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Rocket Lab surges to second straight record-high close

Retail favorite Rocket Lab closed at a new all-time high on Tuesday, continuing a remarkable run over the last month that has carried the launch services provider and aspiring Space X competitor up more than 70% over the last month (compared to its close of $49.06 on December 5).

Rocket Lab saw elevated options activity during its run-up today, with well over 3.5x the 90-day average in options volume changing hands over the course of the day.

Other space plays such as AST SpaceMobile and EchoStar surged today.

Despite being a money-losing company — it’s never turned an annual profit as a public company — Rocket Lab’s share price has soared nearly 1,500% over the last two years, generating tons of loyalty and enthusiasm among retail investors.

In fact, Goldman Sachs has made Rocket Lab the heaviest weighting in the latest iteration of its GS Memes basket of thematic stocks, just ahead of AST SpaceMobile, showing how enamored traders have become of such space stocks.

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The Supreme Court’s tariff ruling isn’t sweeping relief for automakers, but it isn’t nothing either

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down a significant chunk of President Trump’s tariffs, but the decision isn’t a cause for automakers to fully exhale.

Friday’s ruling relates to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and not Section 232. The 25% tariffs on automobiles and auto parts were imposed under Section 232, so those tariffs remain in place.

Still, it’s worth noting that automakers including Ford, GM, and Stellantis aren’t completely on the outside looking in. IEEPA tariffs did cover certain machinery, lower-cost raw materials, and components, which account for a small chunk of automaker production costs.

According to the Center for Automotive Research, IEEPA tariffs account for about $250 per vehicle for the big three Detroit automakers, or $902 million in costs. That’s a far cry from the Section 232 tariff impact of $4,240 per vehicle, per the think tank, but it’s not nothing.

The modest bump in auto stocks compared to retailers on Friday reflects the light relief.

Still, it’s worth noting that automakers including Ford, GM, and Stellantis aren’t completely on the outside looking in. IEEPA tariffs did cover certain machinery, lower-cost raw materials, and components, which account for a small chunk of automaker production costs.

According to the Center for Automotive Research, IEEPA tariffs account for about $250 per vehicle for the big three Detroit automakers, or $902 million in costs. That’s a far cry from the Section 232 tariff impact of $4,240 per vehicle, per the think tank, but it’s not nothing.

The modest bump in auto stocks compared to retailers on Friday reflects the light relief.

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Nvidia nears $30 billion investment in OpenAI’s funding round, the FT reports

Nvidia is close to investing $30 billion in OpenAI as part of its long-discussed funding round, per the Financial Times.

Bloomberg had previously reported that Nvidia would be investing $20 billion in this round.

The FT says that this investment will effectively be replacing a bigger planned pact between the two companies. The Wall Street Journal had originally reported in late January that Nvidia’s investment of up to $100 billion in OpenAI, which was announced in September, had “stalled” amid private criticisms of the ChatGPT maker by CEO Jensen Huang.

As Microsoft, SoftBank, or Oracle could tell you, being viewed as overly exposed to OpenAI has not been a boon for stocks in recent months.

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