AES and Pharma Stocks Soar; Corteva Drops

Reports of a potential acquisition helped shares of a utility company power higher, while an agricultural sciences firm faced pressure after it announced a plan to separate into two independent entities.

Major U.S. equities indexes recovered from early losses to end higher on the first trading day after a federal government shutdown took effect. The S&P 500 added 0.3% and the Dow eked out a 0.1% gain to finish at all-time highs. The Nasdaq climbed 0.4% to finish just short of its closing record. Find the full market summary from Investopedia here.

Shares of renewable energy provider AES (AES) surged nearly 17%, gaining the most of any S&P 500 stock. The push higher followed reports that Global Infrastructure Partners, owned by asset management giant BlackRock (BLK), is in talks to buy AES. The deal could be worth around $38 billion, which would make it one of the largest infrastructure takeovers ever.

Pharmaceutical stocks and others in the healthcare sector extended their gains Wednesday, a day after Pfizer (PFE) became the first major drugmaker to comply with a push from the White House cut medication prices in the U.S. to the lower levels seen in other countries. According to media reports, other major pharma companies could follow Pfizer’s lead and seek pricing deals with the Trump administration. Shares of Biogen (BIIB), Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO), Eli Lilly (LLY), Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) all ranked among the benchmark index’s top performers Wednesday.

Shares of memory chip maker and Nvidia (NVDA) partner Micron Technology (MU) advanced close to 9%, along with hard drive makers Seagate Technology (STX) and Western Digital (WDC). The moves extended recent gains on anticipation they could benefit from growing demand for data storage to support AI.

Corteva (CTVA) shares tumbled 9.1%, logging the S&P 500’s weakest performance Wednesday, after the agricultural sciences firm announced a plan to split its crop protection and its seed businesses into two independent companies. The company expects the transaction to be complete by the second half of 2026.  

Shares of tech-focused research firm Gartner (IT) fell 4.5%. Although the U.S. federal government accounts for less than 5% of Gartner’s revenue, the government shutdown weighed on sentiment across the advisory industry. Gartner stock has also faced pressure stemming from concerns about how AI could disrupt the research business.

Interpublic Group (IPG) stock lost 5% on Wednesday, reversing gains posted in the prior session after German biotech giant Bayer (BAYRY) named IPG as the exclusive creative and media partner for its consumer health business. IPG and fellow marketing firm Omnicom (OMC) announced that the regulatory approval process for their intended merger remains in progress and that they expect the deal to close by year-end. Omnicom shares also slipped 5%.