Post-Bell｜Indexes Slip As Meta Soars, Chips Retreat, Fed Signals New Course

Stock Market

The U.S. major indexes closed as follows: Dow Jones declined 0.03% at 52,305.24; S&P 500 declined 0.22% at 7,483.23; NASDAQ declined 0.66% at 26,040.03. A mid-session recovery attempt faltered as investors digested soft labour-market data and shifting Federal Reserve rhetoric, leaving all three benchmarks modestly lower by the closing bell.

Unusual-move stocks showed sharp two-way action. Big-tech standout Meta Platforms (META) jumped 8.81% at $612.91 after reports it may sell excess AI-computing capacity.

Financial-technology name SoFi Technologies (SOFI) added 2.84% at $18.44, while crowd-favourite Tesla (TSLA) rose 1.12% at $425.30. On the downside, semiconductor volatility was evident: leveraged fund Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bull 3x Shares (SOXL) fell 18.43% at $217.55, whereas its inverse peer Direxion Daily Semiconductors Bear 3x Shares (SOXS) rallied 19.14% at $3.86.

Chipmaker Micron Technology (MU) declined 10.57% at $1,032.28, and industry bellwether NVIDIA (NVDA) eased 1.25% at $197.58.

Among other large-caps, Apple (AAPL) gained 1.73% at $294.38, and Palantir (PLTR) climbed 7.77% at $125.73.

Investors rotated away from semiconductors toward select growth and financial names. While profit-taking weighed on several chip-related instruments, resilience in consumer technology and fintech cushioned broader declines. The mixed pattern reflects a market balancing concerns over slowing economic momentum with optimism about generative-AI opportunities and company-specific catalysts.

Other Markets

U.S. 10-year Treasury yield was unchanged at 4.47%.

USD/CNH rose 0.04%, at 6.80; USD/HKD rose 0.00%, at 7.84.

U.S. Dollar Index fell 0.01%, at 101.39.

WTI crude futures fell 0.85%, at 68.00 USD/bbl; COMEX gold futures fell 0.65%, at 4,056.00 USD/oz.

Top News

1. Meta Platforms plans to launch a new cloud business to monetise excess AI capacity. Sources say the initiative, led by Meta Compute, could sell access to in-house AI models and raw compute power. The prospect of fresh revenue streams buoyed shares, contributing to Meta’s sharp stock rally.

2. General Mills beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, lifting shares about 4%. Cost-conscious consumers favoured at-home dining, boosting demand for cereals and snacks. Management highlighted resilient sales despite broader inflationary pressures.

3. Nike projected lower first-half revenue despite an earnings beat, citing consumer headwinds. The company warned of low-to-mid single-digit sales declines as discretionary spending softens. Investors focused on potential margin pressure amid rising promotions.

4. Brookfield Asset Management expanded its commitment to AI-focused data-centre power projects to $25 billion. The enlarged financing aims to accelerate deployment of energy-efficient infrastructure. The move underscores surging capital flows into data-centre and AI ecosystems.

5. NASA awarded Intuitive Machines a lunar-lander contract worth up to $148.3 million. The Nova-C lander is scheduled for a Moon delivery mission under the Artemis programme. The deal strengthens commercial partnerships in U.S. space exploration.

6. Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh signalled an end to formal forward guidance in monetary policy discussions. He pledged to “chart a new course,” hinting at more data-dependent decisions. Markets interpreted the remarks as adding uncertainty ahead of upcoming rate deliberations.

7. ADP reported private-sector payroll growth of 98,000 for June, missing economists’ forecasts. Healthcare accounted for nearly half the gains, while natural resources employment fell. The slowdown raises anticipation ahead of the official non-farm payrolls release.

8. Guggenheim upgraded ServiceNow and Salesforce to Buy, citing valuation opportunities. The broker argued recent underperformance misprices AI-related risks. Both stocks advanced in pre-market trading following the call.

9. Wedbush initiated SpaceX with an Outperform rating and a $190 price target. Analysts expect the company’s vertically integrated approach to position it as a leading hyperscale provider across space-based connectivity and AI infrastructure. The endorsement highlights growing investor enthusiasm for the commercial-space sector.

Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, public market data
Disclaimer: This content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice.