Today’s Stock Market: Real-Time Coverage

General Motors slips following Morgan Stanley downgrade

The Big Drop in General Motors

General Motors’ stock took a nosedive, sliding over 6% on Wednesday. This unfortunate plunge came after Morgan Stanley downgraded the automaker to underweight from equal weight. Ugh, not a good day for GM!

Why the downgrade? Morgan Stanley’s Adam Jonas points the finger at worsening consumer credit in the U.S. and China grabbing more market share. "The China capacity ‘butterfly’ has emerged and is flapping its wings," Jonas remarked. China produces 9 million more cars than it buys. This imbalance is shaking things up in the West.

High Stakes: Wednesday’s drop set GM shares up for their worst one-day loss since July 23, when they lost 6.4%. Ouch!

You can dig into Morgan Stanley’s analysis if you are a CNBC Pro subscriber.

— Brian Evans

Stocks open flat

How’d the day start? Stocks basically yawned at the opening on Wednesday. A tiny 0.08% rise for the broad market index, a 0.04% dip for the Nasdaq Composite, and a 0.1% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Kind of a snooze-fest after those recent record-highs.

— Brian Evans

Coinbase dips in premarket trading after extending its rally a sixth day

A Little Bump in Coinbase’s Rollercoaster: Coinbase shares dropped about 1% in the early morning trades. This comes after the stock enjoyed a six-day rally, gaining more than 6% since last Tuesday. It’s like riding the Coney Island Cyclone with this one.

What do the chart whispers say? Chart analysts are warning Coinbase might hit a downtrend. The 50-day moving average just dipped below the 200-day mark.

— Tanaya Macheel

KB Home and General Motors among names making moves in premarket

Premarket Movers: Who’s Up and Who’s Down?

Stocks moving in the premarket shake-up:

• Progress Software: Up nearly 7% after fantastic fiscal third-quarter results. Adjusted earnings were $1.26 per share on $178.7 million revenue. Analysts were expecting less—$1.14 per share on $176.2 million revenue.
• KB Home: Not a good day, shares plunged over 6% following weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings. Earnings hit $2.04 per share, 2 cents short of analysts’ estimates.
• General Motors, Ford Motor: Both auto stocks took a hit due to Morgan Stanley’s downgrades. GM fell to underweight from equal weight, and Ford dipped to equal weight from overweight. GM down roughly 3%, Ford down 2%.

You can check the full list here.

— Sean Conlon

Berkshire unloads another chunk of BofA, total sales hit $9 billion

Buffet’s Big Sell-Off

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway just sold another heap of Bank of America shares. Since mid-July, Berkshire’s sold about $9 billion worth, cutting their stake to 10.5%.

Latest Sales: Around 21 million shares went out the door between Sept. 20 and Sept. 24, pocketing roughly $863 million, according to regulatory filings. As their stake dips below 10%, Berkshire won’t need to disclose sales within two business days.

Market Effect: Shares of BofA have fallen about 3% month-to-date but are still up more than 17% this year. Buffett’s significant investment in the aftermath of the financial crisis and his subsequent maneuvers always keep the market buzzing.

BofA CEO Brian Moynihan said the market always speculates on Buffett’s moves. "Our stock’s a great buy, and we’re buying it every day," Moynihan told CNBC.

— Yun Li

More rate cuts could ease pain of a softening labor market, says Bank of America

Labor Market’s Cushion: According to Bank of America, further Federal Reserve rate cuts could soothe the economic worries surrounding the labor market. Weak data points have folks on edge.

BofA Economist Shruti Mishra said, "The series of rate cuts going forward should help ease some concerns around the labor market and support sentiment."

— Brian Evans

SAP shares fall after CFO confirms DOJ investigation

SAP’s Troubling News: German tech giant SAP saw shares fall 3% after CFO Dominik Asam confirmed a U.S. Justice Department investigation. This could be about price-fixing. Asam stated on CNBC, "We’ve been fully cooperating with the DOJ up until now and will continue to do so."

— Fred Imbert

U.S. stock futures dip

Early Morning Blues: U.S. stock futures were slightly down on Wednesday morning. Around 3:40 a.m. ET, S&P 500 futures fell 0.2%, Nasdaq 100 futures dipped 0.3%, and Dow futures dropped 0.2%.

— Sam Meredith

Europe markets edge lower

European Slowdown: European stocks traded a bit lower Wednesday morning, despite gains from Chinese stimulus measures. The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.1% just after the opening bell, with most sectors and major bourses in the negative zone.

— Sam Meredith

Gold still has upside, but near-term could be rocky, Strategas’ Verrone says

Gold and Silver: What’s the Deal?

Gold futures hit another record high on Tuesday, extending a rally that started even before the Federal Reserve’s rate cuts were certain.

Strategas’ Chris Verrone said on "Closing Bell," "Gold sentiment is a bit hot right now. A pullback to $2450, $2500 is good support. I’d buy there."

Silver’s Time to Shine? Silver futures soared more than 4% on Tuesday, marking the best day since May. Verrone believes silver is "timely" right now.

— Jesse Pound

KB Home slides after earnings miss

KB Home’s Earnings Blues

KB Home shares took a 6% hit in extended trading after missing fiscal third-quarter earnings expectations. They reported $2.04 in earnings per share, just under the $2.06 expected.

What’s Next for Homebuilders? This group will be watched closely as the Federal Reserve starts cutting rates. Investors will be eager to see if lower mortgage rates will boost home sales. New home sales data for August comes out Wednesday.

More after-hours movers here.

— Jesse Pound

S&P 500 futures open flat

Evening Calm: Stock futures showed little movement at 6 p.m. in New York, with S&P 500 futures barely budging.

— Jesse Pound

Market could be due for an ‘everything rally,’ says EMJ Capital’s Eric Jackson

What’s Up Next for the Market?

EMJ Capital’s Eric Jackson sees potential for an "everything rally." He told CNBC’s "Money Movers," "Small-cap tech, the Mag Seven, and more will join in."

Opportunities? Jackson likes Tesla, especially due to China’s new economic stimulus. The stock’s up 14% in one month and 38% in three months.

"Tesla will get more credit for being an AI play soon. I think the rally will continue," Jackson said.

— Sean Conlon