Wall Street closed higher on Monday, building on Friday's rally as increasing expectations of a second Donald Trump presidency in the wake of a failed assassination attempt raised hopes of a looser regulatory environment.
Market Snapshot
The S&P 500 climbed 0.28% to end the session at 5,631.22 points. The Nasdaq gained 0.40% at 18,472.57 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.53% to 40,211.72 points.
Market Movers
Trump Media & Technology Group jumped over 31% on increasing bets that Trump would be re-elected, and after the criminal classified- documents case against the former president was dismissed. Trump Media owns the Truth Social media platform.
Tesla was rising 1.78%. The stock jumped as CEO Elon Musk endorsed Trump in the race for the White House. The endorsement was significant for Tesla because the former president has been critical of electric vehicles. Any softening of his stance toward the technology would benefit Tesla and other EV makers.
Goldman Sachs rose 2.57% after its second-quarter earnings beat Wall Street’s expectations. Goldman earned $8.62 a share in the second quarter, beating estimates for $8.35. Investment banking fees in the period jumped 21%. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $3 a share from $2.75.
Super Micro Computer will replace Walgreens Boots Alliance in the Nasdaq 100 index, which groups 100 of the largest nonfinancial companies in the Nasdaq Composite, before the start of trading on July 22. Shares of the server maker fell 1.35%. The stock has risen 214% this year while Walgreens has fallen 56%.
Alphabet was up 0.79% after The Wall Street Journal reported Google was nearing a $23 billion deal for the cybersecurity start-up Wiz in what would be the search company’s largest acquisition ever. A deal could come together soon, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. The acquisition would boost Alphabet’s efforts in cloud computing.
Apple gained 1.67%. Shipments of the company’s iPhones rose 1.5% in the second quarter from a year earlier to 45.2 million units, according to data from research firm International Data Corp., behind Samsung’s 53.9 million units, which gained 0.7%. Apple’s share of global shipments, however, fell to 15.8% from 16.6% a year earlier. Apple received a boost from improved performance in China and other key markets, IDC said. Meanwhile, analysts at Goldman Sachs boosted their price target on Apple to $273 from $216 and maintained an Overweight recommendation on the stock.
Macy’s tumbled 11.73% after the department-store chain said it terminated buyout discussions with Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital Management. Macy’s said its board unanimously agreed to end the discussions with the private-equity firms, saying they have “failed to lead to an actionable proposal with certainty of financing at a compelling value.”
SolarEdge fell 15.36% after the company announced it will cut 400 jobs as challenges remain in the solar market. The company said sales volumes have been lower than the rate of installations. Fellow solar stocks lost ground too, in response to expectations that Trump, who has been critical of clean energy, could regain the presidency. First Solar was down 8.8% and Enphase Energy declined 5.4%.
Berkshire Hathaway's $(BRK.A)$ share price set a record high on Monday, reflecting investors' confidence in Warren Buffett's company, which is often regarded as a microcosm of the broader American economy.
The price of Berkshire's Class A shares closed up 2.1% at $652,997.17. They earlier reached $653,861, surpassing the previous high of $647,039 set on Feb. 26. Berkshire's more widely held Class B shares are worth about 1/1,500th as much.
BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager, reported second-quarter adjusted earnings of $10.36 a share, topped analysts’ forecasts of $9.96. The stock was up 0.4%.
Market News
Powell: Latest Data "Add Somewhat to Confidence" Inflation Is Returning to 2%
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Monday the three U.S. inflation readings over the second quarter of this year "add somewhat to confidence" that the pace of price increases is returning to the Fed's target in a sustainable fashion, remarks that suggest a turn to interest rate cuts may not be far off.
"In the second quarter, actually, we did make some more progress" on taming inflation, Powell said at an event at the Economic Club of Washington. "We've had three better readings, and if you average them, that's a pretty good place."
Spot Ether ETFs Likely to Begin Trading July 23, Industry Sources Say
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has given preliminary approval to at least three of the eight asset managers hoping to launch exchange-traded funds tied to the spot price of ether to begin trading next Tuesday, three industry sources said.
The approval hinges on applicants submitting final offering documents to regulators before the end of this week, the sources said. One said that all eight are expected to launch simultaneously. The SEC didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
