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Luke Kawa

Stocks sink as the president fights with the world’s richest man

US stocks erased early losses to climb to session highs after President Donald Trump said he had “a very good phone call with President Xi of China” before giving up all those gains in the afternoon to finish in the red as the president had a very public spat with Tesla CEO and world’s richest man Elon Musk — who’s ending the day many billions less wealthy than he started it.

The S&P 500 closed down 0.5%, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.8%, and the Russell 2000 finished marginally in the red.

Consumer discretionary was far, far and away the worst-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, though all but communications services finished in the red.

Musk has taken exception with the “big, beautiful bill” making its way through Congress (which, among other things, would see electric vehicle tax credits eliminated), prompting Trump to declare that he was “very disappointed” in Musk. The Tesla CEO then claimed Trump would have lost the election without his help, and shares of the EV maker cratered as the barbs continued to fly between the two sides.

It was the 11th-worst day on record for Tesla, which tumbled 14.3%. The public spat also weighed on other “Trump trades” like Palantir.

Other big losers included Winnebago, which announced it’s laying off even more workers after posting preliminary third-quarter results that disappointed. And while a stiff drink may be in order after the chaos of the day, not enough folks have been indulging for Brown-Forman’s taste. The seller of Jack Daniel’s tumbled after whiffing on the top and bottom lines while calling for net income to fall for the full year.

On the other hand, Five Below was a standout performer, spiking after delivering strong earnings and announcing a partnership with Uber Eats.

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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.

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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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