Markets
Nia Warfield

Stocks hit record high as July inflation data bolsters rate cut bets

Stocks shot to fresh intraday records Tuesday after in-line July inflation data fortified bets that the Federal Reserve would deliver its first interest rate cut of 2025 next month. The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, the Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.3%, and the Russell 2000 soared 2.9%.

That marked the S&P 500’s first record close of August, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 booking a record close as well.

All 11 S&P 500 sector ETFs went positive on the day, with communication services, tech, and materials leading the way.

Gains on the day were led by chip stocks NXP and On Semiconductor, which jumped 7.2% and 6.1%, respectively. Declines were led by law enforcement equipment maker Axon Enterprise, which fell 6.1%. Elsewhere…

Meta jumped 3.1%, ending the day at $790 — its highest closing price in history. The stock has been on a tear following a series of excellent earnings reports.

Shares of On Holding leapt 8.9% after the Swiss sneaker maker reported strong Q2 sales and offered a sunny outlook as the brand gains traction in the “RTO apparel” market.

D-Wave Quantum were up 6.5% to close the day. Sherwood News spoke with its CEO, following the quantum computing company’s Q2 sales beat last week, about its potential to expand into AI model training.

e.l.f. Beauty shares rose another 4.5% after Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of the popular cosmetics brand to “overweight” and hiked its price target to $134 from $114 on Monday.

Five Below shares also bounced 4.5% after Loop Capital hiked its rating on the stock from “hold” to “buy” and lifted its price target to $165.

Tilray shares climbed 3.2%, extending a rally, as investors continue to pile into the cannabis company, fueled by a report that President Trump is considering weed reform.

Circle shares ticked up 1.3%, paring back from a 15% premarket surge after the fintech firm’s first earnings report as a public company topped revenue estimates but missed on earnings per share.

Nvidia closed largely flat despite a new report from The Information saying that China’s internet regulator has ordered local tech companies to suspend their purchases of Nvidia chips.

Spirit Airlines shares plunged 40% after the discount airliner issued a dire warning about its ability to survive as a going concern without more cash. Rival airlines including Delta, American, Southwest, and JetBlue were all up amid this news and inflation data showing a jump in ticket prices for July.

Plug Power dipped 3.4% after the hydrogen fuel cell developer reported mixed second-quarter results after the bell on Monday, but said it plans to achieve gross margin breakeven in Q4.

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Luke Kawa
7/13/26
Meet the newly public, Bezos-backed company that’s recreating the sun and stars

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 Moreno

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.

Luke Kawa
7/2/26
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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Luke Kawa
7/1/26
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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markets
Paige Oamek

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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