Applied Materials Inc (AMAT) News & EventsAMATNews & EventsApplied Materials Inc

Applied Materials Appoints Akash Palkhiwala to Board

Applied Materials (AMAT) announced the appointment of Akash Palkhiwala to serve on its board of directors. As CFO and COO of Qualcomm (QCOM), Palkhiwala brings financial and operational leadership experience in the computing and technology industry. Palkhiwala has also been appointed to the board's audit committee.

S&P 500 Index Retreats for Second Consecutive Session

S&P 500 index retreated for the second consecutive trading session on Monday and has now erased gains made over the prior two trading sessions last week.  Consumer sectors, both staples and cyclicals, were among the worst-performing areas of the benchmark.  Energy once again helped to prop up the S&P 500 as its best-performing index, thanks to the geopolitical uncertainty in the Strait of Hormuz.   In technology, sentiment was split down the middle: pro-AI capex stocks held up, with Micron, Sandisk, Western Digital, and Applied Materialstrading notably higher.  Stocks in  Software and IT Services largely offset that advance, with names like Microsoftanddown 3.0% and 2.3% respectively.On Tuesday, traders will see earnings from a premium home builder - Toll Brothers- and a home improvement giant in Home Depot (HD), further gauging the impact of stubbornly high interest rates on the housing sector.Check out this evening's top movers from around Wall Street, compiled by The Fly.HIGHER AFTER EARNINGS -Flexsteel Industriesup 10.0%Duos Technologiesup 7.5%Yalla Groupup 1.4%.ALSO HIGHER -Amylyx Pharmaceuticalsup 13.2% after announcing expected results for Avexitide tomorrowKura Oncologyup 8.2% after insider buyButterfly Networkup 4.1% after insider buyDOWN AFTER EARNINGS -Fabrinetdown 6.5%ALSO LOWER -Andersen Groupdown 4.6% after equity offering

Major Averages Broadly Lower Near Noon

The major averages were broadly lower near noon as investors continue to balance easing inflation pressures and strong corporate earnings against renewed geopolitical risks.The inflation backdrop remains supportive for equities. July CPI and PPI both came in softer than expected, reducing concerns that the Federal Reserve will need to raise interest rates at its September meeting. PPI was unchanged in July after declining 0.1% in June, while the latest CPI data showed inflation continuing to moderate. The market is increasingly focused on whether the combination of cooling inflation and a weakening labor market will give the Fed room to ease policy later this year.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Applied Materialsreportedand provided upbeat Q4 earnings guidanceU.S. President Donald Trumpand their parts and componentsRedditwasAvalonBayin the S&P 500 at the August 18 openTeslaredesigned Roadster may have flying capabilities,OpenAI is on pace to generate annualized revenue of over $40B based on its present performance,2. WALL STREET CALLS:New StreetMicronto Buy, sees multi-trillion market cap by 2030SanDiskwith a raised Overweight rating at JPMorganCiscoto Hold at HSBCWayfairto Outperform at BernsteinFox Corp.to Overweight at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan3. AROUND THE WEB:Nokiais closing its research and development unit in Hangzhou, China, and cutting 1,600 jobs, Helsingin saysCharter Communicationsreceived final approval from California regulators to buy Cox Communications for $21.9B, WSJ reportsGoldman Sachsis courting investors to participate in Nvidia's$500B AI infrastructure financing initiative, leveraging its longstanding Nvidia relationship to secure a key role in mobilizing capital for the AI buildout, Reuters saysBPand UAE-based XRG have secured an exploration and production license for Venezuela's Loran offshore gas field, which holds an estimated 4 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas and straddles the Venezuela-Trinidad and Tobago maritime boundary, WSJ reportsApplehas trained a large language model in partnership with Alibabafor China's market, Reuters reports4. MOVERS:Capricor Therapeuticsgains afterand announcing the FDA is "willing" to review the company's BLA amendment for its HOPE-3 studyValnevaincreases in New York after announcing with Pfizerthat the EMA has validated theIntermexhigher after providing an update on itsfor Western Union'spending acquisition of the companyKinderCarefalls afterand cutting its guidance for FY26Merlinand York Space Systemslower in New York after5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:Heartflowand raised its outlook for FY26Midera Food, with CEO Mark Salman commenting, "We saw continued momentum in the second quarter, with orders up 16% and the backlog reaching $446 million"Teamsharesand backed its outlook for FY26DLocal, with CEO Pedro Arnt commenting, "TPV growth has remained above 50% year-over-year for seven consecutive quarters, with the last three quarters at or above 70%"FocalThericsand backed its outlook for FY26INDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was down 0.19%, or 103.36, to 53,736.63, the Nasdaq was down 0.48%, or 128.01, to 26,675.02, and the S&P 500 was down 0.21%, or 16.73, to 7,782.26.