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Stocks notch new closing high, buoyed by end-of-war optimism and strong bank earnings

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 both notched new record closes as President Trump said the Iran war was “very close to over” and as strong earnings from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America bolstered investor sentiment.

Tasha Matsumoto

The S&P 500 notched a new all-time closing high, its first since January, as it closed above the 7,000 level for the first time, continuing its four-session win streak. The Nasdaq 100 rose for the 11th consecutive session and also claimed a new record close, its first since last October.

Stocks were buoyed by hopes for an end to the war in Iran, as President Trump said it was “very close to over.” Strong earnings from Morgan Stanley and Bank of America also bolstered investor sentiment.

Information technology was the best-performing sector as software stocks continued their run, while materials and industrials fared the worst.

Stocks that moved higher:

Stocks that moved lower:

  • ASML dropped after issuing weaker-than-expected Q2 sales guidance.

  • Lucid sank after TD Cowen cut its price target to $10 from $19.

  • TeraWulf shares dropped after the company reported preliminary Q1 revenues and an upsized $900 million equity raise.

  • First Solar ticked lower on news that China is reportedly weighing limits on exports of solar manufacturing equipment to the US.

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Matt Phillips

Oracle, Microsoft power battered software stocks toward best 3-day stretch in almost a year

Software shares are rising again early Wednesday, putting the widely watched iShares Expanded Tech Software ETF on track for its best three-day stretch in almost a year.

So far this week, Oracle is up more than 20%, Microsoft is up over 9%, and both ServiceNow and Datadog have gained more than 12%.

Intuit, CrowdStrike, Autodesk, and Atlassian were also among the software shares rising Wednesday after taking lumps on worries about AI disruption earlier this year.

Why the rebound? Mean reversion is a powerful force in markets, and some of these shares could simply be enjoying an overdue snapback.

Bloomberg suggests there’s some “bottom fishing” going on, with investors finally deciding that the price for these still highly profitable, cash flow-positive companies has fallen low enough to make them a compelling bargain.

Pat Tschosik, chief thematic strategist at research firm Ned Davis, told Sherwood News that the market may have been too panicky about software stocks as a whole, slamming the shares of software companies that could survive and thrive in the AI era along with those doomed to disruption.

Determining the difference between the winners and the losers will take a look at the fundamentals of individual companies.

“Somebody who does the homework is going to make a lot of money in these stocks,” he said.

Wall Street Goes Bottom Fishing in Beaten-Down Software Stocks

Wall Street Goes Bottom Fishing in Beaten-Down Software Stocks

So far this week, Oracle is up more than 20%, Microsoft is up over 9%, and both ServiceNow and Datadog have gained more than 12%.

Intuit, CrowdStrike, Autodesk, and Atlassian were also among the software shares rising Wednesday after taking lumps on worries about AI disruption earlier this year.

Why the rebound? Mean reversion is a powerful force in markets, and some of these shares could simply be enjoying an overdue snapback.

Bloomberg suggests there’s some “bottom fishing” going on, with investors finally deciding that the price for these still highly profitable, cash flow-positive companies has fallen low enough to make them a compelling bargain.

Pat Tschosik, chief thematic strategist at research firm Ned Davis, told Sherwood News that the market may have been too panicky about software stocks as a whole, slamming the shares of software companies that could survive and thrive in the AI era along with those doomed to disruption.

Determining the difference between the winners and the losers will take a look at the fundamentals of individual companies.

“Somebody who does the homework is going to make a lot of money in these stocks,” he said.

markets
Luke Kawa

Robinhood, Webull gain as SEC approves removal of day trading limit for small investors

Shares of Robinhood Markets and Webull are surging in premarket trading after the US Securities and Exchange Commission gave the green light to removing a rule that had impeded small traders from day trading.

The pattern day trading rule will no longer bar traders from making more than four day trades over a five-day period if their margin account has less than $25,000. The changes were initially proposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Under the SEC order published Tuesday after the close of regular trading, all traders, regardless of account size, will just need to have enough in their margin account to cover their exposure.

(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)

Formerly Soaring Shoe Brand Allbirds Sells Itself For $39 Million

Allbirds, the quarter-zip of footwear, is leaving shoes behind to become an AI infrastructure company

Allbirds shares rocketed higher on Wednesday.

Max Knoblauch9h
markets
Claire Yubin Oh

Snap jumps after revealing plans to lay off ~16% of its workforce, new guidance sees Q1 revenue up ~12% year on year

Snap jumped as much as 10% in premarket trading on Wednesday after the social media company announced that it may cut about 1,000 roles, or roughly 16% of its full-time employees, in an attempt to improve profitability.

In an SEC filling that followed its Investor Update presentation on Wednesday, Snap also added that it will be closing more than 300 open roles. As a result of the job cuts and other measures, the company expects to save roughly $500 million in annualized expenses by the second half of 2026.

Through the latest moves, Snap is “pivoting towards profitable growth,” per CEO Evan Spiegel, doubling down on its more than 60% gross margin target for 2026. It also joins a growing list of tech companies cutting jobs citing AI, with Spiegel adding that “rapid advancements in artificial intelligence [will] enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers.”

In the same investor update event, Snap also updated parts of its Q1 financial outlook, including reduced guidance on its stock compensation and adjusted operating expenses. The company now expects revenue of approximately $1.529 billion, up 12% year over year and just above analyst expectations of $1.524 billion, as compiled by Bloomberg. Snap expects adjusted EBITDA to come in at $233 million, again ahead of Wall Street’s current forecasts ($184 million).

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