Bunge shares rise as Trump wants to ban cooking oil in China; Progressive dives

Shares of the large grain processor rose as cooking oil became the latest sticking point in the tense trade relationship between the United States and China. A number of major financial companies benefited from strong earnings reports, although weak quarterly results led to a decline in the insurance giant’s shares.

Major US stock indexes were volatile in the mid-week trading session, as investors were also weighing the possibility of another interest rate cut at the Federal Reserve’s October meeting. The S&P 500 closed up 0.4%, the Nasdaq added 0.7%, while the Dow Jones fell slightly. Find more reports from Investopedia Today’s market is moving here.

Shares of grain processor Bunge Global (BG) rose 13% to post the strongest daily performance in the S&P 500 after President Trump threatened to ban Chinese cooking oil. Bunge is the world’s largest oilseed processing company. Shares of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) also rose.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) rose nearly 10%, sending other semiconductor stocks higher, a day after the chipmaker announced a deal to sell chips to Oracle (ORCL).

Upbeat expectations from leading chip maker ASML (ASML) and a multibillion-dollar data center deal also contributed to enthusiasm for stocks linked to the semiconductor industry. ASML, Applied Materials (AMAT), Lam Research (LRCX), and KLA (KLAC) all rose.

Morgan Stanley (MS) and Bank of America (BAC) saw their shares rise nearly 5% after becoming the latest financial companies to report better-than-expected quarterly results. Morgan Stanley’s results were boosted by strong trading revenue, and Bank of America also benefited from growth in investment banking fees.

Shares of Progressive (PGR) fell about 6% after the insurance company reported third-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts’ expectations. The results reflected a $950 million charge related to the company’s auto insurance business in Florida that generates profits beyond state lines, requiring Progressive to return that amount to Florida policyholders. Shares of rival Allstate (ALL) fell 4.4%.