4:15pm: Micron tops $1 trillion valuation
Stocks finished mixed on Tuesday, though the broader market continued its march higher as optimism around technology earnings and easing inflation worries kept investors in buying mode.
The Nasdaq jumped 312 points, or 1.2%, to close at a fresh record high of 26,656, while the S&P 500 added 46 points, or 0.6%, to end at another all-time high of 7,519. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lagged behind, slipping 118 points, or 0.2%, to 50,462.
Chipmaker Micron helped fuel the rally after its market capitalization topped the $1 trillion mark, adding to momentum in the AI-driven tech trade that has powered much of this year’s gains. Investors also found relief in the bond market, with Treasury yields pulling back as concerns about inflation temporarily cooled.
Corporate earnings continued to come in stronger than expected across several sectors, reinforcing confidence that businesses are still managing to grow despite higher interest rates and lingering economic uncertainty.
Meanwhile, energy markets remained on edge amid tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, though investor sentiment improved after President Donald Trump said negotiations with Iran were “moving along well,” raising hopes that diplomacy could prevent a broader escalation in the region.
Overall, the tone on Wall Street remained cautiously upbeat, with investors balancing geopolitical risks against strong earnings, resilient economic data, and continued enthusiasm for artificial intelligence-related stocks.
3:40pm: Proactive news headlines
- Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd (TSX-V:MON, OTC:MXTRF) completed an initial drill program at its Elvira gold project in Chile targeting a large hydrothermal system with both epithermal gold and deeper copper-gold potential.
- Clinch Resources (TSX:CLCH) acquired its first Caterpillar highwall miner for use at its West Virginia operations to recover metallurgical coal resources that are uneconomic through conventional mining methods.
- Power Metallic Mines Inc (TSX-V:PNPN, FRA:IVV1, OTCQB:PNPNF) reported high-grade copper intercepts and positive metallurgical results from its Lion Zone deposit at the Nisk project in Quebec, supporting the inclusion of lower-grade material in its upcoming resource estimate.
- American Resources Corp (NASDAQ:AREC) said affiliate ReElement Technologies successfully purified tungsten concentrate to 99.9% purity using its proprietary processing platform, marking a rare domestic capability in the US.
- First Phosphate Corp. (CSE:PHOS, OTCQX:FRSPF, FRA:KD0, OTC:FPHOY) released an updated mineral resource estimate for its Bégin-Lamarche project in Quebec showing a 378% increase in indicated resources following recent drilling.
- BioVie Inc (NASDAQ:BIVI, NASDAQ:BIVIW) completed enrollment in its Phase 2 ADDRESS-LC trial evaluating bezisterim for neurological symptoms linked to Long COVID, with topline results expected later this summer.
- Miivo Holdings Corp (TSX-V:MIVO) announced its shares have begun trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, expanding the company’s access to European investors.
- Meren Energy Inc (TSX:MER, STO:MER, OTCQX:MRNFF) said investee company Impact Oil & Gas is restructuring its South African assets to sharpen focus on the Venus light oil discovery offshore Namibia ahead of a potential final investment decision this year.
- 1911 Gold Corp (TSX-V:AUMB, OTCQB:AUMBF, FRA:2KY) reported gold grades of up to 46.1 grams per tonne at its Ogama-Rockland deposit in Manitoba, supporting expansion potential around its True North mining hub.
2:30pm: Market movers
- Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) shares surged after a major bullish UBS call that more than tripled its price target, briefly pushing the memory chip maker’s market value above $1 trillion intraday.
- Oklo jumped after being selected by the US Department of Energy for advanced negotiations under a program to convert surplus plutonium into fuel for next-generation reactors.
- Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd (TSX-V:MON, OTC:MXTRF) completed an initial drill program at its Elvira project in Chile targeting a large hydrothermal system with both epithermal gold and deeper copper-gold potential.
- Ferrari (NYSE:RACE) fell after unveiling its first fully electric vehicle, the Luce, which drew criticism over its design and concerns about brand identity.
- Autozone Inc (NYSE:AZO) declined after reporting mixed quarterly results, with earnings beating expectations but revenue coming in slightly below forecasts.
- Clinch Resources (TSX:CLCH) gained after acquiring its first Caterpillar highwall miner for deployment in West Virginia to extract metallurgical coal that would otherwise be uneconomic to recover.
12:05pm: Strong gains
The Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 kicked off the week on a strong note, boosted by optimism over a potential U.S.-Iran agreement, according to Axel Rudolph, chief technical analyst at trading platform IG.
“Falling yields and retreating oil prices on hopes of a US-Iran ceasefire extension and possible agreement helped US stock indices kick off the week on a strong footing as traders returned from a long weekend," Rudolph noted.
"The Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 traded in record highs with the latter on track for its eight consecutive week of gains with tech stocks leading the way."
10:55am: Consumer confidence heads higher
US consumer confidence edged higher in the latest Conference Board reading, rising to 93.1 and topping economists’ expectations of 92.
Despite lingering concerns about inflation and household budgets, some economists say the modest improvement in sentiment suggests consumers remain cautiously optimistic about the outlook for jobs and spending.
“Given the current pricing pressures, we would have expected a more dramatic decline in confidence. However, consumers feel the employment situation will improve by the end of the year,” said LPL Financial’s Jeffrey Roach.
“Hence, discretionary spending on items such as travel should increase after the temporary hold on spending. Many who said they are currently delaying purchases of discretionary items, plan to buy them in the next six months. GDP growth will likely dip as consumers are temporarily cautious, but we could expect a rebound in growth later this year if the geopolitical situation improves.”
10am: Tech stocks drive opening gains
Opening Tuesday trades on Wall Street sent tech stocks and airlines higher.
The tech-powered Nasdaq Composite led the gains among the major indexes, jumping 270 points or 1% in initial trading to 26,615, less than a hundred points from its record high.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.6% and the Dow Jones 0.1%.
Top risers on the Nasdaq 100 were chip and AI-linked stocks, with Micron Technology top of the early leaderboard, up 12.7%, followed by Marvell Technology and AppLovin, both up around 8%, then Western Digital, Analog Devices, Microchip Technology and Texas Instruments.
Amongst the Mag 7 giants, Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple and Amazon all edged sliightly higher, while Broadcom jumped almost 3% and AMD more than 4%.
On the Dow, Honeywell, Caterpillar and Goldman Sachs were top risers, while UnitedHealth, Cisco, IBM, J&J and Chevron were a drag, with almost half of the 30-name index in the red.
8am: Wall Street to play catch-up after long weekend
US stocks are set to open higher after Monday’s Memorial Day holiday, catching up with strong gains elsewhere as investors tentatively welcome signs of progress towards a ceasefire deal between the US, Israel and Iran.
Nasdaq futures were the strongest, up 1%, while gains for the Dow Jones and S&P 500 were seen around 0.5-0.6%.
Markets rallied after Donald Trump said on Monday that a “memorandum of understanding” aimed at ending the US-Israel conflict with Iran had been “largely negotiated”, helping lift European indices by as much as 2% on Monday while Wall Street remained closed.
WTI crude futures have dropped below $91 a barrel, back to levels last seen in mid-April, but have climbed back to $92.60 in the early hours of Tuesday
This was due to optimism being tempered after the US launched fresh strikes on southern Iran targeting missile launch sites and boats allegedly laying mines, in what Washington described as “defensive” action during the seven-week ceasefire.
The renewed tensions came despite senior Iranian negotiators travelling to Qatar for talks over frozen financial assets and a possible broader agreement with Washington.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, meanwhile, said it had downed a drone entering its airspace, while military officials warned any further US action would trigger a “far more severe” response extending beyond the region.
As for negotiations, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that progress had been made, but no breakthrough had been reached.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that negotiations were likely to take a few more days.
"Meanwhile, persistent inflation concerns continue to strengthen the case for a more hawkish Federal Reserve stance," said market analyst David Morrison at Trade Nation, saying this and safe-haven demand are supporting the dollar currently.
He added that the Trump administration "was unhappy with the speed of progress, and this is what led to today’s limited attacks".
Despite this setback, futures remain green, indicating some investor optimism that peace is about to break out in the Gulf.
"Hopefully so, because there’s very little going on which has the potential to move markets this week," Morrison added.
US earnings season has seen reports from 94% of S&P 500 constituents as of Friday’s close, with a year-on-year earnings growth rate at 28.4%, according to FactSet, which would mark the highest earnings growth rate for the index since the end of Covid-rebound-fuelled 2021.
Corporations updating this week include Marvell, Salesforce, Snowflake, Costco and Dell. The key economic data release is core PCE inflation on Thursday.