Stock Market

Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Dow Inc, General Motors, U.S. Steel and more

In this article

The GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, March 16, 2021.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters

Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.

Dow Inc. — Shares of the chemicals company dropped more than 4% to lead the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average lower. The decline in Dow’s share price came after the company’s investor day event, where it outlined plans to drive earnings growth and its path to zero-carbon emissions.

General Motors — GM shares fell more than 1% after the automaker said it plans to double its annual sales to $280 billion by 2030 as it transitions to all-electric vehicles and grows its new software- and data-focused operations. The announcement came ahead of the company’s investor presentation.

U.S. Steel, Nucor — Shares of the steel producers fell on Wednesday after downgrades from Goldman Sachs. The investment firm said that it expected the price of steel to pull back sharply from its abnormally high levels early next year. Shares of U.S. Steel fell 8.1%, while Nucor lost roughly 3.9%.

American Airlines, JetBlue — The airline stocks retreated after downgrades from Goldman Sachs. The firm said a slowdown in travel recovery and higher fuel prices could weigh on the airlines. American Airlines shares dipped 4.4% and JetBlue fell 4.2%.

Palantir – Shares of the data company, known for its many government contracts, gained more than 1% following news that it won an $823 million contract with the U.S. Army to deliver its intelligence data fabric and analytics foundation using Palantir’s Gotham operating system.

Coinbase – Shares of the crypto services firm jumped more than 4% after Goldman Sachs reiterated its buy rating on the stock and said it expects a top-line beat when it reports earnings in November. The price of bitcoin also rallied to a near five-month high of $55,000. Coinbase trades in tandem with the bitcoin price due to its reliance on trading revenue.

Manchester United — Manchester United shares sunk 14.3% after the Glazer family, which controls the soccer club, announced a 9.5 million share offering. Manchester United will not receive any proceeds from the sale.

HSBC Holdings — HSBC shares added 2.1% after UBS upgraded the stock to a buy rating from neutral. UBS cited an attractive valuation and optimistic expectations for HSBC’s financial performance next year.

Seagate Technology, CDW — Shares of the technology companies fell after downgrades from Morgan Stanley. The firm downgraded both Seagate Technology and CDW to equal weight from overweight and cut price targets for each stock. Seagate Technology lost 5.9% while CDW shed 5.6%.

— CNBC’s Tanaya Macheel, Jesse Pound and Yun Li contributed reporting

Become a smarter investor with CNBC Pro
Get stock picks, analyst calls, exclusive interviews and access to CNBC TV. 
Sign up to start a free trial today