The New York Stock Exchange opened on Wednesday without a clear direction following two consecutive sessions of market decline. ^[1] Argan stock surged 9.4% in pre-market trading after the engineering and construction company posted record fiscal second-quarter results that far outpaced analyst expectations. ^[2] Quarterly revenue hit a record $384 million, a 62% jump year-over-year, versus estimates of approximately $299 million. ^[3] The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $3.76 for the quarter ended July 31, 2026, blowing past the Wall Street consensus of $2.66. ^[4] United Microelectronics Corp. stock slipped 1.9% in morning trading to trade at $20.08, bucking a broadly positive market session. ^[5] Michele Shapiro, in a Business Insider essay, regrets that her daughter never worked a minimum-wage service job during her upbringing, believing such jobs teach humility, teamwork, and a strong work ethic. ^[6] The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened with a gain of 0.38 percent. ^[7] The market's indecision is attributed to the reactivation of hostilities in the war in the Middle East. ^[8] Shapiro credits her teenage service jobs with teaching her teamwork, resourcefulness, humility, and determination, skills she says she still uses today. ^[9] Shapiro deliberately steered her daughter toward prestigious internships at financial institutions including BlackRock and Dow Jones during high school and college, rather than hourly service work. ^[10] Shapiro states that her 27-year-old daughter earns more than she did at age 57, but still cannot properly clean a coffee machine or remove sticky spills from kitchen countertops. ^[11]