U.S. stocks drifted near flat on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 virtually unchanged and the Nasdaq Composite up 0.4% in mid-morning trade, as strong profit reports from SpaceX, Capital One and others offset disappointing updates from Netflix and AT&T. SpaceX climbed 11.1% after posting a bigger summer profit than analysts expected, and Musk said the company took a step toward considering a possible merger with Tesla, which rose 3.3% ahead of its results late Wednesday. Netflix fell 4.2% over a revenue-growth forecast below expectations, and AT&T dropped 5.6% over an earnings outlook that fell short, even though both beat profit estimates. Nvidia gained 0.9% and Super Micro Computer rallied 11.4% on stronger demand for AI platforms, while CoreWeave's volatile shares slipped 2.1% after erasing an early gain. The 10-year Treasury yield eased to 5.09% from 5.12%, but remains well above its 3.97% level before the war with Iran pushed oil prices higher.
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SpaceXTSLANVDAmergers and acquisitionsartificial intelligence
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Related tickers and likely impact
NVDA
▲ Likely positiveNvidia
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Market cap | $5.2T |
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 216.47 |
| Change that session | -0.29% |
TSLA
▲ Likely positiveTesla, Inc.
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Consumer Discretionary |
| Industry | Automobile Manufacturers |
| Market cap | $1.4T |
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 373.71 |
| Change that session | +1.54% |
QQQ
▲ Likely positiveInvesco QQQ Trust
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 717.63 |
| Change that session | -0.10% |
SPY
▲ Likely positiveSPDR S&P 500 ETF
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/20/2026 | 769.05 |
| Change that session | +0.34% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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