4:20pm: Wall Street roars back
The Nasdaq led a powerful rebound on Tuesday, soaring 462 points, or 2.5%, to close at 19,199 as investors cheered a wave of positive economic and political developments.
The rally was broad-based, with the S&P 500 climbing 119 points, or 2.1%, to finish at 5,922, the Dow Jones adding 741 points, or 1.8%, to 42,344, and the small-cap Russell 2000 advancing 50 points, or 2.4%, to 2,090.
“The S&P 500 index saw a sharp rise, reaching the 5,920-point level, driven by a significant boost in US consumer confidence, which hit its highest level in four years,” said Antonio Di Giacomo, Financial Markets Analyst for LATAM at XS. “This rally marked the end of a five-month bearish streak.”
Tech stocks took center stage, with Nvidia jumping over 3% on strong expectations for its upcoming earnings and continued enthusiasm around AI. Tesla surged more than 6% after CEO Elon Musk reassured investors of his long-term commitment and plans to accelerate development in autonomous driving and battery innovation.
Elsewhere, Salesforce gained over 2% amid reports of a potential $8 billion acquisition of Informatica, while Southwest Airlines popped 2.6% after announcing it would start charging for checked bags.
Still, the market wasn’t without warning signs—durable goods orders slid 6.3% in April, and Fed officials struck a cautious tone, underscoring the need for more clarity before any policy changes.
3:45pm: Proactive news headlines
AMC Entertainment Holdings shares jumped after the company reported record Memorial Day weekend revenue driven by strong performances from Lilo & Stitch and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.
Arizona Gold & Silver Inc completed the US$40,000 acquisition of the Sycamore Canyon gold-silver project in Arizona, securing full ownership and setting the stage for potential development through partnerships.
Blockmate Ventures Inc launched a new Wyoming-based Bitcoin mining subsidiary, Blockmate Mining, starting with a 10MW deployment and plans to scale up to 200MW.
Ocean Power Technologies Inc was named an initial certified operator under AUVSI’s Trusted Uncrewed Maritime Systems program, highlighting its commitment to safety and proficiency standards.
Sona Nanotech Inc reported positive preclinical safety results for its gold nanorods, meeting FDA requirements for progression to human clinical trials.
Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd said its G Lubricant improved diesel engine energy efficiency by 10% and cut particulate emissions by 33% in in-house testing.
Chariot Ltd raised US$5.5 million through an oversubscribed share placing priced at 1.4p per share.
Prescient Therapeutics Ltd began its Phase 2a trial of PTX-100 for Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma by dosing the first patient at a clinical site in Perth.
2:55pm: Can earnings sustain rally?
The first quarter earnings season may have delivered strong results, but did little to boost confidence in the market outlook for the rest of the year due to rising tariff uncertainty, acording to analysts at LPL Finanical.
S&P 500 earnings per share rose 13.5% year-over-year, with 78% of companies beating estimates and average earnings surprises reaching 8.3%.
Despite this, LPL remains cautious, questioning whether earnings can continue to support current stock market valuations.
“Good first quarter numbers are of course better than the alternative,” LPL analysts wrote, “but as investors, we drive looking through the front windshield, not the rearview mirror.”
The standout performers were the “Magnificent Seven” mega-cap tech companies, which collectively posted nearly 30% earnings growth and maintained or increased capital expenditure guidance — a key driver of future profitability. These firms are expected to account for nearly half of the S&P 500’s earnings growth this quarter.
Still, the broader market faces headwinds. Slowing economic growth and the threat of steeper tariffs — which could cut S&P 500 earnings by at least 3% — cloud the path ahead. The energy and consumer staples sectors weighed on overall earnings, while healthcare, communication services, and tech led gains.
LPL concludes that while corporate fundamentals remain strong, the lack of clarity around trade policy and potential profit margin pressures keeps them wary. “We wish we could dismiss the risk of higher tariffs,” they wrote, “but we can’t — at least not yet.”
2:10pm: Tuesday's headlines
Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM, ETR:FOO) announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Informatica (NYSE:INFA), a leader in cloud data management, in an $8 billion all-cash deal aimed at accelerating its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.
Temu parent PDD Holdings stock dropped after posting a sharp profit decline.
Donald Trump’s media company is looking to raise $3 billion to invest in Bitcoin and other digital assets, intensifying concerns over potential conflicts of interest during his second term.
Tesla's European sales dropped 49% in April compared with the same month last year, even as demand for battery-electric vehicles rose nearly 28%.
12:45pm: Investors cheer tariff delay
Wall Street is firmly in rally mode this Tuesday, with all three major indexes posting strong midday gains after President Trump hit the pause button on new tariffs targeting European imports. The Dow is up 1.5%, the S&P 500 has jumped 1.9%, and the Nasdaq is leading the charge with a 2.2% surge. The catalyst? Relief over the White House’s decision to delay a planned 50% tariff hike on EU goods until July 9—a move that’s cooled tensions and opened the door for renewed trade talks.
Investors are breathing a sigh of relief, with risk appetite returning across the board. Lower Treasury yields are helping, too, reducing pressure on equities and giving the green light to buyers. Tech stocks are powering the rally, especially Nvidia and Tesla, which are riding waves of AI enthusiasm and renewed investor confidence. Travel names like Royal Caribbean and Carnival are also sailing higher, while AutoZone and gold miners like Newmont are struggling to keep up, weighed down by earnings misses and a pullback in gold prices.
After last week’s jitters, today’s action marks a sharp reversal and brings the S&P 500 within striking distance of its record high. With both Washington and Brussels now signaling a willingness to negotiate, markets are hopeful the worst of the tariff drama might be avoided—for now.
11:55am: (Short) week ahead
A packed week of earnings and economic data could stir up already fragile investor sentiment.
Big names like Nvidia, Salesforce, Dell, Costco, and Best Buy are set to report, giving a clearer picture of how companies and consumers are holding up.
On the economic front, all eyes are on Friday’s core PCE report—the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge—which is expected to show inflation holding steady. While it might not shake markets much, it will still factor into the Fed’s thinking on interest rates. Investors will also be watching GDP revisions and the Fed’s meeting minutes, though no big surprises are expected there. Consumer confidence remains low, and inflation expectations have crept up, adding to the cautious mood.
With tech stocks already under pressure, Nvidia’s results could be a game-changer—either extending a rebound or deepening the slide.
11:20am: Consumer confidence jumps in May
Consumer confidence rebounded sharply in May, with the Conference Board’s index rising to 98.0 from 85.7 in April—well above expectations of 87.1. The uptick followed a pause in retaliatory tariffs between the US and China, easing some of the trade tensions that have weighed heavily on sentiment.
“Consumers across various age and income groups showed a noticeable uptick in optimism,” said Jeffrey Roach, Chief Economist for LPL Financial. “However, we believe this bounce may be short-lived unless trade tensions ease in a more permanent way.”
Roach emphasized that trade policy remains the dominant force shaping consumer and business sentiment, noting that “removing trade uncertainty could be the most powerful catalyst for an improved growth trajectory.”
Despite the improvement in consumer expectations—which brought the index close to pre-Liberation Day levels—analysts remain cautious. Persistent trade uncertainty, inflation worries, and their impact on market volatility could keep the Federal Reserve on hold longer than previously anticipated.
10:35am: Durable goods drop
US durable goods orders fell 6.3% in April, a sharp decline but still better than economists’ forecast of a 7.8% drop. Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.2%, slightly beating expectations of a flat reading. However, core capital goods orders—nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft—declined 1.3%, worse than the 0.2% drop anticipated.
Despite the weak headline number, analysts are not sounding the alarm. "Although Durable Goods orders dropped sharply in April, they didn’t drop as much as was expected (-6.3% vs -7.8%) and so that shouldn’t derail the market today," Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer for Northlight Asset Management noted.
The focus, Zaccarelli added, remains more on trade developments than on economic data. Still, he emphasized monitoring economic fundamentals for cracks, especially as the US adapts to shifting trade policies. “For now, we see an economy that is slowing and taking some time to adapt to the ‘new normal’ of rapid changes in trade policy, but as long as it stays out of recession, we believe the market has more room to go to the upside in the short run.”
9.55am: Nasdaq leads gains, with Tesla up, PDD down
New York started the day in a positive mood, with Nasdaq driving the gains.
The tech-heavy exchange's Composite index climbed 1.5% in initial trades, with the S&P 500 rising 1.2%, the Dow Jones 0.9% and the small cap Russell 2000 adding 1%.
Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) was top of the S&P leaderboard, rising 3.8%, despite European sales halving last month and Chinese rival BYD cutting prices over the weekend.
The biggest faller on the Nasdaq was Temu owner PDD Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PDD), aka Pinduoduo, which missed Wall Street estimates for first-quarter revenue as its increased investments hit profitability. The shares dropped 19%.
8.05am: Tech stocks expected to drive opening gains on Wall Street
US futures surged higher after the long weekend, led by tech stocks, after Donald Trump agreed to delay an extra tariff on European imports until July 9 to allow time for trade negotiations.
Futures for the tech-powered Nasdaq 100 were up 1.5%, while S&P 500 futures rose 1.4% and those for the Dow Jones climbed 1.2%.
Stocks ended last week on a down note following a threat by the US President to hit the European Union with a 50% tariff from 1 June, and lashed out at Apple too, threatening to impose a 25% tariff if the company did not move some manufacturing to America.
However, yesterday, following a phone call where EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen requested more time to facilitate ongoing discussions, Trump said on a social media post that he had "agreed to the extension".
European markets were higher on Monday and that has continued on Tuesday, with Germany's DAX hitting a new intraday high and London's FTSE 100 coming within a hundred points of its own zenith.
Market analyst Kenny Polcari of Slatestone Wealth said of the quick Trump U-turn, "we have seen this playbook before, I just want someone to examine all of the trading accounts of anyone in the administration".
Jim Reid of Deutsche Bank said the size of Friday's fall "showed that markets are getting more accustomed to Trump's threats and now partly assume the full threat won't immediately materialise. There is certainly fear fatigue."
Although President Trump has postponed the EU tariff deadline to 9 July, Friday’s sell-off on his threat of a 50% tariff has "left its mark and sentiment remains cautious", said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation.
"Investors appear to be weighing the relief from the delay against the possibility of renewed pressure should talks falter."
On the forex market, the US dollar made gains across the board, while the DXY dollar index remains below the key 100 level, "reflecting continued downside pressure amid trade policy concerns and fiscal uncertainty".
As the dollar’s weakness since mid-January has supported commodities like gold, its gains today have accompanied a 1.7% decline in the yellow metal.
Oil prices are mixed, with WTI crude down 0.5% to $61.2 a barrel, while Brent is up 0.1% at $64.5.