The Nasdaq scored a record closing high on Tuesday and the S&P 500 and the Dow also advanced as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reassured investors while they digested Tuesday's data and waited for Wednesday's crucial consumer inflation report. Investors were encouraged by Powell's comment that he did not expect the central bank's next interest rate move to be a hike, despite a recent run of higher-than-expected inflation.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 126.60 points, or 0.32%, to 39,558.11. The S&P 500 gained 25.26 points, or 0.48%, at 5,246.68 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 122.94 points, or 0.75%, to 16,511.18.
Market Movers
GameStop surged 60% on Tuesday after closing 74% higher on Monday. Investor Keith Gill, who goes by the handle “Roaring Kitty,” on Sunday made his first post on his X account since 2021. Gill played a role in the meteoric rise of GameStop with bullish commentary on the videogame retailer during peak meme-mania of 2020 and 2021. He followed up the post with more posts Monday and Tuesday, hyping up GameStop investors.
AMC Entertainment, another popular meme stock, jumped 32% on Tuesday after it soared 78% on Monday following Gill’s posts. The company said in a filing it raised $250 million on Monday in an at-the-market equity offering.
Home Depot, the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, was down 0.1% after first-quarter earnings of $3.63 a share beat analysts’ estimates but revenue of $36.4 billion missed forecasts. Same-store sales in the period fell 2.8% versus expectations for a decline of 2.2%.
U.S.-listed shares of Alibaba fell 6% after the Chinese e-commerce company reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings below Wall Street estimates.
Plug Power stock rose 19% after the maker of hydrogen and fuel-cell systems said it received a conditional commitment for an up to $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy to finance up to six green hydrogen production facilities.
Shares of On Holding gained 18% after the Swiss sneaker seller posted first-quarter earnings that more than doubled from a year earlier and revenue jumped 21%. The company said direct-to-consumer net sales in the first quarter rose 39%, and 48.7% on a constant currency basis.
Sony rose 6.7% after fiscal fourth-quarter earnings rose 34% from a year earlier and revenue jumped 14%. The gains were driven by strong operating profits from the Japanese company’s games and movie businesses.
Paysafe jumped 20% after the online payments-solutions company reported first-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates.
Western Digital rose 3.6% to $73.54 after analysts at Citi initiated coverage on shares of the data storage seller with a Buy rating and price target of $90.
Market News
Alphabet debuts beefed-up AI search and chatbot as competition heats up
Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday showed how it is building on artificial intelligence across its businesses, including a beefed-up Gemini chatbot and improvements to its prized search engine as it races to compete with AI rivals.
The flurry of announcements underscores Google's efforts to refresh its products since Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O), opens new tab OpenAI’s 2022 launch of ChatGPT dazzled the public, threatening the incumbent's long reign over online search and AI.
Boeing Breached Prosecution Deal, Justice Department Finds
Boeing Co. has violated a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department related to the crashes of two 737 Max airplanes, the department said in a court filing.
“The government has determined that Boeing breached its obligations under DPA,” according to the filing posted Tuesday.