Markets
Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa
4/30/25

US stocks stage Herculean comeback to finish positive

US stocks started the session battered by a double whammy of negative economic news and concerns about AI demand.

At their lows of the morning, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were each down more than 2%. But stocks managed to hurdle those challenges over the course of the day and accelerated into the close, perhaps buoyed by month-end rebalancing activity.

When the dust settled, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 ended in positive territory, while the Russell 2000 had a 0.6% decline.

It’s the biggest intraday loss the benchmark US stock index has erased to finish positive since October 13, 2022. That’s the day the bull market began.

Most S&P 500 sector ETFs rose, with healthcare, consumer staples, and industrials leading the way up. Energy was the massive laggard, tumbling 2.7%.

Some of the big gainers included Seagate, Trane, and Western Digital, all on earnings, which have generally surprised to the upside in a big way so far this reporting period.

But there were also some negative reports of note:

Norwegian Cruise Line shares sank after the cruise operator missed first-quarter estimates, as both ticket sales and onboard spending cooled.

Etsy shares slid nearly 6%, even after the craft-based online marketplace posted solid Q1 revenue, but swung to a loss after taking on charges from the sale of its instrument marketplace, Reverb.

Shares of Oddity Tech surged 30% after the AI-savvy beauty company delivered a standout Q1, easily topping expectations and skirting tariff fears.

Snap shares tumbled — despite beating analyst expectations yesterday — after the social media app warned that de minimis shipping changes may already be hurting its advertising business.

Shares of First Solar, the largest US manufacturer of solar panels and modules, fell about 8% after the company said it expects to pay up to $90 million in tariffs this year.

Starbucks slumped after posting a revenue and earnings miss along with a larger decline in same-store sales than analysts had penciled in.

Super Micro was the biggest sore spot on a sunny day, falling double digits after it released quarterly results that fell far short of expectations.

Shares of Jeep maker Stellantis and luxury giant Mercedes-Benz slipped after both automakers pulled their full-year guidance, citing volatility in trade policy.

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Nia Warfield, Luke Kawa
12h
S&P 500 goes nowhere, Nasdaq 100 hits another record, small-caps tumble

Warner Bros. Discovery led gains for the second day in a row, and only three S&P 500 sector ETFs finished in the green.

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Matt Phillips
12h

Rocket lab soars to new record close amid rally for retail faves

Rocket Lab ripped by roughly 10% Friday to close at a new all-time high, riding an upturn of retail enthusiasm for a coterie of tech-themed favorites, even as the broader market was more or less flat on the day.

Goldman Sachs’ basket of “retail favorites” — its heaviest weights are Reddit, AppLovin, and Tempus AI — was the second-biggest gainer among the company’s flagship US equity baskets on Friday, rising about 1.6%. The S&P was almost dead flat.

It’s not Rocket Lab’s first retail rodeo, as the money-losing company has more than doubled this year and is up nearly 700% over the last 12 months.

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markets
Nia Warfield
15h

Six Flags pops after reiterating its guidance as theme park attendance rebounds

Six Flags shares rose more than 7% today after the company reported a rebound in attendance and early season pass sales heading into the fall. The nine-week period ended August 31 saw 17.8 million guests, up about 2% from the same stretch last year, with stronger momentum in the final four weeks. 

More importantly, Six Flags reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance of $860 million to $910 million, showing confidence that its cost and operations strategy can stay strong for the duration of the year. Riding that wave, Six Flags also said early 2026 season pass unit sales are pacing ahead of last year, and average season pass prices are up about 3%.

The good vibes come despite a drop in in-park per-capita spending, especially from admissions, where promotions and changes to attendance mix (which parks or days guests visit) have weighed. Earlier this week, the amusement giant signed a new agreement that extended its position as the exclusive amusement park partner for Peanuts™ in North America through 2030.

Despite the rally, Six Flags shares are down about 52% year to date.

markets
Max Knoblauch
16h

Rivian turns red on the year, squeezed by a recall and the looming end of the EV tax credit

Shares of EV maker Rivian are down more than 5% on Friday following the company’s recall of 24,214 vehicles due to a software issue. The stock move erases Rivian’s year-to-date gain and turns the company negative on the year.

Rivian’s 2025 model year R1S and R1T are affected by the defect, which was identified after a vehicle’s hands-free highway assist software failed to identify another vehicle on the road, causing a low-speed collision. Rivian said it’s released an over-the-air update to fix the issue.

The recall marks Rivian’s fifth this year, affecting nearly 70,000 of its vehicles.

Rivian’s shares are down more than 20% from their 2025 high, which came prior to the passage of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” Through the legislation, the $7,500 EV tax credit is set to expire at the end of the month.

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