A sign outside of a CVS pharmacy store on February 07, 2024 in Miami, Florida.
- Donald Trump will win the presidential election, NBC News projects.
- CVS Health on Wednesday reported mixed third-quarter results.
- Nvidia is, once again, the most valuable publicly traded company in the world.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. A presidential surge
Stocks rallied Wednesday morning as former president Donald Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to win 2024 presidential election, NBC News projects. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average leaped 1,254 points, or about 2.9%, the first time the Dow has jumped more than 1,000 points in a single day since November 2022. S&P 500 futures soared 2.4% and Nasdaq 100 futures rallied 1.8%. Follow live market updates.
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2. Trump projected to win presidency
Trump's projected win over Harris in the presidential election comes after losing his reelection bid to President Joe Biden in 2020. Trump, the 45th president, will now become the 47th president. It is too early to know how close Trump's presidential agenda will follow his many claims as a candidate, which include promises of deep tax cuts and heavy tariffs. Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, just 40 years old, will become the vice president.
Money Report
3. CVS earnings
CVS Health on Wednesday reported mixed third-quarter results as higher medical costs put pressure on its performance. While adjusted earnings per share were $1.09, below the $1.51 a share analysts surveyed by LSEG expected, growth in its pharmacy business and insurance unit pushed sales to $95.43 billion, up 6.3% from the same period a year ago. CVS also named Steve Nelson, former CEO of UnitedHealth Group, as the new president of its health insurance unit, Aetna. The third-quarter report is CEO David Joyner's first since taking the lead role of the retail drugstore chain in October.
4. Nvidia takes the crown
Nvidia passed Apple in market cap for the second time on Tuesday to become the most valuable publicly traded company in the world. Shares of the top graphics processing units manufacturer jumped nearly 3% to close with a market cap of $3.43 trillion, above Apple's $3.4 trillion. Nvidia's stock price has almost tripled in 2024, while Apple shares are up about 17% this year. Nvidia previously passed Apple in June before losing the spot later in the summer.
5. Bitcoin hits record high
Bitcoin hit an all-time high Wednesday morning as Trump defeated Harris in the presidential election, NBC News projected. The flagship cryptocurrency reached a record price of $75,000 on the nose, according to Coin Metrics. Bitcoin hit its previous record of $73,797.68 on March 14 and has traded slightly below $70,000 for most of the year since then. The industry has favored Trump in the election, who presented himself as the pro-crypto candidate.
— CNBC's Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Kevin Breuninger, Annika Kim Constantino, Kif Leswing and Tanaya Macheel contributed to this report.
