Markets
Yiwen Lu

Trump victory lifts US stocks to all-time highs

The S&P 500 climbed 2.5%, closing the index at another fresh record for the 48th time this year. The Nasdaq 100 rallied 2.7%. Russell 2000, which tracks small caps that are more sensitive to US tax rates and less sensitive to trade barriers, outperformed all others on the day and up 5.8%. 

The Dollar Spot Index added 1.7%, its biggest one-day gain since June 2016. Interest rates were higher; the 10-year Treasury yield rose 15 basis points to 4.43%, the most since April this year. According to the CME FedWatch tool, traders are now overwhelmingly expecting a 25-basis point cut at the Federal Reserve meeting tomorrow.

Of the 11 major sectors, only utilities, consumer staples, and real estate were down. 

The sectors that could benefit from Trump-related policies added the most today. The financial-sector ETF was up 6.1%, driven by a jump in both Synchrony Financial and Discover. Banks including KeyCorp, Capital One, and Citizens Bank were also among the biggest gainers on Wednesday. The industrial sector went up 3.9%. The energy sector advanced 3.8%. 

But crude oil was only modestly higher: the US benchmark was up 0.7% at settlement, while the global benchmark rose only 0.2%. 

In addition, a slew of GOP-associated stocks gained ground today. Private prison company GEO Group rose 42.1%, and CoreCivic climbed 29%. Domestic steel companies like Nucor, Cleveland-Cliffs, and Steel Dynamics were having their best day in years. Teslaled Magnificent 7, up 14.8% on the day. Bitcoin hit records again and is now trading at $76,725.

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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.

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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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