The stock market rally was flat to slightly lower on the major indexes as President Donald Trump threatened big tariffs on dozens of countries and copper, though the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit highs during the week. Growth stocks were volatile, though, with some big down days.
Nvidia became the first company with a $4 trillion market cap. Nvidia chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor reported strong Q2 sales. Delta Air Lines soared on earnings and guidance, leading airline stocks sharply higher. Tesla fell amid another slew of headlines.
Stock Market Holds At Highs
The major indexes were flat to slightly lower as of Friday morning, taking in stride's President Donald Trump latest big tariff hikes. The major indexes are near all-time high levels, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq hitting record highs on Thursday. Nvidia and rival AMD were winners, but many growth stocks suffered some big daily losses. Treasury yields rose slightly. U.S. copper prices spiked on Trump's plan for a 50% tariff, widening the gap with global copper.
Delta Flies On Earnings, Guidance
Delta Air Lines reported an 11% EPS decline in Q2 while revenue edged up less than 1% to $15.5 billion, both narrowly beating. The carrier said that "demand trends stabilized" at flat vs. a year earlier with "resilience" across its different revenue streams. Delta gave bullish guidance for the summer travel season and restored full-year guidance, which it had paused after its first-quarter report. DAL stock vaulted above its 200-day line and a short consolidation within a larger base. United Airlines and American Airlines both saw double-digit gains after the report.
Stocks Hold Up, But This Is Worrisome; Trump Tariffs, Inflation, Earnings In Focus
TSMC Delivers Strong Sales
Contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported sales for June and the full second quarter that topped analyst estimates. The chip foundry, better known as TSMC, generated the equivalent of $8.9 billion in revenue in June, beating the consensus view of $8.5 billion. For Q2, TSMC's revenue was $30.2 billion, up 46% vs. a year earlier. Analysts had expected $29.8 billion. TSMC got a lift from AI data center chips. Taiwan Semi stock fell modestly. Key customer Nvidia rose to a $4 trillion market cap.
Boeing Jumps As Deliveries Pick Up
Boeing rallied to a fresh 52-week high after reporting June deliveries of 60 airplanes, including eight to China. Boeing delivered 45 planes in May, and 150 for Q2. However, the Dow manufacturer still trailed rival Airbus, which delivered 63 planes in June, up from 51 deliveries in May. EADSY stock rose to fresh all-time highs.
Amazon's 'Prime Day' Wraps Up
Amazon wrapped up Prime Day Friday — with mixed commentary on the deals extravaganza, doubled this year to four days. The results were closely watched as an indicator of consumer confidence amid concerns about tariffs. U.S. shoppers spent $7.9 billion online on Tuesday, the first day of the event, according to data from Adobe, up 10% year over year. But Adobe's tracking includes spending beyond Amazon. Walmart and Target offered discounts too. Momentum Commerce, which manages sales for 50 brands on Amazon, said its sales were down 41% compared to the first day of Prime Day in 2024. Momentum still expected year-over-year sales growth from the event, with Prime Day's extra days contributing to a slower start. Amazon stock was little changed for the week, holding above a buy point.
Tesla Falls On Politics. Robotaxi To Expand.
Tesla tumbled to start the week after CEO Elon Musk said he is forming the "America Party" to challenge President Donald Trump and the two-party system. Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a longtime Tesla bull, said the board should give Musk a big pay package and extra voting rights, but also set conditions on time spent at Tesla and limits on political activities. Musk told Ives to "shut up." Meanwhile, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she was resigning. That came after Grok, Musk's AI model, praised Adolf Hitler and made derogatory remarks in response to X user prompts. Musk announced that the Tesla robotaxi, which has safety monitors and other backups, would "expand" its service area in Austin over the weekend. He added that the ride-hailing service could arrive in the San Francisco Bay Area in coming months, pending regulatory approval. Shares fell for the week.
MP Soars As Pentagon Takes Stake
MP Materials soared after announcing a public-private partnership with the Department of Defense to "dramatically accelerate the build-out of an end-to-end U.S. rare earth magnet supply chain and reduce foreign dependency." As part of the deal, the DOD will buy $400 million of new preferred MP stock with warrants for more. The Pentagon could end up with around 15% of MP Materials stock, making it the No. 1 holder.
Stock Market News In Brief
AZZ jumped to a new high as fiscal Q1 profit rose 22%, beating views, even though the 2% sales gain slightly missed. The electrical equipment maker, with significant EV exposure, guided in line for full-year sales and slightly higher on earnings.
Merck will pay $10 billion for Verona Pharma, which makes a COPD treatment called Ohtuvayre. Notably, Ohtuvayre uses a different mechanism to tackle the progressive lung condition than Dupixent, made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi.
Rhythm Pharmaceuticals hit a record high Wednesday after unveiling promising results for a drug that could treat hypothalamic obesity. This rare disease causes uncontrolled hunger and a reduced metabolic rate. Over 14 weeks, a low dose of Rhythm's drug lowered patients' BMI by 7.7%. The high dose led to a 9.3% reduction.
Byrna Technologies dived despite fiscal Q2 EPS unexpectedly rising 11%. Revenue grew 41% to $28.5 million, just beating. But growth has slowed considerably in recent quarters, while Q2 sales reflected significant stockpiling by a key customer. The nonlethal weapons maker stressed consumer weakness.
WK Kellogg surged as Italian candy maker Ferrero Group agreed to buy the cereal giant for $3.1 billion, or $23 a share.
