Luke Kawa4/16/25

US stocks slump, with tech heavyweights cratering on fresh semiconductor export restrictions

US stocks slid, with tech leading the way down as chipmakers face additional curbs on what they can sell to China. Major indexes extended losses after Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated the message that the central bank is in no hurry to respond to the hit to growth from tariffs because these levies will also put upward pressure on inflation.

The S&P 500 ended down 2.2%, the Nasdaq 100 fell 3%, and the Russell 2000 gave back 1%.

Tech was the worst-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, with all besides energy finishing in the red.

After the close on Tuesday, Nvidia said it was taking a $5.5 billion charge in its upcoming earnings report because the chip designer is no longer allowed to sell its H20 chips to China. Shares tumbled on the news, with analysts rushing to figure out how much these exports restrictions will dent earnings. That wasn’t the only bad news for semis on the day, as Dutch chip equipment manufacturer ASML slumped on lower-than-expected sales and orders.

Elsewhere in pain for Magnificent 7 stocks, Apple gave back all of the gains it made following the tariff exemptions announced Friday after the close, while Tesla slumped hard on a string of bad news.

United Airlines initially soared after reporting better-than-expected earnings after the close on Tuesday, but gave back that advance to finish flat. The airline provided two sets of guidance, and the numbers for the recessionary scenario look very optimistic relative to history.

Car rental company Hertz was a standout performer, spiking more than 50% after Pershing Square, run by Bill Ackman, revealed a 4% position in the stock.

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Markets close out 2025’s last full week of trading on a cheerful note

Stocks rallied for the second day in a row, with the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000 all closing higher, giving traders the early Christmas gift they desired.

Man is happy about his saw

markets

Health insurance stocks lose steam as Trump says he’ll lobby insurers for lower prices

Shares of health insurance companies dropped Friday afternoon, as President Trump said he would ask insurers to meet with him in the coming weeks to seek lower prices.

Stocks including Humana, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna, CVS Health, and Elevance Health all either pared gains or went further into the red after Trump’s remarks, which came at the end of a press event to announce pricing deals with nine drugmakers.

“I’m going to call a meeting of the big insurance companies that have gotten so rich,” Trump said, noting that he would lobby them for lower prices.

“I would say that maybe with one talk, they would be willing to cut their prices by 50, 60, or 70%. They’ve made a fortune.”

markets

Max Knoblauch12/19/25

Rivian’s surge continues as stock reaches highest level since December 2023 on analyst upgrades

Shares of EV maker Rivian are on pace to close up double digits for the second day in a row on Friday as bullish investors pour into the stock following analyst upgrades.

Rivian shares were up more than 10% on Friday afternoon, with the stock climbing to its highest level since December 2023.

Webush’s Dan Ives boosted his Rivian price target by 56% to $25 in a note on Friday morning. The analyst wrote that 2026 is a “prove-me” year for the automaker, with its lower-cost R2 model set to launch in the first half.

Ives’s note follows a separate optimistic bit of analysis from Baird, which also boosted its Rivian price target to $25 in a note on Thursday.

If today's gains hold, Friday will mark the third day of double-digit gains for Rivian in the past six trading days. An “AI Day” event that saw the automaker detail autonomous updates and tease a robotaxi plan started the recent run.

markets

Luke Kawa12/19/25

The neoclouds are shooting back up into the stratosphere

Investors’ faith in tech CEOs’ pursuit of digital God has seemingly been restored for now, sparking an intense rally in the speculative AI players that had been in full-on meltdown mode over concerns that the boom had passed its best-before date.

The data center companies colloquially known as the “neoclouds” — CoreWeave, Nebius, IREN, and Cipher Mining — are up more than double digits over the past two sessions, as of 10:40 a.m. ET.

The past 48 hours have brought a steady drumbeat of positive news for the AI theme.

CoreWeave received a vote of confidence from Wall Street as Citi resumed coverage with a buy rating and price target of $135. Oracle, the epicenter of AI credit concerns, has seen a reversal in its fortunes as it nears an acquisition of TikTok’s US operations. And OpenAI’s fundraising efforts appear be going so well that its reported valuation has gone up in back-to-back days.

Before that, Micron’s earnings reaffirmed the intense demand for AI compute, which continues to outstrip supply — a positive sign for the neoclouds. The macro backdrop is also turning perhaps a bit more in favor of lower interest rates, as CPI inflation came in well below expectations.

Snoop Dogg Performs At OVO Hydro Glasgow

Marijuana rescheduling could mean more investment in US weed stocks. There aren’t many ways in.

“Yes, institutional capital will go into the underlying names. The question is: How fast?" one weed company chairman said.

J. Edward Moreno12/19/25

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