Markets
Luke Kawa

Stocks jump as tariffs take backseat to AI

The first trading day of the Trump administration saw more talk about AI than tariffs, fueling a sharp retreat in the US dollar and a rally in stocks.

The S&P 500 gained 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%, and the Russell 2000 jumped 1.9%.

Industrials were the best-performing S&P sector ETF; energy was the only decliner.

Reports that the president plans to announce a joint venture for US AI infrastructure dubbed “Stargate,” which includes Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI, sent shares of those companies, as well as Nvidia, upward.

Trump’s pledge to put the American flag on Mars drove rocket-esque gains for Rocket Lab USA, Redwire, and Intuitive Machines, among others.

Somewhat ironically, one stock that wasn’t joining in the risk-on party: Trump Media & Technology Group, which slumped double digits.

Moderna surged after receiving a grant in excess of half a billion to develop a bird flu vaccine.

Palo Alto Networks caught a bid after Morgan Stanley reaffirmed its bullish stance on the company.

That’s not to say the 25 executive orders and commentary from the president were uniformly positive for stocks across the board, as electric-vehicle stocks like Tesla, Rivian, and ChargePoint all slumped amid directives that may hurt their top lines. Meanwhile, more traditional, ICE-oriented vehicle companies did well, with General Motors in particular benefiting on the heels of an upgrade from Deutsche Bank.

Apple dropped amid negative analyst company around the company, which has struggled with soft demand in China.

Walgreens Boots Alliance, which was sued by the DOJ at the end of last week, also plummeted.

More Markets

See all Markets
markets

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.

markets

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.”

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.