Wall Street stocks rose and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time closing high on Tuesday after U.S. retail sales data supported the view that the Federal Reserve is approaching its easing cycle, reining in inflation while avoiding a recession.
Market Snapshot
The S&P 500 climbed 0.64% to end the session at 5,667.20 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.20% at 18,509.34 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.85% to 40,954.48 points.
Market Movers
UnitedHealth Group earned $6.80 a share on an adjusted basis in the second quarter, topping analysts’ estimates of $6.66. The medical care ratio in the quarter was 85.1%, higher than expectations of 84.5%. UnitedHealth said it expects fiscal-year earnings of $15.95 to $16.40 a share. The stock rose 6.5%.
Trump Media & Technology Group fell 9.1% to $36.89 after the company, which operates the Truth Social media platform, filed for the resale of nearly 38 million common shares after the stock market closed Monday. Trump Media stock finished with a gain Monday of 31% following an unsuccessful assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump over the weekend and as Trump formally was nominated as the official Republican presidential nominee.
Tesla was up 1.6%. Shares of the electric-vehicle maker rose 1.8% on Monday after CEO Elon Musk endorsed Trump in the race for the White House. In addition, late Monday Musk offered some explanation as to why Tesla’s robotaxi event originally scheduled for Aug. 8 would be delayed. Musk tweeted on his X platform that he requested a design change to the front of the robotaxi, adding the extra time “allows us to show off a few other things.”
Match Group jumped 7.5% after activist investor Starboard Value, which holds 6.6% of Match shares outstanding, pushed for a possible sale of the online-dating company if a turnaround isn’t successful.
Bank of America earned 83 cents a share in the second quarter, down from 88 cents a year earlier but better than Wall Street estimates of 80 cents. Net interest income fell 3% to $13.7 billion. Bank of America shares rose 5.4%.
Morgan Stanley reported second-quarter earnings of $1.82 a share, beating expectations of $1.65. Net income was $3.1 billion, topping estimates of $2.67 billion. The stock was up 0.9%.
Shares of Shopify gained 8.6% to $69.72 as analysts at BofA Securities upgraded shares of the e-commerce company to Buy from Neutral and raised their price target to $82 from $78.
Loop Capital downgraded Reddit to Hold from Buy and shares of the social-media company tumbled 3.5%.
Market News
US retail sales report showcases consumer, economic resilience
U.S. retail sales were unchanged in June as a drop in receipts at auto dealerships was offset by broad strength elsewhere, a display of consumer resilience that bolstered economic growth prospects for the second quarter.
The better-than-expected report from the Commerce Department on Tuesday also showed sales in May were higher than initially estimated. It did not change expectations that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates in September amid cooling inflation and helped to assuage fears of a sharp slowdown in the economy.
Gold settles at all-time highs; Citi sees potential for continued gains to $3,000
Precious metals miners scored big gains in Tuesday's trading, as gold futures settled at an all-time high following comments from Federal Reserve officials that ramped up expectations of a U.S. interest rate cut in September.
A report from Citi analysts suggests gold prices might keep surging all the way to $3,000/oz, as financial flows show potential for significant expansion.
FTC seeking details on Amazon deal with AI startup Adept
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has asked Amazon.com to provide more details on its deal to hire top executives and researchers from artificial intelligence startup Adept, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The request reflects the FTC's growing concern about how AI deals have been put together and follows a broader review of partnerships between Big Tech and prominent AI startups.
