Big Things Happening This Week

• The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones have surged to record highs as the blue-chip index gains over 700 points. The Dow soared more than 700 points on Tuesday to secure another all-time closing high. The blue-chip index rose more than 1.8%, thanks in part to positive earnings from UnitedHealth (UNH), which saw shares rise nearly 7%. The S&P 500 finished Tuesday up about 0.6% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) moved up 0.2%.
• Bank of America (BAC) and Morgan Stanley (MS) each ended Tuesday in the positive. BofA's quarterly profit fell but beat estimates and Morgan Stanley saw its profit jump. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and Wells Fargo all posted double-digit increases in investment-banking revenue.
• Investors seem encouraged after Chair Jerome Powell signaled the Federal Reserve is gearing up to start lowering rates soon, given recent solid inflation prints. At an event Monday, Powell said he wasn’t going to give any guidance on timing for rate cuts, and most of his colleagues on the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee still seem unconvinced of the need for urgency.
• Data on Tuesday showed that retail sales came in better than expected remaining relatively flat in June. The consumer price index — which excludes food and energy costs — rose just 0.1% in June, marking the smallest monthly advance since August 2021. "This report shows that the consumer is holding in there well and maybe is not spending at the heady pace that we saw in the second half of last year but is certainly not falling off a cliff," Citi senior global economist Robert Sockin told Yahoo Finance. "
• Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he supports TikTok. The social media site is facing a potential ban. 

Most Active Stocks

• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Bank of America (BAC)
• Tesla (TSLA)
• SoFi Technologies (SOFI)
• American Airlines Group (AAL)
• Riot Platforms (RIOT)
• Sirius XM Holdings (SIRI)
• Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA)

In the Spotlight

Amazon Prime Day Could Lead to Consumers Spending $14B During the E-commerce Holiday

E-commerce giant Amazon launched its annual two-day promotional event Prime Day on Tuesday. eMarketer analyst Sky Canaves told Yahoo Finance that it expects consumers to spend nearly $14 billion during the two-day event which ends today. Last year, Prime Day brought in $13 billion in sales, with 60% of those sales coming from Amazon, while the rest came from third-party sellers, according to eMarketer.  "When it comes to Prime Day, Amazon still sets the agenda and takes the majority of sales. We expect that US consumers will spend nearly $14 billion online during these two days," said Sky Canaves.

Elon Musk is Moving SpaceX and X Headquarters to Texas

SpaceX CEO and X owner Elon Musk announced this week that he will move the headquarters of both companies from California to Texas. Musk's decision to move the companies' headquarters is in response to to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) signing a new law that bars school districts in that state from requiring parents to be notified of a child’s gender identification change. “I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children,” Musk said on X.

HSBC Appoints Georges Elhedery as Group CEO Starting Sept. 2

HSBC said today that it has appointed Georges Elhedery as group CEO, starting Sept. 2. Elhedery is the current chief financial officer, will replace outgoing head Noel Quinn in September. It was last April that HSBC revealed that Quinn was leaving after five years. “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me to lead this great institution into the future. Working together with our talented team, I look forward to delivering exceptional value to our clients and investors by driving strong performance on a sustainable growth trajectory,” Elhedery said.