Stocks Slip Ahead of CPI Inflation Report; Nasdaq Retreats From Record High

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Monday

1 hr 23 min ago

Decliners

Shares of financial software provider Intuit (INTU) dropped 5.7%, the most of any S&P 500 stock on Monday. Analysts pointed to a number of headwinds for the company. Intuit’s TurboTax Live platform, a service providing limited support for do-it-yourself tax filers and a key growth driver for the company, could face disruption from generative AI technologies, while the uncertain macroeconomic environment has raised concerns about the revenue Intuit generates from small and medium-sized businesses. 
Hershey (HSY) stock sank 4.8%. Shares of the chocolate maker have been pressured by elevated cocoa prices, and futures prices for the key ingredient jumped even higher Monday, reflecting concerns that dry conditions in West Africa could lead to softer crop production.

Advancers

Shares of TKO Group Holdings (TKO), owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise, surged more than 10% to notch the day’s best performance in the S&P 500. The move highercame after the newly formed Paramount Skydance (PSKY) announced a seven-year deal for exclusive UFC broadcasting rights worth $7.7 billion. Paramount Skydance shares sank 3.7% on Monday, the third day of trading following the closing of the merger between Skydance Media and the former Paramount Global.
China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, said that it halted production at a key lithium mine following the expiration of the mine’s permit. The expectation that a resulting downtick in lithium supply could provide some relief for the slumping price of the key battery component helped boost shares of other producers. Albemarle (ALB), the world’s largest lithium producer, advanced 7%.
Shares of video game maker Electronic Arts (EA) added 5.1% following positive comments from several research firms. Analysts at Oppenheimer discussed the successful beta test of EA’s upcoming title Battlefield 6, noting polished and authentic gameplay as well the technical ability to manage a surge in players during the test without sacrificing the user experience. Meanwhile, analysts at D.A. Davidson lifted their price target on EA stock, although they struck a cautious tone about lofty Battlefield 6 targets and raised concerns about the growth trajectory of the company’s American Football business, maintaining a “neutral” rating on the shares.

-Michael Bromberg

C3.ai Plummets After ‘Completely Unacceptable’ Results

1 hr 49 min ago

Shares of C3.ai (AI) plunged after the AI software provider posted preliminary financial results that fell well short of the company’s own expectations and that the CEO called “unacceptable.”

The former AI darling’s stock fell over 25% Monday to just above $16. It has lost more than half its value since the year began.

C3.ai said it expects to report an adjusted loss of $57.7 million to $57.9 million, on revenue of $70.2 million to $70.4 million for its fiscal first quarter, down from $87.2 million in revenue the same period a year earlier.  In May, the company had guided for revenue of $100 to $109 million. The company is set to release its full results on Sept. 3.

CEO Tom Siebel called the sales figures “completely unacceptable,” and pointed to disruptions from a reorganization of the company’s leadership and his health as contributing factors to the company’s poor performance.

The company announced in late July that it is actively searching for a successor to Siebel, who said he was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and has experienced “multiple hospitalizations and vision impairment.”

D.A. Davidson analysts called the results “catastrophic” in a note to clients Sunday, and downgraded C3.ai stock to “underperform” following the results, writing they view “business trends as likely to get worse before they get better.”

Analysts at Wedbush maintained an “outperform” rating for C3.ai stock after the results, but lowered their target to $23 from a Street high of $35 on Monday, calling the sales miss “brutal.”

“It will take lots of time to regain Street confidence and build further momentum in the stock given the weakness in its operational performance,” the Wedbush analysts wrote.

-Kara Greenberg

Why Pot Stocks Were So High on Monday

2 hr 22 min ago

Investors sent marijuana stocks higher Monday with the Trump administration discussing the possibility of reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug and an announcement possible in the coming weeks.

Small-cap stocks Tilray Brands (TLRY) and Cronos Group (CRON), as well as micro-caps Canopy Growth (CGC), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), and Village Farms International (VFF), posted double-digit gains. The largest marijuana exchange-traded fund, the AdvisorShares Pure U.S. Cannabis ETF (MSOS), jumped some 25%.

“We’re looking at reclassification, and we’ll make a determination over, I’d say, the next few weeks,” President Donald Trump said at a press conference Monday.

Marijuana has been largely legalized on the state level, approved by 45 states for medicinal or recreational use, but it remains illegal under federal law. Its classification as a Schedule I drug, which harkens back to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, restricts research on it as a medicine and comes with relatively harsh penalties for illegal activities related to it. Heroin, cocaine, and LSD are also in this category.

If marijuana were reclassified as a Schedule III drug, which companies have been lobbying for before the Trump administration, it would open the door for research, lessen penalties, and spur institutional investment in the industry. Tylenol with codeine, ketamine and testosterone are also in this category.

-Crystal Kim

What to Expect From Tuesday’s CPI Report

3 hr 9 min ago

A key inflation measure likely accelerated in July, as tariffs continued to push up prices for consumers.

A highly anticipated report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Tuesday is likely to show the Consumer Price Index rose 2.8% over 12 months as of July, up from a 2.7% annual increase in June, according to a survey of economists by Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. That would be the highest inflation rate since February, and an indication that President Donald Trump’s trade wars are squeezing household budgets.

A report matching expectations would be the second CPI reading in as many months, showing companies passing at least some of the cost of tariffs along to consumers. A major question for the economy’s trajectory is whether tariffs will cause a short-lived burst of price increases or whether high inflation will set in.

“This is not likely a prelude to spiraling inflation, but it is clearly the wrong direction,” Dean Baker, senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research, wrote in a commentary.

Economists and officials at the Federal Reserve have closely watched “core” inflation measures to help answer that question. Core inflation, which excludes the volatile prices for food and energy, is expected to accelerate to a 3.1% annual increase in July, also its highest since February, up from 2.9% in June, according to the median forecast.

The Fed manages the nation’s monetary policy to keep core inflation at a 2% annual rate. The central bank uses a different inflation measure, PCE, as its benchmark rather than CPI, although the two inflation gauges tend to move in the same direction.

Prices for heavily tariffed items including appliances, clothing, recreation products, cars, and certain foods likely rose rapidly in July, Baker said. Rent, on the other hand, likely rose slowly, easing some of the financial pressure on consumers from tariff price hikes.

Tariff-related price increases simmered earlier in the summer in the wake of Trump’s far-reaching campaign of raising import taxes, which began in the spring. The tariffs have raised prices of a wide variety of things brought in from other countries, although the effects have taken some time to show up on price tags, as some companies stockpiled merchandise before the tariffs took full effect.

“The initial effect of tariffs on consumer goods prices has been blunted by some pull-forward of inventories and reluctance among businesses to immediately pass on higher costs with tariff rates not yet settled,” economists at Wells Fargo, led by Sarah House, wrote in a commentary. “Yet, the toll on U.S. importers is becoming clearer.”

Inflation has cooled significantly after surging in the aftermath of the pandemic. However, inflation has hovered uncomfortably above the Fed’s 2% target this year, and another uptick in July could signal it’s trending upwards again.

Tuesday’s report could be crucial for Fed officials, who set the nation’s monetary policy to keep inflation low and employment high.

Accelerating inflation could pressure the central bank to keep its key interest rate at a higher-than-usual level when the Fed’s policy committee next meets in September. The relatively high federal funds rate keeps upward pressure on interest rates on all kinds of loans. It is meant to discourage borrowing and spending, slowing the economy and pushing inflation down. Fed officials have kept the rate at 4.25%-4.50% all year, partly out of concern that tariffs could stoke inflation.

However, the Fed is also under pressure to cut interest rates to boost the economy and prevent a severe increase in unemployment, given recent reports on the job market showing hiring is unexpectedly grinding to a halt.

The Fed faces a dilemma: cut rates at the risk of reigniting inflation or keep them high and risk dragging the economy into a recession. Financial markets are betting the Fed will deliver the first rate cut of the year in September. Traders are pricing in an 86% chance of a rate cut, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, which forecasts rate movements based on fed funds futures trading data.

A report in line with expectations would likely keep those expectations intact, economists said.

“All told, July’s CPI report is unlikely to drive markets to reassess the chances of Fed policy easing over coming months,” economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics, led by chief U.S. economist Samuel Tombs, wrote in a commentary.

-Diccon Hyatt

Albemarle Soars as Major Chinese Mine Suspends Operations

4 hr 47 min ago

Shares of Albemarle (ALB) and other lithium producers took off on reports big Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., or CATL, said it was suspending production at one of the largest mines in the world.

The news sent lithium futures soaring. Albemarle shares were up more than 7% in recent trading. Sociedad Quimica y Minera, or SQM (SQM), also saw its shares jump 7%.

CATL’s license for its Jianxiawo lithium mine in the region of Yinchun, in China’s Jiangxi province, expired Aug. 9, and the company said it is applying to renew it as soon as possible, according to a Reuters report.

The CATL mine accounts for an estimated 6% of all global lithium output,  Bloomberg reported, citing Bank of America research. It noted that the license expiration has raised fears the Beijing government could suspend other projects. The latest mining halt comes after another Chinese lithium miner suspended production in July.

-Bill McColl

Micron Stock Jumps on Boosted Outlook

5 hr 53 min ago

Micron Technology (MU) shares rose Monday after the memory chip maker raised its guidance for the fiscal fourth quarter.

For the quarter ending on Aug. 28, the company boosted non-GAAP revenue expectations to $11.2 billion from $10.7 billion, and projected diluted earnings per share of $2.85 from $2.50. It cited “improved pricing” in DRAM; artificial intelligence has been fueling demand for that product, which provides temporary, high-speed memory that lets computers access information quickly.

“As you see some compelling user applications leveraging AI rolling out over the next year, and then accelerating from there over the next two, three years, you’ll see some significant upgrades happening,” Sumit Sadana, Micron’s chief business officer, said Monday morning at a Keybanc conference.

Micron also pledged $200 billion to US-based manufacturing as well as research and development over the next 20-plus years.

Micron shares were up 3% in mid-afternoon trading.

-Crystal Kim

Meme Stocks Rises as Some Traders Still ‘Demand Excitement’

6 hr 22 min ago

Investors aren’t done with meme stocks just yet.

Shares of AMC Entertainment (AMC) rose Monday, with the theater company’s stock recently up 3% to north of $3. Current prices are off their morning highs though, and reflect a retreat from the shares’ end-of-2024 price just below $4 apiece. Second-quarter financial results that included revenue growth and a narrower loss helped the shares. (The conference call is after the closing bell.)

Some other meme stocks were making comparatively quiet moves. Apparel retailer American Eagle (AEO), recently in the spotlight thanks to the attention-grabbing abilities of actress Sydney Sweeney and President Donald Trump, was up slightly. GameStop (GME) was up more than 1%. Kohl’s (KSS), another retail company to recently join the meme-stock ranks, was nearly 7% higher.

Monday’s energy isn’t quite where it was late last month when a range of memey shares were jumping around at roughly the same time. Vanda Research suggested that retail investor interest in such stocks had “seemingly fizzled out.”

Not entirely, it seems. (“Mr. Market sometimes acts as if he’s had 13 Red Bulls before the market opens each day,” Ritholtz Weath Management’s Ben Carlson wrote last week.)

It’s perhaps unsurprising that traders are still looking for corners of quick action amid the portentous discussions surrounding earnings, the Federal Reserve, and trade policy. Stocks finished last week at highs and remain near them now; investors’ expectations of an interest-rate cut are rising, also supporting risk appetite. Bitcoin is near its own record.

“An emphasis on quality amongst stock picks and sector picks these days appears key for the most part for performance even as the ‘wild west’ (to conservative investors) of ‘meme stocks’ and ‘crypto plays’ capture attention among some denizens of the market that demand excitement,” Oppenheimer analysts wrote Monday.

-David Marino-Nachison

Intel Stock Jumps as CEO to Meet With Trump

7 hr 34 min ago

Shares of Intel (INTC) surged following a report CEO Lip-Bu Tan is set to visit the White House today after President Trump called for his resignation last week.

The stock was up 5% in recent trading, after last week’s plunge threatened to erase its gains for 2025. With Monday’s jump, the stock was back in positive territory for the year.

Tan could use the visit to defend his background and improve relations with the Trump administration, as well as potentially set the groundwork for new deals, The Wall Street Journal reported. Intel and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.  

Tan, who took the helm of Intel in March, said in a letter to employees last week that he has the full support of the company’s board, after Trump called for him to step down.

“The CEO of INTEL is highly CONFLICTED and must resign, immediately,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network Thursday.

The post came after Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) wrote a letter to Intel’s board chair asking about Tan’s work history and stakes in companies with reported connections to China’s military. Tan was previously CEO of Cadence Design Systems (CDNS), which said it recently settled legal proceedings related to “operations and business dealings in China.” 

In his letter, Tan said “there has been a lot of misinformation circulating,” and that he looks forward to engaging with the Trump administration to address issues raised.

-Kara Greenberg

Nvidia, AMD to Give US Government Share of China Chip Sales

8 hr 58 min ago

Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plans to resume sales of key AI chips to China could come with some big strings attached. 

Both companies have agreed to pay 15% of their China chip revenues to the U.S. government in exchange for export licenses, the Financial Times reported yesterday, after the Trump administration tightened restrictions earlier this year citing national security concerns.

The Trump administration and AMD did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

A spokesperson for Nvidia told Investopedia, “We follow rules the U.S. government sets for our participation in worldwide markets. While we haven’t shipped H20 to China for months, we hope export control rules will let America compete in China and worldwide. America cannot repeat 5G and lose telecommunication leadership. America’s AI tech stack can be the world’s standard if we race.”

Both chipmakers have take a significant hit from the Trump administration’s curbs, with AMD last week reporting an $800 million charge in the second quarter related to restrictions on the sale of its AI chips to China. Nvidia said in May that it expects to report an $8 billion hit from export restrictions when it releases its quarterly results later this month.

Shares of Nvidia wavered between slight gains and losses in early trading, while AMD shares were up nearly 2% recently.

Such a deal would mark an unusual shift in how American companies are expected to engage with the government and respond to trade policy changes. 

Nvidia’s plans to resume sales to China came after a number of high-profile visits to the White House by CEO Jensen Huang, including one last week. President Trump also said last week that Apple (AAPL) and others with pledges to build in the U.S. could be exempt from new semiconductor tariffs, after CEO Tim Cook joined Trump at the White House to announce a $100 billion commitment to U.S. production. 

Separately, Intel (INTC) CEO Lip-Bu Tan is is set to to meet with Trump at the White House today, after the president called for his resignation, The Wall Street Journal reported.

-Kara Greenberg

S&P 500 Coming Off Its Best Week Since June

9 hr 32 min ago

Stocks rebounded last week as investors concerns about tariffs and the economic outlook eased.

The benchmark S&P 500 index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite surged 2.4% and 3.9% last week, their best performance since the week of June 23. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.6% last week, its biggest gain since the week of June 30.

Coming into Monday’s session, the Nasdaq was up about 11% since the start of 2025, while the S&P 500 had gained 8.6% and the Dow had tacked on 3.8%.

Major Index Futures Inch Higher

10 hr 55 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.3%.

S&P 500 futures added 0.2%.

Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.1%.