By Mackenzie Tatananni, George Glover, Joe Woelfel, and Kit Norton

Stocks traded higher Wednesday, putting them on pace to snap a three-day slump, as pressure from the bond market eased and attention turned to earnings from Nvidia after the closing bell.

These stocks were making moves:

Nvidia rose 1.9% ahead of the artificial-intelligence chip maker's first-quarter earnings due after the closing bell Wednesday. Wall Street forecasts that sales will rise 79% from a year ago to $79 billion, according to a FactSet poll.

Micron Technology climbed 3.9% after Samsung Electronics' talks with union leaders broke down. Leaders of the union said a strike would proceed from May 21 through June 7 as planned. Jefferies analysts predict the disruption could impact roughly 3% of global memory-chip production, triggering an increase in prices.

Intel added 6.6%. The chip manufacturer snapped a five-session losing streak on Tuesday.

United Airlines surged 9.2%, leading the S&P 500. Delta Air Lines also jumped 8.3%, placing it near the top of the S&P 500. Oil prices were falling after a report that three supertankers were moving through the Strait of Hormuz. Crude prices, however, remain elevated. Air carriers have been under pressure from rising jet fuel prices since the beginning of the war with Iran.

Meta Platforms advanced 0.5%. The company began its previously planned mass layoffs on Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported. In a memo to staff last month, Meta said it would lay off around 8,000 people, roughly 10% of its staff, and close 6,000 other open positions. The move was designed to offset other investments. The company didn't respond to a request from Barron's for comment.

Hasbro sank 7.4%, making it the worst performer in the S&P 500. The toy and game maker posted better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue but investors appeared to be concerned with the company's decision not to issue updated full-year guidance.

Cava Group jumped 4.7% after the Mediterranean fast-casual food chain beat analysts' expectations for first-quarter earnings and revenue. The growth was partially driven by 92 new restaurant openings over the past year, with recent new market entries across many Midwest states.

Toll Brothers gained 7.8%. The luxury home builder beat analysts' first-quarter earnings estimates in a sign that higher-end homes continue to sell, even as builders remain pessimistic about sales conditions as steep costs squeeze buyers.

Lowe's pared early losses, edging 0.2% higher. The home-improvement retailer reported first-quarter adjusted earnings of $3.03 a share, beating Wall Street estimates of $2.97. Revenue was $23.1 billion, up from $20.9 billion a year earlier. Comparable sales increased 0.6%.

Immunovant soared 34%. The biopharmaceutical company posted a wider-than-expected loss of 73 cents a share in its latest quarter. Analysts had forecast a loss of 59 cents. More important were strong week-16 data for Immunovant's autoimmune disease drug candidate, IMVT-1402.

Target sank 4% even as the retailer posted its strongest quarterly sales gain since early 2022, with comparable sales up 5.6%. Earnings of $1.71 a share handily beat analysts' calls for $1.42 a share.

TJX Cos. gained 6.2%. Investors brushed aside a conservative fiscal-year forecast, focusing on the retailer's strong-than-expected quarterly profit and sales.

AMC Entertainment advanced 14%. CEO Adam Aron late Tuesday disclosed he purchased 250,000 additional shares, noting in a social media post that he has "enormous confidence" in the company. The meme stock is trading around $1.55 a share.

Analog Devices declined 6.8%. The company reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter and agreed to acquire power chip maker Empower Semiconductor for $1.5 billion in cash.

Keysight Technologies fell 0.3%. It was a muted reaction after the test-equipment maker topped consensus views for fiscal second-quarter profit and issued strong quarterly guidance.

Write to Mackenzie Tatananni at mackenzie.tatananni@barrons.com, George Glover at george.glover@dowjones.com, and Kit Norton at kit.norton@barrons.com

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May 20, 2026 12:08 ET (16:08 GMT)

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