Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa5/19/25

S&P 500 erases big early losses, powering through to sixth straight gain

US Treasury bonds may have been downgraded, but the stock market wasn’t.

The S&P 500 shrugged off the Moody’s decision and some unsettling trade talk out of China, erasing an early loss of 1% to finish up 0.1%, as did the Nasdaq 100. The Russell 2000 brought up the rear with a 0.4% decline. It’s a continuation of a pattern we’ve been seeing recently, where any early dips are aggressively bought.

That marks the sixth straight rise for the benchmark US stock index.

Most S&P sector ETFs moved higher, led by healthcare. Tech, consumer discretionary, and energy all retreated.

UnitedHealth led gains on the day, up 8% as company insiders stepped up with huge buys from the S&P 500’s worst performer. Meanwhile, Solar and climate-tech stocks like First Solar, AES Corp, and Enphase Energy led declines after GOP lawmakers said they plan to axe clean energy tax credits more quickly than planned. Elsewhere…

American vaccine maker Novavax rose nearly 15% after it announced that the Food and Drug Administration fully approved its COVID-19 vaccine, Nuvaxovid. Rival vaccine maker Moderna also popped over 7% on the day.

Dollar General was also a bright spot on the day, jumping nearly 5% with its stock now up nearly 30% so far this year.

Best Buy shares fell 3% even as UBS analysts said the electronics retailer could see continued sales momentum as US-China trade tensions begin to ease.

Walmart shares dipped as much as 2% in early trading before closing the day flat after President Donald Trump criticized the retailer on Saturday for “trying to blame tariffs.”

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Meet the newly public, Bezos-backed company that’s recreating the sun and stars

General Fusion CEO Greg Twinney spoke with Sherwood News from the Nasdaq during the stock’s first day of trading.

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J. Edward Moreno7/7/26

SpaceX gets a wave of bullish ratings from Wall Street analysts

SpaceX received more than a dozen positive analyst calls on Tuesday — including from major Wall Street banks — as they initiate coverage on Elon Musk’s space and AI company.

SpaceX went public on June 12 at a $2.2 trillion valuation, the largest debut in history. While the company hasn’t yet posted a profit, it seems to have convinced Wall Street that it will get there and grow its valuation on the way.

Of the at least 17 analysts that gave a rating on Tuesday, all but one gave it a “buy” or “outperform” rating. MoffettNathanson was "neutral."

The ratings come as SpaceX joined the Nasdaq 100 index, a benchmark tech-heavy basket of companies that underpins millions of portfolios. The inclusion adds built-in demand for the stock from index funds and ETFs.

Still, SpaceX fell more than 5% on Tuesday amid a broader sell-off, and is currently effectively flat from its opening price of $150 a share.

US job growth falls far short of estimates in June; unemployment rate unexpectedly dips to 4.2%

Job growth was 57,000. Analysts foresaw job growth of 113,000; prediction markets were more optimistic, looking for job growth above 125,000 but below 150,000.

Floridians Seek Employment Opportunities At Job Fair In Sunrise

Meta surges on report it’s starting a cloud business to sell excess AI compute

The story of the hyperscalers in 2026 has largely been “the beatings will continue until the cash flow outlook improves;” this could help change the story for Meta. Or not.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg visits U.S. Capitol for Senate meetings

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Paige Oamek6/30/26

Nike sinks to lowest level since 2014 after warning of “challenged” sales environment in Q4 report

Did Nike do it?

Investors had a mixed reaction after the global sports apparel company reported its fourth quarter earnings on Tuesday after the bell. Shares initially rose 5% as Nike beat out Wall Street expectations amid a hefty tariff refund bonus. However, the stock then sank to its lowest level since August 2014 in postmarket trading.

Here are the Q4 numbers:

Revenue of $11.0 billion (estimate: $10.8 billion).
Adjusted earnings per share of $0.20 (estimate: $0.12).

Ahead of this report, Nike warned that results would be flattered by a one-time tariff refund (now estimated at roughly $0.52 per share for the bottom line). That gave the company an extra cushion in snapping its streak of seven quarters of year-over-year profit declines.

Over the past year, the company had been punished by tariffs on imported goods, stagnant consumer spending, and increasing competition from other footwear brands like New Balance, Adidas, and Hoka.

Outgoing CFO Matthew Friend deemed it an “increasingly challenging operating environment, where sell-through remains challenged.”

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