Stocks drop as growth concern lingers; oil falls
U.S. stocks dropped from all-time highs, with shares of small companies leading declines, and Treasuries gained on an uptick in growth concerns.
The $S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ and $Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI.US)$ fell after setting closing records Tuesday. The tech-heavy $NASDAQ 100 Index (.NDX.US)$set an intraday record before closing barely in the green with $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$, $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ and $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ rallying. $Robinhood (HOOD.US)$ slumped after missing revenue estimates. The $iShares Russell 2000 Growth ETF (IWO.US)$ slumped 1.9%, the biggest decline since late September.
El Salvador 'buys the dip' and acquires another 420 bitcoins
El Salvador bought another 420 Bitcoins to take advantage of its recent price drop, President Nayib Bukele said in a post on Twitter.
The country has bought a total of 1,100 of the coins since Bukele announced the first purchases on Sept. 6.
Alphabet on verge of $2 trillion valuation after earnings surge
$Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ is within striking distance of reaching a $2 trillion valuation for the first time after a strong earnings report sent its shares soaring.
The Google-parent's shares rose to a record on Wednesday with an advance of as much as 6.7%. The gains added more than $110 billion to Alphabet's market valuation, which now stands at about $1.97 trillion, according to Bloomberg data.
Spotify ad business boosted by podcasts
$Spotify Technology (SPOT.US)$'s big bet on podcasts appears to be paying off.
Third-quarter advertising revenue increased 75% from a year earlier, and user growth picked up after a lull earlier this year. Spotify is now the top podcast platform in the U.S. by listeners, according to Edison Research, passing incumbent Apple Podcasts in the largest market. Paying subscribers, its most lucrative type of customer, also climbed 19% to 172 million, in line with the company's guidance range.
Hertz links up with Uber to offer 50,000 Tesla rentals
$Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (HTZZ.US)$ said Wednesday it is linking up with $Uber Technologies (UBER.US)$ to make 50,000 $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ available in Uber's ride-sharing network by 2023, the latest in the rental-car company's efforts to build momentum postbankruptcy.
The Teslas that Hertz plans to add to the Uber network will come from the initial 100,000 vehicle order and future orders as the program grows.
Elon Musk's net worth approaches $300 million
Musk's net worth is approaching $300 billion, putting him tens of billions of dollars ahead of the rest of the world's richest people.
Remember dogecoin? A rival 'meme token' just hit a record high and is close to overtaking it
Shiba inu has surged 30% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinGecko, hitting a record high above $0.00006. With a market capitalization of more than $29 billion, shiba inu is now the 11th-largest cryptocurrency. Shiba inu is a so-called meme token that bills itself as a "dogecoin killer."
Profit falls at GM and Ford as chip shortage takes toll
The two largest U.S. auto makers reported steep drops in third-quarter profit as chip shortage dented factory output, and each said the problem would leave dealership lots nearly bare well into 2022.
$General Motors (GM.US)$, which cut vehicle shipments in North America by nearly half in the July-to-September period, said Wednesday that its net profit dropped 40% in the third quarter, while $Ford Motor (F.US)$ reported a 23% decline in net income compared with the same year-ago quarter.
Source: Bloomberg, WSJ, CNBC