S&P 500, Nasdaq Edge Lower to Snap Three-Day Winning Streaks as Investors Digest Latest Trade News, Inflation Data

Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Wednesday

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Decliners

After securing the S&P 500’s top performance in the previous session, Intel (INTC) shares gave back most of their gains on Wednesday, tumbling 6.5% to record the steepest daily drop in the benchmark index. This week’s volatility for Intel stock came as trade talks between the U.S. and China boosted hopes for less onerous semiconductor export restrictions. Meanwhile, the chipmaker remains in the midst of a major restructuring effort under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has been focused on cutting costs through workforce reductions, divestitures, and other initiatives since entering the role in March.
Shares of steelmakers came under pressure following reports that the U.S. and Mexico are negotiating to scale back or cancel President Donald Trump’s 50% tariff on steel imports up to a certain volume. The North American neighbors are reportedly exploring a quota system that would allow a specific amount of the metal to enter the U.S. from Mexico duty-free or at lower rates, with excess amounts subject to the full 50% levy. Nucor (NUE) shares lost 6.1%.
Lockheed Martin (LMT) shares dropped 4.3% after reports indicated that the U.S. Department of Defense is cutting down on its orders for the aerospace and defense manufacturer’s F-35 fighter jets. Delays involving a technological upgrade have hampered the finalization of contracts for the F-35.

Advancers

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) jumped 5%, climbing the most of any S&P 500 stock on Wednesday, as investors continue to evaluate the entertainment giant’s recently announced plan to split its studio operations and TV business into two separate companies. The stock has been volatile since the announcement, and uncertainties about the strategy remain.
Starbucks (SBUX) shares jolted 4.3% higher on Wednesday. The coffee giant announced the launch of Green Dot Assist, a virtual assistant powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI) that is designed to help baristas with in-store functions, from learning to make drinks to troubleshooting maintenance issues. The company’s CEO also said that Starbucks would accelerate its rollout of an updated staffing model across its stores and noted that the company has garnered significant interest regarding a possible sale of its stake in its China business.

Shares of GE Vernova (GEV), the energy technology company that spun off from General Electric in 2024, surged 3.9% after Bank of America boosted its price target on the stock. Analysts highlighted their expectations for growing electricity demand in the U.S. over the next 10 years. They noted that GE Vernova could be well-positioned to capitalize on its natural gas turbine market strength. BofA also pointed to upside potential for GE Vernova’s electrification business, anticipating strong demand for grid reliability equipment.

-Michael Bromberg

Oracle Pops as CEO Projects ‘Dramatically Higher’ Growth

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Oracle (ORCL) delivered quarterly results that topped analysts’ expectations and projected strong growth, sending shares sharply higher in extended trading Wednesday.

In its fiscal fourth quarter, revenue grew 11% year-over-year to $15.9 billion, above the analyst consensus. Adjusted net income of $4.88 billion, or $1.70 per share, rose from $4.61 billion, or $1.63 per share, in the year-ago quarter, also beating estimates.

The gains came as cloud infrastructure revenue jumped 52% to $3 billion, making it Oracle’s fastest-growing segment, though the figure was slightly short of Wall Street estimates.

CEO Safra Catz said Oracle expects cloud infrastructure growth to increase from 50% in fiscal 2025 to more than 70% in fiscal 2026. Analysts had called for growth of 62%, according to Visible Alpha.

« FY25 was a very good year—but we believe FY26 will be even better as our revenue growth rates will be dramatically higher, » said Catz.

« Oracle is well on its way to being not only the world’s largest cloud application company—but also one of the world’s largest cloud infrastructure companies, » Catz added.

Oracle shares were up about 7% in recent after-hours trading. Ahead of the earnings report, traders were pricing in the likelihood of a big move in Oracle’s stock price.

-Andrew Kessel

GameStop Slides on News of Convertible Note Offering

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GameStop (GME) shares fell in extending trading after the company announced plans for a big convertible notes offering expected largely to fund its Bitcoin-buying aims.

GameStop’s stock, which fell about 5% in the day’s regular session, was off another 11% in after-hours action. The company in a press release said it was offering $1.75 billion in the notes, with as much as $250 million more available to initial purchasers of the notes.

 The news affirmed plans announced in March.

The company in its statement said the proceeds were intended for « general corporate purposes, including making investments in a manner consistent with GameStop’s Investment Policy and potential acquisitions. » The notes are convertible into either company stock or a combination of cash and stock; the conversion rate has not been determined.

GameStop, which earlier this week reported its latest financial results, is a video-game retailer seeking to become a Bitcoin treasury. The company last month said it had recently bought more than 4,700 bitcoin.

-David Marino-Nachison

Oil Prices Surge to Two-Month High

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Oil prices rose as a U.S.-China trade deal and soft inflation report boosted demand expectations while concerns about political instability in the Middle East sparked fears of supply disruptions.

West Texas Intermediate futures contracts, the U.S. crude oil benchmark, rose as much as 5.2% on Wednesday to trade above $68 a barrel for the first time since April 2, when President Trump’s « Liberation Day” tariff announcement  pulled prices lower.

Prices surged in afternoon trading amid reports that the State Department had ordered the departure of all nonessential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to address security concerns amid mounting tensions in the Middle East.

Oil prices had risen earlier in the session after the U.S. and China agreed to a trade deal that eased fears about the economic fallout of a protracted trade war between the world’s two largest economies. A soft inflation report added to Wall Street’s optimism about demand.

The energy sector led stock market gainers on Wednesday. Oil companies were up, with Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and ConocoPhillips (COP) both finishing up more than 2%.

Crude oil prices had slumped to about $57 per barrel in early May, their lowest level since early 2021, after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed to boost production in June. Energy markets were on edge even before OPEC announced the supply increase: U.S.-China trade had effectively come to a standstill after the countries increased tariff rates on each other’s goods to more than 100%, threatening to slow global growth and weigh on oil demand.

Prices began to rebound in mid-May after the U.S. and U.K. agreed to a trade deal framework, giving Wall Street confidence that tariff rates would eventually settle below the levels announced in April. Oil’s rebound picked up pace in early June when OPEC lifted its production targets by less than investors expected. 

-Colin Laidley

Oklo Stock Jumps 30% on News of Air Force Contract

1 hr 38 min ago

Shares of nuclear energy startup Oklo (OKLO) skyrocketed Wednesday after the company announced it had tentatively landed a « mission-critical » contract to provide nuclear energy to a U.S. Air Force base in Alaska.

Once it receives the necessary permits to start building its « Aurora powerhouse » small modular nuclear reactors, the startup will « design, construct, own, and operate » a plant to provide power to the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

Oklo has long appeared to be the likely winner of the contract. But the process was delayed over the last two years as complaints were submitted by competing nuclear energy providers, according to Barron’s.

The news follows a recent rally for Oklo and other nuclear energy stocks, sparked by President Donald Trump signing executive orders last month aimed at boosting the industry. Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte was in the Oval Office when the orders were signed, and the company released a statement supporting the directives.

Stocks in the nuclear energy sector have risen over the last year due to the anticipation of growing energy needs to run data centers and train artificial intelligence models. Oklo shares rallied last month after the company announced it had completed initial work at the site in Idaho, where it is planning to build and start operating its first reactor by late 2027 or early 2028.

Oklo shares gained 30% in regular trading, pushing the stock’s year-to-date gain to 220%. Shares were down about 5% in extended trading hours after the company announced a public offering of $400 million in stock.

-Aaron McDade

Watch These Bitcoin Levels as Cryptocurrency Nears New High

1 hr 59 min ago

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) has rallied over the past week to approach the record high it set last month, tracking the strong performance of U.S. equities and encouraging signals about the U.S. economy.

The legacy cryptocurrency moved as high as $110,400 Wednesday morning after a closely watched inflation report showed that consumer prices rose less than expected last month, good news for investors who are hoping the Federal Reserve could be in a position to cut its benchmark interest rate this year. The price of bitcoin dropped to $108,900 recently, as U.S. stocks backed off their earlier highs as well.

Bitcoin last hit a record high, of just under $112,000, on May 22. The digital currency has gained about 16% since the start of the year, far outpacing the performance of major stock indexes.

After hitting its all-time high last month, bitcoin’s price consolidated within a flag, a chart pattern that indicates a continuation of the cryptocurrency’s uptrend that started in early April.

Indeed, the digital asset staged a decisive breakout above the pattern earlier this week, laying the groundwork for a new move higher. Meanwhile, the relative strength index confirms bullish price momentum, though the indicator remains below overbought levels, providing ample room for further upside.

In another win for bitcoin bulls, the 50-day moving average (MA) crossed above the 200-day MA last month to form a bullish golden cross signal.

Investors should watch key overhead areas on Bitcoin’s chart around $112,000 and $137,000, while also monitoring important support levels near $107,000 and $100,000.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

-Timothy Smith

Starbucks Stock Surges Amid Spate of Headlines

3 hr 11 min ago

Starbucks (SBUX) shares are climbing toward prices not seen since April, when newly enacted tariffs dragged down the market.

The coffee chain’s shares were recently up more than 4% to above $95, within range of the roughly $100 they last closed above in March before sinking below $80.

The shares rose amid the circulation of a few headlines—and as Citi analysts increased their price target for its shares in a morning research note. Citi brought its target from $84 to $95–roughly in line with where shares were trading by Wednesday afternoon.

The company announced Green Dot Assist, an AI assistant, will be rolled out to improve store operations, and help with tasks like reviewing beverage recipes and troubleshooting equipment. Efficiency—and serving customers within four minutes—is the centerpiece of a turnaround campaign Starbucks launched to lure back customers amid sluggish traffic. The company also hopes to lift sales by making cafes a more welcoming place to spend time and money.

Meanwhile, the company is exploring selling a minority stake in its struggling shops in China, and has received a “lot of interest” from potential partners, CEO Brian Niccol recently told The Financial Times.

Starbucks shares were leading S&P 500 gainers as of Wednesday afternoon.

-Sarina Trangle

Chewy Stock Slides as Profit Falls Short of Estimates

3 hr 34 min ago

Shares of Chewy (CHWY) fell sharply Wednesday as the online pet retailer’s first-quarter profit came in below analysts’ expectations.

Chewy reported GAAP net income of $62.4 million, or $0.15 per share. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha were looking for $68.9 million, or $0.16 per share.

The company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.35 on net sales that increased 8.3% year-over-year to $3.12 billion, while analysts had expected $0.34 and $3.08 billion, respectively. Last quarter, Chewy had guided for $0.30 to $0.35 and $3.06 billion to $3.09 billion in Q1. Chewy’s active customer base grew 3.8% to nearly 20.8 million.

The company affirmed its full-year outlook of 6% to 7% sales growth to $12.30 billion to $12.45 billion. For the second quarter, Chewy forecast adjusted EPS of $0.30 to $0.35 and sales of $3.06 billion to $3.09 billion, while analysts currently expect $0.31 and $3.04 billion, respectively.

Chewy shares were down 12% in mid-afternoon trading but remain 20% higher in 2025.

-Aaron McDade

What to Know Ahead of AMD’s ‘Advancing AI’ Event Tomorrow

4 hr 57 min ago

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) CEO Lisa Su is set to take the stage tomorrow for a keynote presentation on the chipmaker’s latest developments in artificial intelligence.

Citi analysts said they anticipate AMD will use the event to launch its latest AI GPU, the MI355X, which the bank said could come with more high-bandwidth memory and at a lower price point than rival Nvidia’s (NVDA) B200 chip. The company could also offer updates on its upcoming MI400 model, which Citi expects to ramp in the second half of 2026. The keynote is set to begin Thursday at 12:30 p.m. ET. (You can watch the event here.)

AMD could reveal new high-profile customers as well, such as Amazon (AMZN) or potentially OpenAI, Citi said. The bank maintained a « neutral » rating for the stock, while raising its price target to $120 from $100. The mean target of the 11 analysts covering AMD tracked by Visible Alpha, including Citi, is about $121, suggesting little change from Wednesday’s intraday price. The stock has climbed less than 1% since the start of the year.

The event comes after AMD delivered quarterly results last month that beat Wall Street’s expectations on the strength of its data center sales. However, the company warned it could take a hit in the current quarter to the tune of $800 million related to tightening restrictions on sales of its chips to China. Rival Nvidia said it took a $4.5 billion charge in its fiscal first quarter associated with new export curbs. 

-Andrew Kessel

Tesla Stock Back to Where it Was Before Trump-Musk Feud

5 hr 17 min ago

The latest tempest around Tesla’s shares appears to have passed.

Tesla’s (TSLA) stock is rising for a fourth straight day and was recently right around the price at which it closed June 4. That was the session before a spat between CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump led to a remarkable series of social-media posts and statements that culminated in a one-day drop of about $150 billion in Tesla’s market value. Tesla’s market value is meanwhile back above $1 trillion, according to Visible Alpha data. 

Put another way, investors appear to have moved on, even if the degree to which Musk and Trump have—the former earlier today posted that he “went too far” in some of his comments regarding the president, though he didn’t say which ones—remains an open question. 

Tesla bulls would undoubtedly prefer it this way. Musk is seeking to reframe the perception of his business from a carmaker to a leader in robotics, AI and autonomous mobility; a Trump-Musk breakup was reasonably seen as creating a possible overhang, even as some observers thought that worry was overblown. 

Deepwater Asset Management called the Musk-Trump friction an “overreaction” in a Saturday note. “Long term, the White House will likely support autonomy given its central role in global AI leadership,” the firm’s note read. 

“Bottom line: a key component of our Tesla thesis has officially begun playing out,” Piper Sandler analysts wrote Tuesday, citing the rollout of driverless Teslas in Austin, Texas. “We expect the stock to sustain upward momentum in the coming weeks.”

Other factors are helping support stocks—including high-profile tech shares—lately. Today, for example, inflation data and the appearance of progress on the trade front gave investor sentiment a boost.

But it nevertheless appears that investors are moving beyond last week’s headlines and—as Shakespeare’s Prospero might have said—these latest revels are now ended.

-David Marino-Nachison

How Much Traders Expect Oracle Stock to Move After Earnings

6 hr 22 min ago

Software company Oracle (ORCL) is scheduled to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings after the closing bell on Wednesday, and traders see potential for the stock to hit a record high on the results. 

Oracle shares are expected to move about 7.2% in either direction by the end of the week, according to options pricing data. That would put shares at about $190, their highest price this year and just 1% shy of a record, or about $164, which would erase the stock’s gains so far this month. 

Oracle stock has climbed steadily in recent weeks as investors have embraced the AI trade amid waning economic uncertainty. Shares are up about 45% since hitting a year-to-date low in mid-April, and about 7% since the start of the year. 

Oracle shares have moved an average of 8.6% the day after its four most recent earnings reports. Oracle has missed sales and adjusted earnings estimates in each of its last two reports, causing shares to fall 3.1% after earnings in March and 6.7% in December. Shares jumped double digits in the two prior quarters after announcing cloud computing deals with Amazon (AMZN),  Microsoft (MSFT), OpenAI, and Alphabet’s (GOOGL) Google. 

Wall Street is split on the outlook for Oracle stock. Of the 13 Oracle analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, 6 recommend buying the stock and 7 have assigned it a “hold” rating. The average price target of $174.42 is about 2% below the stock’s closing price on Tuesday. 

-Colin Laidley

Intel Stock Price Levels to Watch Amid Recent Volatility

6 hr 54 min ago

Intel (INTC) shares tumbled Wednesday after surging the previous session as chip stocks rallied amid hopes that curbs on exports to China could be eased.

The stock was down 5% at around $21 in recent trading, giving back much of the 8% it gained on Tuesday, when it paced S&P 500 advancers.

Intel shares are up about about 5% so far in 2025, slightly outpacing the gains of the S&P 500, but have lost nearly a third of their value over the past 12 months amid uncertainty over the chipmaker’s strategic direction and inability to capitalize on the booming AI chip market. CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who took over the top spot in mid-March, has launched a major restructuring effort.

Intel shares have remained rangebound since gapping sharply lower last August. More recently, the stock found buying interest around the lower levels of the trading range, with the price closing above both the 50- and 200-day moving averages on Tuesday.

Importantly, the move higher occurred on the highest daily volume since early April, indicating buying conviction from larger market participants. Moreover, the rally thrust the relative strength index back above its neutral threshold to signal accelerating price momentum.

Investors should watch crucial overhead areas on Intel’s chart around $23, $26 and $33, while also monitoring a major support level near $19.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

-Timothy Smith

Quantum Computing Stocks Jump After Nvidia CEO Comments

8 hr 9 min ago

Quantum computing stocks jumped in early trading Wednesday after Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang said that the industry is “reaching an inflection point. »

Huang’s comments during his keynote speech at the chipmaker’s GTC Paris developer conference marked a more optimistic take by the Nvidia CEO, who said early this year that quantum computing technology is 15 to 30 years away. 

“Quantum computing is reaching an inflection point,” Huang said in the speech Wednesday. “We are within reach of being able to apply quantum computing, quantum classical computing, in areas that can solve some interesting problems in the coming years.”

Quantum computing involves qubits, which can exist in a multidimensional state, unlike a normal computer bit that can be in one state (either 0 or 1), making them capable of much more powerful computations than ordinary computers. 

Shares in Quantum Computing (QUBT) were up nearly 30% in recent trading, while Rigetti Computing (RGTI) surged 18% and D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) shares added 2%. Shares in quantum computing firm IonQ (IONQ), which announced the acquisition of a U.K. rival Monday and has a collaboration with Nvidia, were up 8%.

IBM (IBM) shares, which hit an all-time high Tuesday after it showcased a « viable path » to building the world’s first large-scale, « fault-tolerant » quantum computer by the end of the decade, are little changed in premarket trading. 

-Nisha Gopalan

Musk Sets Robotaxi Launch Date, Regrets Some Trump Posts

9 hr 50 min ago

Tesla (TSLA) shares are rising in premarket trading Wednesday after three straight sessions of gains following new social media posts from CEO Elon Musk.

On Tuesday evening, Musk responded to a user asking questions about the launch of Tesla’s robotaxi program, saying it will launch « tentatively, June 22. »

« We are being super paranoid about safety, so the date could shift, » Musk wrote. He added that the first Tesla that will drive itself from the factory directly to a customer’s door should be delivered about a week later, on June 28.

Last month, Bloomberg reported that Tesla was targeting a June 12 launch for the autonomous ridesharing service, while Musk had previously only said the program was on track to launch sometime this month. In its own posts hours before Musk’s, the Tesla X account posted a robot and car emoji, and responded to another user sharing video of what appeared to be a Tesla with no one in the driver’s seat being tested on the roads of Austin, Texas.

Musk has also said Tesla’s plans for a more affordable Tesla model are on track to launch this month as well, but details about that potential launch have yet to be released.

In another post early Wednesday, Musk said he regrets some of the posts he made during his public split with President Donald Trump last week, saying they « went too far. » In a few posts, which have since been deleted, Musk accused Trump of being in the « Epstein files, » referencing the late convicted sex trafficker, and agreed with another user who said Trump should be impeached so Vice President JD Vance could take over.

Musk spent days criticizing the budget reconciliation bill currently working its way through Congress for adding to the deficit and national debt. Trump last week said he was « disappointed » in Musk for his comments, and the pair continued to exchange comments and insults on their own social media platforms for hours afterward.

Tesla shares were up nearly 3% in recent premarket trading, putting the stock in position to recover all of the ground that was lost after the fracas between Musk and Trump.

-Aaron McDade

Major Index Futures Slightly Lower

10 hr 6 min ago

Futures tied to each of the major U.S. indexes were down 0.2% in recent trading.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

S&P 500

Nasdaq 100