Key Takeaways
- Amazon (AMZN) and Constellation Energy (CEG) announced a landmark 20-year power purchase agreement to expand the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant, driving a 3.8% surge in CEG shares.
- Alphabet (GOOGL) shares rose 2.3% following the unveiling of Gemini 4 Argon, its most advanced AI model designed for deep reasoning and cybersecurity defense.
- Accenture (ACN) jumped 10% in pre-market trading after reporting a fourth-quarter revenue beat and providing a robust profit outlook for fiscal 2027.
- Morgan Stanley maintained an Overweight rating on Apple (AAPL), forecasting a major multi-year product cycle under new CEO John Ternus with earnings potentially reaching $11 per share by FY28.
- US Treasury yields edged lower, with the 2-year note dipping 3 basis points to 4.86%, as markets digested hawkish commentary from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari.
Tech and Energy Lead Market Gains
Constellation Energy (CEG) is among the top pre-market movers, climbing 3.8% after securing a 20-year deal with Amazon (AMZN). The agreement supports a $3 billion investment to upgrade the Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant in Maryland, adding 190 megawatts of new carbon-free capacity to support Amazon's massive data center expansion.
Alphabet (GOOGL) gained 2.3% as it introduced Gemini 4 Argon, a "frontier intelligence" model. The new model is currently being rolled out to trusted partners through the Fairwind Program, with Google claiming it matches or exceeds rival benchmarks in complex software engineering and financial reasoning tasks.
Earnings Beats Drive Individual Movers
Accenture (ACN) shares soared 10% after the company surpassed analyst expectations for both its top and bottom lines. The consulting giant reported $18.7 billion in quarterly revenue and a record $11.5 billion returned to shareholders in fiscal 2026, signaling strong corporate demand for AI-driven digital transformation.
Micron Technology (MU) saw volatile trading, up 0.5% following its latest earnings report. While the company posted strong numbers driven by AI-driven memory demand, its gross margin guidance for the upcoming quarter slightly missed analyst estimates, leading to a choppy initial reaction from investors.
Analyst Outlook and Macro Signals
Morgan Stanley issued a bullish note on Apple (AAPL), suggesting the company is entering its most consequential innovation cycle in over a decade. Analysts believe the leadership of new CEO John Ternus will drive four consecutive years of iPhone unit growth, setting a price target of $355 despite a minor adjustment from $360.
On the macroeconomic front, Federal Reserve official Neel Kashkari noted that the economy remains "surprisingly resilient" but warned that housing-adjacent sectors are under pressure. Meanwhile, ECB's Joachim Nagel emphasized that the central bank's focus remains strictly on price stability rather than targeting specific bond yield levels, as German 10-year yields hover near 3.6%.
In political news, Donald Trump stated in a TIME interview that the U.S. would "soon be filling up" the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The comments come as the reserve sits at multi-decade lows following emergency releases earlier in the year to combat rising gasoline prices.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.