US stocks rise, S&P 500 misses out on fresh records by a whisker
The S&P 500 came tantalizingly close to both an intraday and closing record but ultimately got neither, closing up 0.8%. The Nasdaq 100 gained about 1% while the Russell 2000 bounced back with a strong 1.7% advance.
Both monetary and trade policy appear to be evolving in a favorable direction for stocks: traders are pricing in over 65 basis points of easing by the Federal Reserve through year-end (versus about 50 basis points for most of the past month or so), and the White House said its July 9 deadline before reciprocal tariffs would be ramped up wasn’t really a hard deadline.
Most S&P 500 sector ETFs rose, with consumer staples and real estate the exceptions. Energy, communication services, industrials, and materials all gained 1%.
Enphase Energy led gains on the day, up nearly 13% on reports that Congress may not slash federal tax incentives for residential rooftop solar installations. Data center company Equinix was the worst performer, down about 10%. Meanwhile…
Core Scientific surged 33% in afternoon trading after The Wall Street Journal reported that CoreWeave is in talks to acquire the company.
Super Micro Computer shares rose over 5.5% on no obvious news, just another wave of bullish call option buying.
McCormick jumped more than 5% after the spice giant posted a surprise Q2 earnings beat and reaffirmed its full-year outlook.
Avis shares climbed 2% as hedge fund Pentwater Capital disclosed it had more than tripled its stake in the rental car company.
Cyngn, a tiny industrial robotics firm, surged more than 170% after highlighting its relationship with Nvidia.
Shares of autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai jumped 12% after The New York Times reported that Uber is in talks with former CEO Travis Kalanick to help fund a potential acquisition.
Kratos Defense dropped more than 2% after announcing plans to sell ~13 million new shares at $38.50 each in a stock offering worth just over $480 million.