S&P 500, Nasdaq Inch Higher to Extend Winning Streaks to Three Days as Investors Await News on Trade Deals

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday

12 hr 58 min ago

Advancers

ON Semiconductor (ON) shares rose 6.1%, securing the top daily performance in the S&P 500. Wednesday’s move higher tacked onto gains posted in the prior session after Onsemi CEO Hassan El-Khoury told a tech conference that the company is seeing signs of a recovery in demand.
GlobalFoundries (GFS) said it plans to invest more than $16 billion to increase chip production in the U.S. The maker of so-called essential semiconductors said it is collaborating with companies like Apple (AAPL) and General Motors (GM) to support domestic chip manufacturing. Shares of NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), also mentioned as a partner in the U.S.-made chip initiative, gained 5.6%. GlobalFoundries shares were up 2.3%.
D.R. Horton (DHI) stock gained 4.4%, and shares of other homebuilders also moved higher. A downtick in Treasury yields and Trump’s renewed pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates brightened the outlook for mortgage borrowing costs.

Decliners

Dollar Tree (DLTR) shares dropped 8.4%, losing the most of any S&P 500 stock on Wednesday, as the discount retailer cautioned that tariffs could weigh on profitability in the current quarter. Although its net sales, comparable-store sales, and adjusted earnings per share for the fiscal first quarter topped estimates, Dollar Tree warned that second-quarter adjusted EPS could be down as much as 50% year-over-year as the company works to alleviate tariff-related costs.
A disappointing outlook also pressured shares of CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD), which sank 5.8% after the cybersecurity firm’s quarterly revenue forecast came in below consensus estimates. Despite the guidance, several research firms boosted their price targets on CrowdStrike shares, with Deutsche Bank highlighting the need for additional cyber defenses as companies deploy more artificial intelligence applications. Bank of America analysts downgraded CrowdStrike stock to “neutral,” citing a high valuation and an expectation for revenue growth to taper off of the next few years.
Constellation Energy (CEG) stock slipped 4.3%. Although the shares initially surged following Constellation’s announcement of a 20-year deal to sell nuclear power to Facebook parent Meta Platforms (META), they failed to hold on to those gains. Citi analysts downgraded Constellation Energy stock to “neutral” from “buy,” citing limited upside following the recent rally and noting that the Meta agreement could have implications for future power contract negotiations.

-Michael Bromberg

Tesla Stock Slides After More Weak Sales Data

13 hr 18 min ago

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) lost ground Wednesday as reports indicated the electric vehicle maker’s sales continued to slip in some key markets last month.

Sales declined again in May across Germany, Italy, and the U.K. Shipments from the company’s factory in China, which are delivered within China and to other markets, also fell last month, according to reports.

However, Tesla also has received some positive news lately, as sales reportedly rose in Australia and Norway in May, according to CNBC and Reuters.

The company told Reuters it expects sales to pick up in June, at least in the U.K., where a spokesman there said the automaker had sold through its stock of Model Y SUVs as it awaited delivery of the new version of the popular model. The revamped Model Y was launched in the U.S. earlier this year.

Tesla shares fell 3.6% Wednesday and are off more than 17% since the start of the year, as a rally sparked by CEO Elon Musk saying he would refocus on Tesla and his other companies has slowed in recent weeks. The EV maker has seen sales slump in the U.S. and abroad so far this year amid pushback to Musk’s involvement with the Trump administration.

Musk has since left the administration, and on Tuesday criticized the budget reconciliation bill currently working its way through Congress as a “disgusting abomination” that would add to the current budget deficit and national debt.

-Aaron McDade

Investors Have Mixed Opinions About the ‘Taco Trade’

13 hr 31 min ago

The “Trump Trade” has evolved. How investors should play it is up for debate. 

The early days of President Donald Trump’s second administration supercharged a climb in stocks that started late last summer, lifting the major indexes and some specific assets—shares of Tesla (TSLA), cryptocurrency—in particular. Sprinkled in was volatility around stock and sectors seen as likely to be helped or hurt by spending and regulatory efforts.  

Some of that remains in place, but the action these days is largely around global trade policy. Investors are attempting to figure out from day to day what the next twist in Trump’s tariff strategy could be and how it might affect stocks in the hours, days and weeks ahead. 

That’s taken on particular salience since stocks swooned after the April 2 “Liberation Day” tariff announcements and then began working their way back. The upshot, for some, is the belief that Trump eventually delays or otherwise modifies policies the market doesn’t like, so trade-policy negativity will be shaken off before long. 

There’s an alliterative nickname for this: the “TACO Trade,” short for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” coined last month by a Financial Times columnist. (Asked about it at a press conference, Trump was unamused.) Discussion of the term has taken on a political character and become fodder for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and other publications. It has also found its way to the lips of investors and analysts.

Read the full article here.

-David Marino-Nachison

GlobalFoundries to Spend $16B to Boost U.S. Production

14 hr 34 min ago

GlobalFoundries (GFS) shares gained Wednesday after the maker of so-called essential semiconductors announced it would invest more than $16 billion to increase its production in the U.S.

The Malta, N.Y.-based company said the move comes in response to President Donald Trump’s effort to build more chips domestically, and the booming demand for more AI products. GlobalFoundries supplies a wide range of tech companies, including Apple (AAPL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). 

The firm said that more than $13 billion of the spending would be to expand and modernize its current facilities in New York and Vermont, and fund its recently launched New York Advanced Packaging and Photonics Center. An additional $3 billion will be dedicated to advanced research and development initiatives focused on “packaging innovation, silicon photonics and next-generation GaN technologies.” GaN stands for gallium nitride, used especially for power devices.

CEO Tim Breen noted the company is proud to “partner with pioneering technology leaders to manufacture their chips in the United States—advancing innovation while strengthening economic and supply chain resiliency.” Breen added the skyrocketing growth of AI is driving “strong, durable demand” for GlobalFoundries technologies.

GlobalFoundries shares closed 2.3% higher on Wednesday, after rising nearly 6% early in the session. The stock is down roughly 12% since the start of 2025.

-Bill McColl

Stocks Get Another Upgrade on Wall Street as Tariff Fears Fade

15 hr 16 min ago

Another Wall Street firm turned more bullish on the stock market on Wednesday, as analysts came around to the possibility the worst of this year’s tariff shock is in the rearview mirror. 

“Peak tariff uncertainty is likely passed, which should allow modest valuation expansion from here,” wrote Barclays analysts, who raised their year-end S&P 500 forecast to 6,050 from 5,900 on Wednesday. 

Several other firms have raised their targets for the index in recent weeks, citing easing global trade tensions, continued resilience of the U.S. economy, and the stimulative potential of the tax and spending bill working its way through Congress. Deutsche Bank on Tuesday raised its year-end forecast to 6,550, and UBS last week lifted its target to 6,000.

The stock market’s outlook may have improved in the last month, but it remains drearier than at the start of the year, when investors were optimistic about President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-growth, business-friendly agenda. Only two Wall Street firms tracked by CNBC’s Market Strategist Survey have not lowered their expectations for the S&P 500 this year.

Read the full article here.

-Colin Laidley

What Traders Expect Broadcom Stock to Do After Earnings

15 hr 59 min ago

Semiconductor giant Broadcom is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter results after the closing bell on Thursday, and traders are expecting a modest post-earnings stock move. 

Options pricing suggests investors expect Broadcom (AVGO) stock to move about 6.5% in either direction the day after its earnings report. A move of that magnitude would either lift shares to a record high around $273 or sink them to $240, about where they were a week ago. 

Broadcom shares were rising Wednesday, building on a six-day winning streak that put the stock at an all-time closing high on Tuesday. Shares have gained more than 30% in the past month, buoyed by an AI trade revived by Nvidia’s (NVDA) strong results last week.

Broadcom stock has registered an average post-earnings move of 13.9% over the past four quarters, and rose in three of those instances. A 6.5% gain or loss on Friday would represent the stock’s smallest post-earnings move since December 2023. 

Shares jumped more than 8% in March after reporting record first-quarter revenue  amid continued strength in its AI semiconductor and infrastructure software businesses. The stock surged nearly 25% on its strong December earnings report, which propelled Broadcom into the small group of $1 trillion companies. 

Analysts are bullish on Broadcom’s long-term outlook but see limited upside heading into Thursday’s earnings. Of the 14 Broadcom analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, 13 rate the stock a “buy” and one is neutral. The average price target of $251.70 is about 2% below the stock’s closing price on Tuesday.

-Colin Laidley

Apple Stock Gets a Downgrade from Needham Analysts

16 hr 35 min ago

Apple (AAPL) is no longer a “buy,” according to analysts at Needham. 

The iPhone maker’s valuation is too pricey compared with its Big Tech peers and doesn’t appear primed for a strong device upgrade cycle, Needham wrote to clients Wednesday. Analyst Laura Martin downgraded Apple to “hold” from “buy” and withdrew its price target of $225.

“We move to the sidelines for AAPL owing to its expensive relative valuation, increasing fundamental growth headwinds, and rising competitive threats,” Martin said in the research report. 

Apple’s share-price growth is dependent on a successful iPhone upgrade cycle, which Needham doesn’t expect within the next year, even with the iPhone 17 expected to drop this fall.

Smartphone demand in general is under pressure, technology analysis firm Counterpoint Research said Wednesday. The group revised downward its global smartphone shipment growth forecast to 1.9% in 2025—below its prior estimate of 4.2%—citing the impact of U.S. tariffs. North America shipments are expected to decline 3% this year, easily the worst projection for any region. 

“All eyes are on Apple and Samsung because of their exposure to the US market,” Counterpoint Associate Director Liz Lee said. “Although tariffs have played a role in our forecast revisions, we are also factoring in weakened demand.”

President Donald Trump warned Apple last month that the administration will impose a tariff of at least 25% on iPhones sold in the U.S. that are made in other countries, including in India, where the company has shifted production to avoid import taxes on China.

One issue for Apple, relative to its peers, is that its strides in artificial intelligence can only be used to improve its own ecosystem, Needham said. Meanwhile, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) can drive revenue by charging other companies a fee to use its Gemini models, and Amazon (AMZN) makes money from firms using its Amazon Web Services. 

“AAPL does not own a Cloud business so this becomes a cost center, rather than a new [revenue] and margin upside driver,” Needham said. 

Apple will get a chance to make its case for the future at its Worldwide Developers Conference next week. The company is expected to introduce an iOS update as well as a potential new AI partnership with Google, according to Goldman Sachs analysts.4

Of the 12 analysts covering Apple tracked by Visible Alpha besides Needham, eight have “buy” or equivalent ratings, with two “hold,” and two “sell” ratings. Their targets range from $170 to $270.

Apple shares were down 0.2% at around $203 in mid-afternoon trading Wednesday.

-Andrew Kessel

CrowdStrike Shares Slide, But Analysts Stay Bullish

17 hr 59 min ago

Shares of CrowdStrike (CRWD) tumbled Wednesday after the company’s revenue forecasts came in short of estimates, but analysts are staying bullish on the cybersecurity software maker.

Analysts from Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies and Oppenheimer all raised their price targets for CrowdStrike to $470, $450, $520 and $520, respectively. Of the analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, 25 call CrowdStrike a “buy,” while four others rate it as a “hold,” with an average price target of around $488.

CrowdStrike shares were down 6% in recent trading at around $459. Despite today’s decline, the stock is up 34% since the start of 2025.

Bank of America analysts, lifting their price target but downgrading the stock to “neutral,” said they “favor CrowdStrike’s fundamentals and growth prospects, but believe the valuation leaves only limited upside from the current level,” adding that they expect revenue growth to accelerate in the back half of this year but slow in the coming years.

UBS analysts, retaining their $545 price target as one of the most bullish on Wall Street, said they are “inclined to look past some of the near-term revenue headwinds from the company’s outage-related discounting program,” which pressured first-quarter revenue and CrowdStrike’s second-quarter forecasts.

Analysts from Deutsche Bank said they are “bullish on CEO George Kurtz’s articulation of how AI is expanding the attack surface and driving the need for better cyber defense (and thus more CrowdStrike).” However, they added that they “remain on the sidelines given valuation and our concerns for consolidation cyclicality.”

-Aaron McDade

Dollar Tree Stock Drops as Discount Retailer Warns on Tariffs

18 hr 42 min ago

Dollar Tree (DLTR) shares plunged Wednesday after the discount retailer warned of a hit to its current-quarter profit because of tariffs.

The company posted first-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.26 on net sales that increased 11% year-over-year to $4.64 billion, exceeding analysts’ estimates. Comparable store sales rose 5.4%, better than the 3.8% jump analysts had forecast, according to Visible Alpha.

The retailer held its full-year sales outlook steady but increased its adjusted EPS forecast to $5.15 to $5.65 from the prior $5.00 to $5.50 range, reflecting the more than $500 million in stock buybacks the company has undertaken year-to-date.

For the second quarter, Dollar Tree expects comparable net sales growth “towards the higher end” of its 3% to 5% full-year forecast. However, adjusted EPS is seen down possibly 45% to 50% year-over-year as Dollar Tree works to mitigate and absorb the cost of tariffs. The company said it expects “some earnings volatility” before adjusted EPS rises in the third and fourth quarters.

Last quarter, Dollar Tree announced plans to sell its Family Dollar brand to a pair of private-equity firms for $1 billion. Dollar Tree said Wednesday the Family Dollar sale is still expected to close in the second quarter.

Dollar Tree shares were down 7% recently, leading S&P 500 decliners. They entered the day up 29% since the start of the year, including a 6% rise Tuesday after discount store rival Dollar General (DG) lifted its full-year guidance following strong first-quarter results.

-Aaron McDade

These are JPMorgan’s Top Internet Stock Picks

19 hr 48 min ago

JPMorgan analysts raised their price targets on a number of internet stocks, signaling to clients that concerns over the Trump administration’s tariff policies have at least partially subsided.

Big Tech titans Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) each earned a higher price objective, along with smaller names like Spotify (SPOT), eBay (EBAY), Duolingo (DUOL), Etsy (ETSY), and Booking (BKNG). 

Amazon – JPMorgan expects Amazon Web Services growth to reaccelerate in the second half of the year as supply chain constraints ease. The company has a litany of other potential growth catalysts, as well, including advertising, grocery sales, Amazon Logistics, and its Project Kuiper satellite internet initiative, the bank said. The company moved its price target to $240 from $225.

Meta – Advertising tailwinds should help the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp parent deliver revenue percentage growth in the low teens in 2025 and 2026, JPMorgan said. Artificial intelligence has also bolstered Meta’s family of apps, with Meta AI boasting roughly 1 billion monthly active users, analysts noted. The bank bumped its target for Meta to $735 from $675.

Alphabet – Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL) was also listed among JPMorgan’s top internet picks, although its price target remained unchanged at $195. Google has executed well its rollout of AI search tools, including AI Overviews last year and the recent introduction of AI Mode for search, the bank said. JPMorgan also pointed to the growth of Waymo, Alphabet’s driverless taxi business. The company has partnered with Uber (UBER) and currently operates in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin, with Atlanta and Miami next on deck. 

Spotify and Others – The music streaming giant is expected to see low-mid teens revenue growth driven by its premium subscriber base, JPMorgan said, raising its target to $730 from $670. Meanwhile, online sellers eBay and Etsy should each benefit from China tariff relief, while Duolingo showed strength by beating expectations with recent quarterly results and guidance, the bank said.

-Andrew Kessel

Wells Fargo Shares Rise as Fed Lifts Asset Cap

21 hr 16 min ago

The Federal Reserve has lifted restrictions imposed on Wells Fargo’s (WFC) growth seven years ago following a series of scandals, including one where staff set up fake accounts.

The news that the Fed had removed the approximately $1.95 trillion cap on the bank’s assets sent Wells Fargo shares higher Wednesday morning. The stock was up about 3% in the opening minutes of trading.

On Tuesday, Wells Fargo said that the Fed’s Board of Governors had concluded that the lender had met the conditions the regulator had imposed to improve its governance and risk controls. The bank also said it had met the Fed condition that a third-party review its work independently.

“The Federal Reserve’s decision to lift the asset cap marks a pivotal milestone in our journey to transform Wells Fargo,” Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said. “We have changed and simplified our business mix, and we have transformed the management team and how we run the company.”

Citi analysts said the “most meaningful benefits of the removal are that WFC can take on more commercial deposits and use more balance sheet to fund trading growth; however, we don’t expect immediate tailwinds to loan growth or expense efficiencies.” Citi said that loan growth has been limited less by the asset cap than the uncertain economy that is weighing on loan demand. The brokerage, which has a neutral call on Well Fargo, said most of the removal of the cap has already been priced in. 

Scharf also noted the work of the company’s 215,000 employees and announced plans to give full-time employees a special $2,000 award, with most of the staffers getting the funds as a restricted stock grant.

With its gains this morning, Wells Fargo shares are up about 10% in 2025.

-Nisha Gopalan

CoreWeave Stock Price Levels to Watch as AI Darling Surges

21 hr 58 min ago

Shares in AI darling CoreWeave (CRWV) rose in premarket trading, adding to huge gains in recent days after cloud computing provider and Nvidia (NVDA) partner signed a long-term data center leasing deal with Applied Digital (APLD).

Investors have bid up CoreWeave stock in recent weeks after Nvidia revealed a higher stake in the company than it had previously disclosed and the firm posted first-quarter revenue that grew more than 400% year-over-year amid surging demand for AI infrastructure.

Since the stock went public in late March, it has surged 276% above its initial public offering price of $40. The stock was up more than 5% at around $159 ahead of the bell Wednesday, after surging 25% yesterday and 8% on Monday, amid a broader upturn for stocks tied to the AI boom.

CoreWeave shares broke out from an ascending triangle on Tuesday that had been in play since late May, possibly paving the waying for a continuation move higher. Importantly, the move occurred on above-average volume, signaling buying conviction by larger market players, such as institutional investors and hedge funds. 

While the relative strength index confirms bullish price momentum, the indicator also flashes extreme overbought conditions in the stock, which could lead to short-term profit-taking.

Bars pattern analysis projects a potential upside target of around $200 and indicates the trend higher could last until next month. Investors should watch key support levels on CoreWeave’s chart around $122, $97 and $73.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

-Timothy Smith

Major Index Futures Point to Higher Open

22 hr 54 min ago

Futures tied to the three major stock indexes were each up 0.2% in recent trading.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

S&P 500

Nasdaq 100