The Midday Tape
Stocks are higher at midday with growth leading and defensives lagging, but the rally is carrying some conspicuous wreckage in its wake.
Macro backdrop stays steady, not the story.
Durable goods orders rose 1.8% in September, with the ex-transport read up a milder 0.5%, giving the desk a decent read on business investment heading into year end. Housing data told a softer story: new home sales fell 0.6% and the Case-Shiller 20-city index cooled to a 2.7% annual pace with prices actually dipping 0.4% month over month. None of it is moving rates dramatically, with the long bond (TLT) basically flat, but it reinforces a two-speed economy narrative that's been building all month.
AI infrastructure spending is doing the heavy lifting on the tape.
Oracle (ORCL) is up over 4% on a new multiyear deal with Intel (INTC) to expand Xeon-based computing on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, and Intel is catching a similar bid, up 4%, extending a YTD run that's already better than doubled the stock. Broadcom (AVGO) is up nearly 4% as the chip complex keeps printing new highs on data center demand. The marquee headline of the session is AMD's $1 billion expanded partnership with Meta, another data point in the ongoing capex arms race among hyperscalers and chipmakers. The Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) is outpacing the S&P (SPY) and the Dow (DIA), and even small caps (IWM) are participating, a sign this isn't a narrow mega-cap-only move. A sector-rotation headline crossing the wire at the open made it explicit: growth is leading, defensives are trailing, consistent with utilities, staples and healthcare sitting out the advance while tech and discretionary do the work.
Boeing (BA) is the session's biggest single-name casualty.
Shares are down nearly 10% after a wider-than-expected Q3 loss and a batch of grim operational color from management. The CEO confirmed Boeing still lacks FAA authorization to complete 777X flight test certification, with 777-9 certification now pushed to mid-2027. The CFO said 737 production won't get back to 2018 levels by 2029, and the company isn't expecting to stabilize at a 47-per-month 737 rate until sometime next year, with the real target of 52-per-month pushed to the back half of 2027. Management did flag about $2 billion of free cash flow for 2026, but warned 2027 free cash flow will be lower due to legacy cash drags. The stock is the clear drag on the industrials complex today.
Still ahead this afternoon.
Visa (V) reports after the close, one of several earnings names on today's docket alongside Robinhood (HOOD), Caesars (CZR) and Enphase (ENPH), all due after hours. The desk is also setting up for Microsoft's report later this week, with chatter already building around whether the company can extend its streak of double beats on AI and cloud. Watch oil (USO), down nearly 2% after Aramco contained a fire at its Ras Tanura terminal, for any late reversal on supply risk.
Bottom line: AI capex spending is powering a broad, growth-led advance that's shrugging off soft housing data, but Boeing's operational setbacks are a reminder that this market is rewarding a narrow set of winners while punishing execution misses everywhere else.