10, and improving margins at Boeing Defense.

Investing.com -- Amazon likely delivered “robust” Black Friday and Cyber Monday performance in North America, setting the company up for a strong fourth quarter, according to HSBC.

Analyst Paul Rossington said he expects the peak shopping period to “support Q4 company guidance,” citing record U.S. e-commerce spending and Amazon’s broad operational advantages.

HSBC highlighted Adobe data showing U.S. online sales during Cyber Week rose 7.7% to a record $44.2 billion, with double-digit discounts boosting demand across major categories.

Rossington said HSBC anticipates Amazon “will have taken share during the peak trading season” thanks to “a strong campaign, extension of same-day / next-day delivery options, expansion into grocery and essential items, and logistics cost savings.”

He added that high-frequency U.S. consumer data and positive updates from peers such as Walmart and Dollar General offer further support.

Beyond retail, HSBC pointed to a renewed acceleration at Amazon Web Services. AWS growth reaccelerated to 20.2% year-on-year in Q3, and management indicated the pace was sustainable “for a while.”

The cloud unit’s order backlog climbed to about $200 billion, up 22% year-on-year, even before several large October deals were included.

HSBC said Amazon’s Q4 guidance “leaves upside risk,” noting the company has beaten the top end of its guidance range for 11 consecutive quarters.

The bank reiterated a Buy rating and $300 price target on Amazon shares, arguing the recent pullback now implies “32% upside.”

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks slipped marginally lower Wednesday as investors cautiously awaited the conclusion of a Federal Reserve meeting, which is likely to determine risk sentiment going into the new year.

At 09:35 ET (14:35 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8 points, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 index slipped 10 points, or 0.2%, and the NASDAQ Composite fell 74 points, or 0.3%.

Fed’s decision in spotlight

The U.S. central bank concludes its last policy-setting meeting this year later in the session, and is widely expected to cut interest rates by 25 basis points.

Bets on a cut were furthered by some signs of cooling labor strength in recent months. But markets remained wary of any hawkish signals from the central bank, given that it will still lack key data points for October and November going into its final meeting for the year.

“A 25bp cut is practically certain. It’s 90% discounted. Not delivering is not really a viable option, given the way the Fed behaves. But, expect a hawkish cut, with a pause to be heavily intimated for the January meeting,” ING analysts said in a note.

While markets are widely confident that a rate cut is impending, media reports have said policymakers could be unusually divided over such a move, citing worries over sticky price gains and a relative dearth of fresh economic data due to a record-long government shutdown. A new summary of Fed members’ economic projections is also slated to be unveiled.

"The end-of-2025 dots will show the still divided stance of the committee, and will reveal what [Chair Jerome] Powell was up against," said analysts at ABN Amro, in a note. "The 2026 dots will likely be dispersed, with both substantial rate cuts, rate hikes, and everything in between, reflecting the uncertainty in the outlook."

Trump to begin final round of Fed interviews - WSJ

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump is aiming to begin the final round of interviews for the next Fed Chair in the coming days, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Citing senior administration officials, the WSJ said Trump and some of his aides are scheduled to interview former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh on Wednesday, and meet with other candidates soon.

One of those will be Kevin Hassett, the White House economic adviser many reports have described as the frontrunner to replace Powell when his term at the helm of the Fed ends next year.

Oracle, Adobe earnings awaited

Beyond the Fed meeting, focus this week is also on earnings from cloud and chipmaking majors Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) after Wednesday’s close, for more cues on the AI trade.

Fueled by a partnership with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Oracle has transformed its image this year from a smaller player in the cloud business to an essential provider of the rented computing power needed to underpin AI models.

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE) is also due to report its latest quarterly earnings after the closing bell on Wall Street.

Shares of the firm behind creative products like Photoshop and Acrobat have slumped by more than 21% so far this year, easily underperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite.

Elsewhere, AeroVironment (NASDAQ:AVAV) stock fell after the drone maker missed second-quarter earnings expectations and cut its outlook, while Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (NASDAQ:CBRL) stock slumped after the restaurant chain cut its sales outlook for its fiscal year, citing “unique and ongoing headwinds" as it struggles to recover from a poorly-received rebrand.

On the flip side, Chewy Inc (NYSE:CHWY) stock rose after the online pet retailer reported third-quarter results that exceeded analyst expectations, demonstrating strong profitability growth alongside solid revenue gains.

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Crude slips lower

Oil prices fell Wednesday, as investors weighed a sharp drop in U.S. crude stocks, Ukraine peace talks and a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve later in the day.

Brent futures dropped 0.5% to $61.64 a barrel, and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 0.6% to $57.92 a barrel.

Both contracts have slipped nearly 3% in the last two sessions, amid concerns a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia could bring about the removal of international sanctions on Russian companies, which could free up restricted oil supply.

However, data from the American Petroleum Institute, released on Tuesday, showed U.S. commercial crude stocks fell by 4.8 million barrels in the week to Dec. 5, far deeper than the roughly 1.7 million-barrel draw analysts had expected.

The draw suggests stronger demand or tighter supply, offering a near-term boost to crude sentiment, as does the expected Fed rate cut.

Ambar Warrick contributed to this article