Biggest stock movers Thursday: PLUG, NIO, and more

Stock futures rose while treasuries slipped on Thursday morning after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75%–5.0%, marking the first-rate cut in over four years.

Here are some of Thursday’s biggest stock movers:

Biggest stock gainers

• NIO (NIO) shares climbed 5% after the company began delivering its new ES8 electric SUV in Europe. The ES8, built on NIO’s advanced NT 2.0 platform, is the sixth NIO model available in the European market. Despite the risk of hefty tariffs against imported Chinese EVs, NIO continues to expand its presence in Europe, thanks to its competitive pricing and the company’s cooperation with the EU Commission. While Western governments have implemented restrictive tariffs to protect their domestic markets, Chinese automakers like NIO still maintain a significant cost advantage, allowing them to remain profitable in Europe.
• Shares of cryptocurrency-related companies surged on Thursday, mirroring Bitcoin’s 3% climb to around $62,000. Notable gainers included Coinbase Global (COIN) +3.9%, Riot Platforms (RIOT) +3.8%, Marathon Digital (MARA) +4.0%, Hut 8 (HUT) +5.3%, CleanSpark (CLSK) +4.4%, MicroStrategy (MSTR) +4.5%, Cipher Mining (CIFR) +3.8%, Hive Digital Technologies (HIVE) +4.4%, and Bitfarms (BITF) +4.6%.
• Plug Power (PLUG) shares soared nearly 5% following reports of securing a 25 MW order for proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer systems from BP p.l.c. (BP) and Iberdrola’s (OTCPK:IBDRY) joint venture, Castellon Green Hydrogen Project, in Spain. The project will utilize five of Plug Power’s 5 MW containerized PEM electrolyzers to decarbonize the Castellon refinery, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by 23,000 tons annually. These electrolyzers will produce green hydrogen, partially replacing the refinery’s current use of gray hydrogen derived from natural gas. The project will be developed in phases, with potential expansion up to 2 GW of electrolysis capacity.

Biggest stock losers

• Steelcase (SCS) shares plunged over 12% following its mixed FQ2 results, which missed top-line expectations. For FQ3, the company projects revenue between $785M and $810M, with the midpoint of $797.5M falling short of the $812.08M consensus. Adjusted EPS guidance for the quarter is between $0.21 and $0.25, with the midpoint of $0.23 aligning with the consensus of $0.23. Looking ahead to FY2025, Steelcase forecasts adjusted EPS in the range of $0.85 to $1.00, with a midpoint of $0.93, below the consensus estimate of $0.98.
• Hess Midstream (HESM) shares fell over 3% following the pricing of an upsized secondary public offering. An affiliate of Global Infrastructure Partners will now sell 11M Class A shares, up from the initial plan of 10M. Additionally, the underwriter has a 30-day option to buy up to 1.65M more shares. The company will not receive any money from this offering, which is expected to close on September 20.