US markets open in green; SpaceX and Tesla shares rally up to 10% amid merger buzz

The US stock markets opened on a flat note on Wednesday, after the benchmark indices like the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 opened in the green, while the NASDAQ 100 opened on a flat note with a negative bias.

Dow Jones posted a sharp rebound from the lower levels on Tuesday, surging over 500 points, amid renewed buying interest in the defensive stocks. Meanwhile, the NASDAQ 100 extended its bearishness by closing 0.1% lower.

On Wednesday, shares of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Tesla Inc. were among the major gainers after the probabilities of their merger increased. Elon Musk, founder of both companies, said that independent committees at SpaceX and Tesla were discussing the possibility of a merger of the two companies.

Following the buzz around the merger, SpaceX shares zoomed over 9% on Wednesday to trade near $162 per share, and Tesla Inc. shares jumped nearly 3% to trade near $383 per share. Besides this, Tesla shares are also in focus ahead of the earnings release for the quarter ended September 2026.

Meta Platforms shares will also remain in focus throughout the day ahead of the quarterly earnings. Investors will closely watch for the AI-expenditure guidance and whether these investments are translating into growth drivers.

AT&T shares fell 6% on Wednesday after the company reported over a 5% YoY rise in revenue to $32.3 billion. The company’s Mexico unit also delivered stellar growth, which the company plans to sell for a $2 billion cash deal to Televisa, in order to expand its operations in the US for 5G and fiber network.

Meanwhile, Netflix shares fell nearly 5% after its outlook failed to boost investor confidence. During the quarter, the company delivered an 11.8% YoY growth in revenue and $4.46 billion in operating profit, beating its own guidance. However, the company lowered the advertising revenue forecast by 10% from $3 billion to $2.7 billion. In addition, the revenue growth outlook also cooled to 11.5% in Q4 from 16.2% projected earlier in Q1.

The crude oil prices hovered around flat lines on Wednesday as steady flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz alleviated concerns of supply disruptions. Brent crude oil prices traded near $108 per barrel, and WTI crude oil prices fell below $100 per barrel mark.