7/15/25

S&P 500 slips as Nvidia’s surge spares benchmark indexes from a bludgeoning

Chipmakers got a lift from the ability to send AI processors to China once again, but that was only enough to stave off a much bigger decline for the S&P 500 in a session where the lion’s share of constituents posted losses.

The benchmark US stock index gave back 0.4%, while the Nasdaq 100 eked out a 0.1% gain and the Russell 2000 tumbled 2%.

It’s a small loss for the ages: the number of stocks in the S&P 500 that fell outnumbered those that rose by 404. Based on data going back to 1997, the index has never had a loss this small during a session when that many of its constituents declined.

Tech was the only S&P 500 sector ETF to finish positive.

Nvidia and AMD said they received word from the Commerce Department that export curbs on AI chip sales to China have been softened, sending shares sharply higher.

Chinese stocks also got a boost from the news, along with solid Q2 GDP growth, as Baidu, Alibaba, JD.com, and Temu parent PDD Holdings all posted strong gains.

MP Materials, which recently saw the Pentagon announce its intention to take a substantial stake, surged again after Apple said it plans to invest $500 million in the rare earths miner.

The Trade Desk soared upon news that it’s being added to the S&P 500.

Stellar Q2 results and a boost to full-year anticipated net interest income weren’t enough to prevent a dip in shares for JPMorgan.

Robinhood and Meta fell despite receiving price target upgrades from various brokerages, while Microsoft booked a small gain after Jefferies hiked its price target to $600.

(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)

Online real estate sales company Opendoor Technologies was a massive gainer, with call volumes setting a record as retail traders on the r/WallStreetBets subreddit took a shining to the name.

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S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 post record closing highs as nearly everything rallies

The benchmark US stock index ended up 0.9%, the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.6%, and the Russell 2000 outperformed with a 1.8% gain.

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markets

5h

Warner Bros. Discovery jumps after Wells Fargo ups price target on dealmaking buzz

Warner Bros. Discovery shares popped 7% Tuesday after Wells Fargo raised its price target on the media giant to $14 from $13 while keeping an equal-weight rating.

The bank’s optimism stemmed largely from the media giant’s potential for dealmaking. In June, WBD announced that it would split its operations into two companies, with the Streaming & Studios division (home to Warner Bros. Television, DC Studios, HBO, and Max) standing alone from the networks side (CNN, TNT Sports, and Discovery).

That separation could make the Streaming & Studios unit more attractive to buyers, the analysts said. They valued the segment at about $65 billion, which could translate to a takeover price north of $21 a share. Potential suitors range from Amazon and Apple to Sony and Comcast, though analysts flagged Netflix as the “most compelling” option despite its limited acquisition track record:

“While NFLX has historically not been acquisitive, [streaming and studios’] $12bn in annual content spend + library + 100+ acre studio lot offers a lot. It kickstarts a theatrical IP strategy, quickly scales video games and most importantly provides premium content to members.”

At Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia + Technology Conference this week, CEO David Zaslav also highlighted growing traction at HBO Max and hinted at future crackdowns on password sharing.

WBD shares are up 26% year to date, and up more than 93% over the past 12 months.

markets

5h

Duolingo up on bullish note, hopes for a user rebound

Duolingo rose by the most in nearly a month after an analyst note painted a more bullish picture of the gamified language-learning company despite a dearth of news otherwise.

A quick check-in with analysts covering the stock on Wall Street found most of them otherwise flummoxed on the reason behind the uptick Thursday.

Some, however, suggested the rise may reflect optimism that the company has been able to reverse a monthslong downturn in daily active user metrics — a slump that set in after a social media backlash to a somewhat artless LinkedIn post from the company about its AI first strategy.

The bullish analyst note, published Thursday by Citizens JMP, suggested Duolingo could be a big beneficiary from a change to Apple’s rules governing its App Store driven by a ruling on a federal antitrust case against the company. The analysts wrote:

Given “Apple’s recent changes to U.S. App Store rules that allow developers to steer payments to the web where fees are similar to typical credit card fees rather than Apple’s 30% fee for in-app purchases and 30% fee on subscriptions for the first year and 15% thereafter, we expect mobile app companies including Duolingo, Life360, and Grindr Inc. to unlock meaningful cost benefits.”

At any rate, the next big event on the company’s calendar is its Duocon 2025 conference on Tuesday, where analysts are hoping to hear more hard information on all of the above topics.

markets

6h

Jeep maker Stellantis surges as CEO says the automaker is in productive tariff talks with the US

Shares of Jeep and Dodge maker Stellantis are up more than 8% in Thursday afternoon trading, following comments from the automaker’s new CEO, Antonio Filosa, at a European auto conference.

On tariffs, Filosa said that Stellantis has had a “very productive exchange of ideas” with the Trump administration on the company’s manufacturing footprint and that the environment around the levies is “getting clearer and clearer.”

The US is Stellantis’ top priority, according to Filosa, and the company has taken efforts to turn things around in the market, where it’s struggled with sales in recent years. To fuel the turnaround, Stellantis is bringing back its popular Jeep Cherokee, which it discontinued in 2023.

As of 12:45 p.m. ET, Stellantis’ trading volume was at more than 140% of its average over the past 30 days.

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