Markets
Luke Kawa

US stocks cheer Federal Reserve’s signal that tariffs won’t derail rate cuts

The stock market rally crescendoed on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve signaled its willingness to continue to cut rates even if tariffs being pursued by President Donald Trump keep inflation elevated.

The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, the Nasdaq 100 was up 1.3%, and the Russell 2000 led the way with a 1.6% gain.

Every S&P 500 sector ETF gained except for consumer staples, which was flat.

Beaten-up megacap tech companies, like Tesla, and heavily shorted stocks, like Riot Platforms, were among the biggest beneficiaries of the central bank’s messaging.

Other big gainers included Boeing, which was upgraded by Bank of America analysts who anticipate its deliveries will rise this month.

Roku also basked in love from the sell side, jumping after Guggenheim doubled down on its buy rating on the stock.

Shopify surged after the e-commerce platform announced it would be moving its listing to the Nasdaq.

And XRP posted a big gain as the SEC dropped its appeal against Ripple, the latest in the lighter regulatory touch being applied to the crypto industry.

On the other side of the spectrum, General Mills slumped after reporting underwhelming earnings and cutting its full-year forecast.

Intel’s recent white-hot rally also U-turned on Wednesday after a TSMC board member said rumors that the Taiwanese firm was looking to buy Intel’s foundry business were unfounded.

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Tasha Matsumoto
49m
Semiconductors slump, dragging down stocks

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 fell as chip stocks and AI-linked names lost steam. Oil prices slid on the prospect of the Strait of Hormuz reopening.

Grizzly bear growling USA.
markets
Paige Oamek

Lionsgate closes higher on Netflix acquisition rumor

Shares for the film production company Lionsgate soared on Tuesday following rumors of a potential buyout.

According to a person familiar with the possible merger and acquisitions deal, streaming giant Netflix is one of the companies that may be interested in buying Lionsgate Studios, per reporting by Semafor.

Neither Lionsgate nor Netflix confirmed the news, but nevertheless the stock climbed, closing up 14%.

Netflix closed lower on news that Fox will acquire Roku in an approximately $22 billion deal after it was also rumored that the streaming company was interested in that acquisition. “Netflix did not make a bid for Roku,” a spokesperson told Semafor. This comes after Netflix withdrew its buyout bid for Warner Bros. Discovery earlier this year.

Lionsgate’s shares are up 77% since January. Lionsgate owns massive franchises like “John Wick” and “The Hunger Games.” The film company has a market cap of approximately $4.7 billion, making it roughly 5x smaller than Roku and 13x smaller than Warner Bros.

markets
Helena Cheng

Oil tumbles below $80 to 3-month low on US-Iran deal

Oil prices slid to their lowest levels in more than three months today after a preliminary ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran raised expectations that more crude could return to global markets and key shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz could reopen.

Brent crude fell below $78 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate dropped to $73.31, extending losses as traders priced in lower geopolitical risk premiums tied to Middle East supply disruptions.

The preliminary pact announced by President Donald Trump and Iranian leaders establishes a 60-day ceasefire to end the active hostilities that have choked the Middle East since late February. A formal memorandum of understanding is scheduled to be officially signed in Switzerland this Friday, according to Bloomberg report.

Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened when the agreement is signed in Switzerland on Friday, writing on Truth Social, “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”

US Energy Department data, meanwhile, showed that America’s strategic oil stockpiles sank last week to their lowest level since 1983, indicating sustained demand to rebuild them even if the Mideast conflict ends.

Stocks that moved lower:

markets
Helena Cheng

Eos Energy surges on commercial launch of second battery production line

Eos Energy Enterprises is surging in early trading after announcing the official start of commercial production at its second automated battery manufacturing line.

In a statement, the company said this milestone positions it to scale production of its proprietary zinc-based long-duration energy storage systems to meet rising commercial demand.

Management touted the enhanced efficiency of this facility, with design upgrades slashing raw material travel by 86% and shortening the physical production line length by 40% compared to Line 1.

“Battery Line 2 demonstrates our ability to continuously improve as we scale,” said John Mahaz, Chief Operating Officer of Eos. “It validates that our manufacturing system can be replicated and scaled with discipline.”

The battery energy storage company confirmed that while subassemblies will continue coming online through the early third quarter, full production capacity is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The ultimate goal is to hit an aggregate 4 gigawatt-hours of annual manufacturing capacity by the end of 2026. Management also highlighted that Battery Line 1 already surpassed its full-year 2025 output within the first 164 days of 2026.

Today’s announcement builds on recent operational momentum for Eos, which posted better-than-expected Q1 sales and announced a joint venture with Cerberus Capital Management in May. However, shares are still down 37% year to date.

For the full year, Eos still expects to achieve revenues between $300 million and $400 million, in line with its previously provided guidance.

markets
Luke Kawa

Qualcomm reportedly in talks to acquire AI chip design company Tenstorrent

Qualcomm is in talks to acquire AI chip design firm Tenstorrent for $8 billion to $10 billion, according to The Information.

This transaction, if completed, would be another concrete signal of the San Diego-based chip company’s attempt to carve out a niche in the upstream AI space (data centers), rather than focusing on end-user devices.

Qualcomm’s key business of handset chips has fallen on hard times, particularly in China, due to the memory chip shortage.

Less than eight weeks ago, the chip company was the lowlight in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, down about 20% year to date.

Shares proceeded to surge over 60%, buoyed by optimism that the rising AI tide will lift all boats. With the release of Q2 earnings, CEO Cristiano Amon said that initial shipments of AI chips to a “leading hyperscaler” were on track for later this year, and to expect more on the company’s AI growth plans at its investor day on June 24 (next week). Last month, Bloomberg reported that Qualcomm is poised to sell “millions” of AI chips to TikTok parent ByteDance.

Established AI chip giants and hyperscalers alike have reached agreements with or gobbled up burgeoning AI chip companies as the boom rolls on. In December, Nvidia announced a major licensing deal with AI inference specialist Groq, while Meta bought AI chip startup Rivos in September.

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