Markets
Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa

S&P 500 shakes off down day for tech heavyweights to finish higher

In a case of opposite day, the lesser-runs of the S&P 500 powered the market higher while the heavyweights broadly retreated on Thursday. The benchmark US stock index closed up 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 eked out a 0.1% gain, and the Russell 2000 led the way with a 0.5% advance.

Contrary to Wednesday, the S&P 500’s advance-decline line was tilted decidedly to the upside, with gainers outnumbering fallers by 247. Every S&P 500 sector ETF traded higher save for consumer discretionary, with defensive sectors like utilities and consumer staples topping the leaderboard.

Cisco helped lead the day’s gains, jumping nearly 5% after the networking products company posted a Q3 solid earnings report, exceeding analysts’ expectations on the top and bottom lines. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth shares tumbled 11% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Department of Justice is investigating the healthcare giant for possible Medicare fraud, the latest in a series of stumbles for the company.

Walmart shares slipped as much as 3%, but ended the day flat as investors balanced the company’s solid Q1 earnings beat with the warning that price hikes are on the way.

Meta slumped to session lows late in the trading day after The Wall Street Journal reported that it’s delaying the release of its Llama 4 AI model.

Birkenstock shares climbed nearly 6% after the popular German footwear company beat earnings estimates for the second quarter and raised its full-year outlook.

Alibaba shares fell 7.5% after the Chinese e-commerce giant missed revenue and profit expectations for the fourth quarter amid ongoing consumer weakness in the country.

NetEase, one of China’s largest video game companies, rallied 14% after the company topped earnings estimates thanks to strong game sales and a 35% boost in net profit.

Meanwhile...

Foot Locker shares sprinted over 85% after Dick’s Sporting Goods announced a massive $2.4 billion takeover offer for the struggling sneaker retailer. Dick’s shares, however, fell nearly 15%.

Coinbase’s stock fell 7% after the crypto exchange said it would pay between $180 million and $400 million to customers following a data breach from an “unknown threat actor.”

Shares of CoreWeave surged as much as 11% before closing down 2%, despite posting better-than-expected sales during its inaugural quarterly earnings report.

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Luke Kawa
7/13/26
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 Moreno

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.

Luke Kawa
7/2/26
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.

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Luke Kawa
7/1/26
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.

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markets
Paige Oamek

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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