Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa7/17/25

S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 close at records on solid earnings and strong economic data

Better-than-expected retail sales for June and robust Q2 earnings propelled major indexes to record closing highs on Thursday. The S&P 500 rose 0.5%, the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.7%, and the Russell 2000 led the way with a 1.2% advance.

The day’s gains were led in part by Albemarle, which jumped 7.6% after Chinese mining giant Zangge ordered a surprise halt on lithium production. Elevance was the biggest decliner after slashing its full-year profit outlook.

Pepsi was also a top performer after the snacks and beverage giant topped Q2 earnings even as overall name brand demand cools. Sticking with soda…

Coca-Cola rose 2% while Archer-Daniels-Midland dipped after President Donald Trump touted his alleged progress in getting Coke to use cane sugar.

Taiwan Semiconductor shares rose more than 3% after the world’s leading chip supplier topped profit expectations for the second quarter and raised its full-year sales outlook.

Shares of railroad giants CSX and Norfolk Southern rose nearly 4% after a report said Union Pacific is working with Morgan Stanley to explore a potential acquisition. Union Pacific fell almost 2%.

Lucid shares soared 36% after Uber said it would make “multi-hundred-million dollar investments” in the EV maker as well as autonomous driving company Nuro.

Steve Madden jumped more than 6% after Citi upgraded shares of the struggling Y2K footwear brand to “buy” and raised its price target to $32 as fashion trends swing back in its favor.

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General Fusion CEO Greg Twinney spoke with Sherwood News from the Nasdaq during the stock’s first day of trading.

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J. Edward Moreno7/7/26

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

Job growth was 57,000. Analysts foresaw job growth of 113,000; prediction markets were more optimistic, looking for job growth above 125,000 but below 150,000.

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Meta surges on report it’s starting a cloud business to sell excess AI compute

The story of the hyperscalers in 2026 has largely been “the beatings will continue until the cash flow outlook improves;” this could help change the story for Meta. Or not.

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Paige Oamek6/30/26

Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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