Retail traders went on a record dip buying spree Monday, reversing a 1% decline in the S&P 500 Index triggered by the US credit downgrade from Moody’s Ratings late last week.
Market Snapshot
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 137.33 points, or 0.32%, to 42,792.07, the S&P 500 rose 5.22 points, or 0.09%, to 5,963.60 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 4.36 points, or 0.02%, to 19,215.46.
Market Movers
Nvidia was flat. CEO Jensen Huang announced Monday at the Computex trade show in Taiwan the company would be opening its artificial-intelligence server platform to rival chip makers such as Qualcomm and Marvell Technology. Nvidia also said it would be working with iPhone manufacturer Foxconn to build an AI factory supercomputer in Taiwan.
Tesla was down 2.3%. Investors will be monitoring a weekly sales update from China. Recent sales data from the electric-vehicle maker has been disappointing. U.S. sales in April fell about 13% after declining 9% in the first quarter. Sales last month in key European markets, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, fell about 49% from a year earlier after dropping about 45% in the first quarter.
Walmart fell 0.1%. President Donald Trump criticized the world’s largest retailer Saturday, saying the company should “STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain.” Walmart last week said the Trump administration’s tariffs would lead to price increases. The president, in a post on his Truth Social platform, said Walmart should “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING.” A company spokesman told Barron’s that Walmart would “keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins.”
JPMorgan Chase was down 1%. CEO Jamie Dimon, at the bank’s 2025 Investor Day, said he still intended to depart from his post as the company’s top executive in the next few years. “What we’ve told you is that the board has intent … to be thinking about succession, and we should be doing that,” Dimon said. “Obviously, it’s up to the board.” Dimon also said a stagflation scenario, in which slow economic growth, high unemployment, and elevated rates of inflation combine, wasn’t off the table for the U.S. economy.
UnitedHealth was up 8.2% after shares of the giant health insurer rose 6.4% on Friday and snapped an eight-session losing streak. The stock declined 23.3% last week after UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty resigned, the company suspended its 2025 outlook, and a report from The Wall Street Journal said the Justice Department was investigating the insurance giant for possible criminal Medicare fraud.
Shares of Super Micro Computer dropped 2.9%. The stock ended Friday’s session up 5% at $46.15, but remains down 62% from its all-time closing high of $118.81 recorded on March 13, 2024. The maker of artificial-intelligence servers gained 44% last week following a flood of positive news including a $20 billion deal with Saudi Arabia’s DataVolt and initiation at Raymond James with an Outperform rating.
Palantir Technologies, another popular AI stock, declined 2.5% to $126.33. Shares have risen 68% this year and 487% over the past 12 months.
Novavax jumped 15% after receiving full approval of a Covid-19 vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine, Nuvaxovid, had been available under an emergency-use authorization since July 2022.
Netflix was flat at $1,191.64 after J.P. Morgan analysts downgraded the stock to Neutral from Overweight. Despite the downgrade, the firm boosted its price target on shares of the streaming giant to $1,220 from $1,150, asserting that there was no change to its “long-term bullish view” on Netflix’s streaming leadership position.
Social media company Reddit slipped 4.6% to $107.99. The decline came after Wells Fargo analysts downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight and slashed their price target to $115 from $168, arguing that Google search issues affecting site traffic were likely permanent.
Market News
Retail Traders Go on Record Dip Buying Spree, Calming a Jumpy Stock Market
Individual investors purchased a net $4.1 billion in US stocks through 12:30 p.m. in New York, the largest level ever for that time of day — and broke the $4 billion threshold by noon for the first time ever, according to data compiled by JPMorgan Chase & Co. quantitative and derivative strategist Emma Wu.
“Retail has learned the hard way, getting left behind during previous stocks recoveries supported by policy puts,” said Frank Monkam, head of macro trading at Buffalo Bayou Commodities. “There is almost an unwavering commitment from retail to never make that mistake again.”
The buying extends a weeks-long streak of aggressive purchases of US stocks by small investors, who snapped up equities at a record pace as the S&P 500 edged toward a bear marked during the depths of the tariff-triggered selloff in April. Now they’re enjoying the ride back up as the index approaches a 20% advance and a bull market. Meanwhile, the so-called smart money has stayed on the sidelines.
Chinese Battery Maker CATL Rises 13% in Strong IPO Debut
Shares of the world’s largest battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. rose about 13% in their Hong Kong trading debut on Tuesday.
Shares were trading at 299.8 Hong Kong dollars apiece at one time on the Hong Kong stock exchange premarket, compared with the initial public offering price of HK$263 dollars per share.
CATL, as the largest maker of electric-vehicle batteries is known, rose in gray-market trading on Monday. It sold its Hong Kong shares at the top marketed price of HK$263 apiece, a smaller-than-usual 6.7% discount versus its Shenzen-listed stock’s last close, amid strong demand.
