Tech Giants Fuel Stock Gains As Apple Surges 5.5%: Markets Wrap

Wall Street traders sifting through a batch of corporate results sent stocks higher a day after the market was hit by economic worries. Treasuries fell ahead of a $42 billion sale of 10-year bonds.

The S&P 500 reclaimed its 6,300 mark. Apple Inc. jumped 5.5% as President Donald Trump is set to announce the firm will commit to a fresh $100 billion investment on domestic manufacturing, with the tech giant seeking to avoid punishing levies on its iPhones. Apple will remain largely unaffected by the recently announced US tariffs targeting India, CNBC reported, citing White House officials. 

Earnings for S&P 500 companies are crushing second-quarter expectations — up 9.1%, triple the pre-season forecast and the strongest beat rate since 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.

“There are a lot of narratives to keep track of in today’s investing environment, but earnings remain the main catalyst for stocks,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro. “While pullbacks are possible — particularly due to macro-related influences and poor seasonality trends — those pullbacks will likely prove to be buying opportunities.”

Short-dated Treasuries outperformed, with the yields on two-year notes little changed at 3.73%. Those on 10-year bonds rose four basis points to 4.25%. The dollar fell. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari said a slowing of the US economy may make arate cut appropriate in the near term.

On the trade front, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% tariff on India over its purchase of Russian energy, the White House said Wednesday hours after talks between the US and Russia over the war in Ukraine failed to yield a breakthrough.

Stocks remain buoyant as betting against the market momentum “feels almost irrational,” according to a macro trader at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

“The key point is that the market can’t look far enough. This is why it will ignore the recession risk,” Paolo Schiavone wrote.

“While trade uncertainty and elevated valuations could be a modest headwind for equities in the near term, investors can consider ways to manage volatility while positioning for longer-term gains,” said Mark Haefele at UBS Global Wealth Management.

Those who are already allocated to equities in line with their strategic benchmarks should consider implementing short-term hedges, and those under allocated should prepare to add exposure on potential market dips, he noted.

Still, after the blistering rally in American equities, the Bloomberg Intelligence Market Pulse Index pushed to a “manic” reading last month, a sign that investor exuberance may be running too hot. 

The measure combines six metrics like market breadth, volatility and leverage to deliver a reading on investor sentiment. When it gets into overheated territory, returns tend to weaken in the following three months.

Meantime, bond traders are ramping up bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates this year, as signs of a weakening US economy bolster the case for the central bank to reduce borrowing costs as demanded by President Trump.

Positioning in options tied to the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, which closely tracks the expected trajectory of US monetary policy, shows investors readying for the possibility of cuts in each of the three remaining meetings this year, bringing down rates by a total of 75 basis points in 2025.

• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. was unable to give a clear outlook for resuming sales in China, a crucial market for the second-largest maker of artificial intelligence processors.

• Super Micro Computer Inc. lowered its fiscal-year revenue forecast and projected quarterly profit that fell short of estimates, raising questions about sales and pricing pressures around powerful AI servers.

• McDonald’s Corp. sales picked up in the latest quarter, suggesting that pop culture-focused collaborations and budget meals are helping to offset diners’ economic anxiety.

• Walt Disney Co. gave a mixed earnings report on Wednesday, highlighting strength in its streaming and parks business in the fiscal third quarter, while giving a tepid outlook for profit this year.

• General Motors Co. has signed a deal with Texas-based Noveon Magnetics Inc. to secure rare-earth magnets for its full-size pickup trucks and SUVs, marking the third domestic supply contract the automaker has signed related to the critical trade dominated by China.

• Rivian Automotive Inc., an electric-vehicle maker, backed away from a key financial goal and warned of mounting losses, highlighting the pressure it’s facing from President Donald Trump’s tariffs and changes to US environmental rules.

• Uber Technologies Inc. announced $20 billion in new stock buybacks after sharing a better-than-expected third-quarter forecast and quarterly results, suggesting that growth at its core rideshare and delivery units still has room to pick up steam.

• Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. is doubling down on its long-haul expansion with the first purchase of Boeing Co. widebody aircraft in a dozen years, while it struggles closer to home with its HK Express unit suffering from a sharp drop in regional demand.

• Snap Inc., the owner of the Snapchat photo-sharing app, acknowledged a slowdown in advertising revenue growth, due in part to a technical issue with its ad-buying tools earlier this year.

• Novo Nordisk A/S’s sales showed the weakest growth in four years as the Danish drugmaker loses ground to Eli Lilly & Co. in the crucial US market for obesity medicines, underscoring the slowdown that prompted last week’s profit warning.

• Six Flags Entertainment Corp. tumbled after poor weather conditions limited attendance, leading the theme-park operator to slash its full year outlook.

• Blackstone Inc. has agreed to buy energy data platform Enverus in one of its biggest acquisitions of the year.

• Apollo Global Management Inc. agreed to acquire a majority stake in Stream Data Centers, making its first such acquisition as the alternative asset manager capitalizes on booming demand for digital infrastructure.

• Mosaic Co., the world’s leading producer of two key crop fertilizers, sank as US tariffs weighed on second-quarter shipments.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 rose 0.6% as of 11:42 a.m. New York time

• The Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9%

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%

• The Stoxx Europe 600 was little changed

• The MSCI World Index rose 0.6%

• Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index rose 1.5%

• The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.2%

• Apple rose 5.5%

• AMD fell 7.3%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index fell 0.3%

• The euro rose 0.5% to $1.1634

• The British pound rose 0.4% to $1.3346

• The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 147.47 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin rose 1.3% to $115,195.98

• Ether rose 1.9% to $3,645.77

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries advanced three basis points to 4.24%

• Germany’s 10-year yield advanced three basis points to 2.66%

• Britain’s 10-year yield advanced two basis points to 4.53%

• The yield on 2-year Treasuries was little changed at 3.72%

• The yield on 30-year Treasuries advanced four basis points to 4.82%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude rose 1.1% to $65.85 a barrel

• Spot gold fell 0.2% to $3,374.86 an ounce