Forget the Fed drama, Nvidia's earnings are everything today.
Tuesday's Market Moves
S&P 500 – 6,465.94 (+0.41%)
Dow Jones – 45,418.07 (+0.30%)
NASDAQ – 21,544.27 (+0.44%)
Weekly Recap- Markets – The S&P 500 closed higher Tuesday as investors shrugged off Trump’s removal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook and looked ahead to Nvidia’s earnings.
- Federal Reserve – Trump moved to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who has refused to resign.
- Telecom & Wireless – EchoStar surged 65% after agreeing to sell spectrum licenses to AT&T for $23 billion.
- Beverages & Consumer Goods – Keurig Dr Pepper will acquire JDE Peet’s for $18.4 billion, creating a coffee and soft drinks powerhouse. Constellation Brands dropped 3% after a downgrade to Underperform and a lower price target.
- Trade Policy – Trump floated new tariffs on imported furniture, rattling U.S. home goods stocks.
- Crypto & Media – Trump Media announced a $1 billion partnership with Crypto.com, expanding its digital assets footprint. Ether set a fresh record over the weekend, its first all-time high since 2021. Bitcoin weakness dragged Circle, Coinbase, and MicroStrategy lower; BofA cited broad crypto outflows.
- Commodities – Gold prices hovered near record highs as traders awaited U.S. PCE data, with a stronger dollar limiting gains.
- Economic Outlook – A survey of 159 economists found that most believe Trump’s economic policies raise risks of recession and inflation.
- Technology & Trade – Trump vowed tariffs and export controls on chips and tech from countries taxing U.S. digital services.
- Housing Market – U.S. new-home sales declined in July, pointing to ongoing weakness under high mortgage rates.
- Consumer Sentiment – The Conference Board’s confidence index fell to 97.4 in August; expectations slipped below 80, signaling recession risk.
- Restaurants – Cracker Barrel rose 5% after Trump urged the chain to drop its new logo.
- Semiconductors – Intel gained after the government revealed a 10% stake; Nvidia edged higher ahead of results. AMD climbed after Truist upgraded the stock to Buy, citing hyperscale adoption. Semtech surged 17% on strong Q2 results and upbeat Q3 guidance.
- Furniture Retail – Wayfair, RH, and Williams-Sonoma fell on tariff concerns, while La-Z-Boy and Ethan Allen gained modestly.
- Indexes – Interactive Brokers will join the S&P 500, replacing Walgreens Boots Alliance.
- Defense – Defense stocks held steady as Trump officials weighed potential equity stakes in top contractors.
- Pharmaceuticals – Eli Lilly gained after its weight-loss drug hit targets in a diabetes trial.
- Railroads – CSX slipped after Warren Buffett said Berkshire isn’t pursuing a BNSF merger.
- Autos & EVs – Tesla was maintained at Neutral by Baird, with a $320 target implying downside.
- Media & Entertainment – Paramount Skydance slipped but remains up 21% for August.
- Cybersecurity – Okta rose after Truist upgraded the stock to Buy with a higher target.
- Energy – Vital Energy jumped after Crescent Energy agreed to acquire it for $3.1B.
- Minerals – MP Materials gained after Trump signaled interest in government stakes in critical mineral companies.
- Technology – Apple edged higher despite lawsuits from Musk’s X and xAI over alleged OpenAI collusion.
- Retail – American Eagle slipped on a downgrade, with tariffs and fading celebrity tie-ins weighing on outlook.
- Software & Tech – Verint Systems jumped on reports of a $2B takeover by Thoma Bravo.
- Airlines – Alaska Air advanced on an Outperform upgrade from Raymond James.
- Data Storage – Seagate rose after Cantor Fitzgerald issued a positive outlook.
- Medical Devices – DexCom declined despite beating earnings, as margins weakened on higher expenses.
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The Federal Reserve announced Tuesday that it will “abide by any court decision” regarding President Donald Trump’s attempt to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook from the central bank’s board.
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Notable Stocks
- Nvidia (NVDA)
- AT&T (T)
- EchoStar Corp. (SATS)
- Intel (INTC)
- AMD (AMD)
Weekly Notables
EchoStar Soars 65% on $23 Billion Spectrum Sale to AT&T
Shares of EchoStar (SATS) rocketed 65% in premarket trading Tuesday after the company announced the sale of a significant tranche of wireless spectrum to AT&T (T) in a $23 billion deal. Investors reacted positively to the news, viewing it as a major milestone for EchoStar as it navigates regulatory challenges and strengthens its financial position. In a statement, EchoStar, the parent company of Dish TV, said, “This transaction is part of EchoStar‘s ongoing efforts to resolve the Federal Communications Commission’s inquiries.”
Trump Media Strikes $1 Billion Crypto.com Deal, Launches Digital Asset Treasury
President Donald Trump’s crypto ventures are growing with a new partnership between Trump Media & Technology Group and Crypto.com to form Trump Media CRO Strategy, a digital asset treasury firm that will hold the exchange’s token, CRO. The company plans to purchase $105 million in CRO immediately, with total funding reaching $1 billion in CRO, plus $420 million in cash and a $5 billion line of credit. The move positions the firm among a growing number of companies establishing corporate cryptocurrency treasuries, following the MicroStrategy model. Trump Media also plans to integrate a CRO-based rewards system on Truth Social, embedding crypto into its platform ecosystem.
Earnings Spotlight: Nvidia
AI chipmaker Nvidia is projected to report adjusted earnings per share of $1.02 for the second quarter on an over 50% year-over-year jump in revenue to $46.52 billion, according to consensus estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. CEO Jensen Huang could also provide more details during the company's earnings call about the timing of new products, including Nvidia's next-generation Rubin lineup and a more powerful AI chip tailored for China’s market.