Key Takeaways

• The S&P 500 was essentially flat on Wednesday, Nov. 13, adding less than 0.1% as the latest inflation data matched expectations.

• Warner Bros. Discovery shares surged after Wolfe Research upgraded the stock, highlighting overseas strength for the Max streaming service and potential re-bundling opportunities.
  

• Shares of Monolithic Power Systems dropped, extending losses in the wake of a report saying its allocation in Nvidia's new AI chips could be in jeopardy.

Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed and little changed on Wednesday.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report showed that inflation remained relatively steady in October, aligning with economists' forecasts and boding well for the likelihood of an additional interest-rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December.

The S&P 500 was essentially flat in the midweek trading session, ending with a meager uptick of less than 0.1%. The Dow added around 0.1%, while the Nasdaq slipped 0.2%.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) shares jumped 5.4%, locking in the top daily performance in the S&P 500. Wolfe Research upgraded the media giant's stock earlier this week to "peer perform" from "underperform." Although analysts recognized that WBD faces ongoing challenges from declining linear TV revenues, they highlighted several bright spots. Analysts said there is potential for international growth for the Max streaming service, increasing profitability of the direct-to-consumer (DTC) segment, and potential opportunities from industry trends in re-bundling and partnerships.

Shares of Albemarle (ALB), the world's largest lithium miner, added 5.2%. Wednesday's increase extended gains posted by Albemarle stock earlier this week after Australia-based Liontown Resources (LINRF) became the latest lithium producer to scale back production plans as prices for the metal remain under pressure. Albemarle's earnings report, released last week, showed a wider-than-expected quarterly loss but provided details on cost-saving measures, including staff cuts.

Cable TV and internet provider Charter Communications (CHTR) announced an agreement to acquire media mogul John Malone's Liberty Broadband (LBRDA) in an all-stock transaction. Liberty's assets include its subsidiary GCI, Alaska's largest communications provider, and a roughly 32% stake in Charter. The boards of directors at Charter and Liberty approved the deal. Charter shares closed the day 3.6% higher.

Following a sharp downturn on Monday, shares of power management chipmaker Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) posted the steepest daily decline of any S&P 500 stock for the second time this week, slumping 6.6% Wednesday. The losses followed a report that semiconductor powerhouse Nvidia (NVDA) may omit or cut back on Monolithic's components in its next-generation AI chips.