Live Nasdaq Coverage: Why Palantir (PLTR) and Tesla (TSLA) Are Up Today

Investing

Gerelyn Terzo

Published: March 3, 2025 10:16 am

Last Updated: March 3, 2025 2:30 pm

Key Points

Stocks came out of the gate in the green but have since reversed course.
Nvidia stock is weighing on the Nasdaq.
Tesla and Palantir are bright spots, both recapturing recently lost ground.

Live Updates

Live Coverage Has Ended

Attractive Dividend Stocks During Market Uncertainty

2:30 pm by Gerelyn Terzo

Market sentiment has not improved, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average spiraling over 300 points on fears of an economic slowdown and tariff effect. The Nasdaq Composite remains lower by over 1% while the S&P 500 isn’t too far behind. Nvidia has been a drag, falling 6.7% on the day and steepening its 2025 losses to about 15%.

While the market uncertainty persists, dividend stocks have been thrust into the spotlight for their dependable income. Even if the share price is under pressure, many companies will continue to pay dividends and even increase them as a way of returning value to shareholders. Here are a few compelling dividend stocks to consider during this time of market uncertainty.

Financial stock Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) pays a dividend yield of 2.8%. Last year the firm increased its quarterly cash distribution from $0.82 to $0.925 per share, for an annual dividend of $3.70. That was the third straight year in which MS raised its dividend. Morgan Stanley is also in the middle of a $20 billion share buyback program, demonstrating its commitment to returning value to shareholders.
PepsiCo (Nasdaq: PEP) pays an attractive dividend yield of 3.5%. PepsiCo recently increased its dividend amount by 7% to $1.355 per share. PepsiCo’s stock price has been languishing and remains 15% below its 52-week high. Therefore, investors seeking income distributions could receive checks in the mail while waiting for the stock to bounce back.
Another stock to consider is Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), which pays a dividend yield of 1.4%. Domino’s is capturing headlines for introducing stuffed crust, pitting it more directly against competitors as it looks to bolster sales. Domino’s will offer stuffed-crust pizza in thousands of U.S. stores starting this week. The company recently raised its quarterly dividend by 15% to $1.74 per share.

Now that a down February is in the rearview mirror, the markets breathed a sigh of relief but it didn’t last. After coming out of the gate higher, stocks have since reversed course, with all three of the major stock market indices trading in the red, dragged lower by a 5% slide in Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA) stock.

There are also some standout gainers. Among them is Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA) rising nearly 3% this morning and recapturing the $300 per share level. Wall Street is helping the stock, with Morgan Stanley analysts calling it a “top pick” among auto stocks with a $430 price target attached, reflecting 43% upside potential. Elon Musk’s net worth now hovers at a reported $351 billion.

Palantir (Nasdaq: PLTR) is rising over 5% today to nearly $90 per share. Once again, analysts have set the bullish tone, suggesting that Palantir is poised to benefit from government contract momentum despite recent headlines of defense department budget cuts.

Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) is extending positive momentum on news of its upcoming standalone AI app to go head-to-head with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in 2025.

Here’s a look at the performance as of morning trading:

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Down 11.43 (-0.03)
Nasdaq Composite: Down 120.47 (-0.62%)
S&P 500: Down 19.33 (-0.32%)

Other Market Movers

MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is another bright spot, rising 4.5% on the Bitcoin rally, owing to the company’s heavy BTC holdings on its balance sheet. The Bitcoin price has been rallying on news of a new crypto reserve being introduced by the Trump administration which will hold BTC, among other digital assets. At $269, MSTR stock is still a far cry from its 52-week high of $543 per share.

T-Mobile (Nasdaq; TMUS) is gaining 1.4% on the day on reports of a partnership with AI phenomenon Perplexity.

Nvidia is down 5% on the day and is preventing the Nasdaq Composite from further gains. Nvidia is off to a rocky start in 2025, falling 12.5% year-to-date.

Constellation Energy (Nasdaq: CEG) is falling 4.6%. The Wall Street Journal reported that “AI fever” in the power sector is shifting from nuclear, which Constellation is active, to natural gas. Constellation operates the biggest fleet of nuclear power plants in the U.S.

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