2025-06-27 20:31
June 27 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite hit all-time highs on Friday as renewed AI enthusiasm and the prospect of a looser monetary policy powered a recovery in U.S. stocks from months-long rout. The benchmark index (.SPX) , opens new tab rose 0.59% to 6,178.80 points, surpassing the previous peak of 6,147.43 on February 19, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.59% to 20,299.72 points, exceeding its record high of 20,204.58 on December 16. Sign up here. Markets rallied this week as an upbeat forecast from chipmaker Micron (MU.O) , opens new tab revived investor confidence on artificial intelligence, while Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab inched closer to $4 trillion market capitalization after reclaiming its position as the world's most valuable company. The AI bellwether (NVDA.O) , opens new tab rose 1.4% and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.O) , opens new tab 1.6%, while megacaps Meta (META.O) , opens new tab added 0.7% and Amazon.com (AMZN.O) , opens new tab 1.15%. Risk appetite also benefited from a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to a 12-day air battle between Israel and Iran that sparked a jump in crude prices and raised worries of higher inflation. Dovish remarks from Federal Reserve policymakers have aided sentiment, while a string of soft economic data and expectations that Trump would replace U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell with somebody more dovish next year have pushed up rate-cut bets. Trump's April 2 "reciprocal tariffs" on major trading partners and their chaotic rollout had put the S&P 500 within a striking distance of confirming a bear market when it ended down 19% from its February 19 record closing high. The Nasdaq had tumbled 26.7% from its previous peak, marking a bear market days after Trump's "Liberation Day" on April 2. Since then, U.S. trade deals with the UK and China have firmed up market expectations for more such agreements, fueling hopes that a global recession could be avoided. "The two key pillars to this market, the consumer and their potential to spend, and corporate America are very resilient. And that's given this market confidence to get back to all-time highs," said David Wagner, head of equities and portfolio manager at Aptus Capital Advisors. The S&P 500 has surged more than 23.5% and the Nasdaq about 32% since their recent lowest close on April 8, largely powered by a handful of megacap stocks such as Microsoft (MSFT.O) , opens new tab, Nvidia (NVDA.O) , opens new tab, Meta Platforms (META.O) , opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O) , opens new tab. If the Nasdaq closes above the December 16 record close at 20,173.89, it would be the end of the bear market and start of a new bull market, according to common definitions. A bear market is defined as a 20% decline from a record high close, on a closing basis. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 have gained 5% this year. The blue-chip Dow (.DJI) , opens new tab has risen about 2.8% this year and remains about 3% below its all-time peak. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/sp-500-nasdaq-hit-record-highs-renewed-ai-bets-rate-cut-hope-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 20:30
Indexes up: Dow 1.00%, S&P 500 0.52%, Nasdaq 0.52% Nasdaq confirms bull market Nike rises after better-than-expected Q1 revenue forecast Washington, Beijing in deal to speed rare earth shipments to US Trump cancels trade talks with Canada over digital tax NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - Wall Street extended its rally on Friday, sending S&P 500 and Nasdaq to all-time closing highs as trade deal hopes fueled investor risk appetite and economic data helped solidify expectations for rate cuts from the U.S. Federal Reserve. Stocks pared gains after U.S. President Donald Trump terminated trade negotiations with Canada in response to its digital tax on technology companies. Sign up here. Even so, all three major U.S. stock indexes posted weekly gains. Upon reaching its record closing high, the tech-heavy Nasdaq confirmed it entered a bull market when it touched its post "liberation day" trough on April 8. The blue-chip Dow remained 2.7% below its record closing high reached on December 4. "This market's been pretty resilient," said Chuck Carlson, chief executive officer at Horizon Investment Services in Hammond, Indiana. "Investors are riding momentum and looking for breakouts." "They don't want to get caught on the wrong side of this thing," Carlson added. "Many investors already have missed out. And now you have the S&P flirting with an all-time high." The Personal Consumption Expenditures report from the Commerce Department showed consumer income and spending unexpectedly contracted in May. And while tariffs have yet to affect price growth, inflation continues to hover above the Fed's 2% annual inflation target. A separate report from the University of Michigan confirmed consumer sentiment has improved this month, but remains well below December's post-election bounce. Financial markets have priced in a 76% likelihood that the Fed will implement its first rate cut of the year in September, with a smaller, 19% probability of a rate cut coming as soon as July, according to CME's FedWatch tool. Washington and Beijing reached an agreement to expedite rare-earth shipments from China to the U.S., a official said, well ahead of the July 9 expiration of the 90-day postponement of U.S. President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs. Additionally, U.S. Treasury Secretary said the administration's trade deals with 18 of the main U.S. trading partners could be done by the September 1 Labor Day holiday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (.DJI) , opens new tab rose 432.43 points, or 1.00%, to 43,819.27, the S&P 500 (.SPX) , opens new tab gained 32.05 points, or 0.52%, to 6,173.07 and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) , opens new tab gained 105.55 points, or 0.52%, to 20,273.46. Among the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500, consumer discretionary (.SPLRCD) , opens new tab enjoyed the biggest percentage gain, while energy shares (.SPNY) , opens new tab were the laggards. Chipmaker Micron'sMU.O , opens new tab upbeat forecast revived investor confidence in artificial intelligence-related stocks, while Nvidia NVDA.O , opens new tab rose 1.8%, edging closer to $4 trillion market capitalization after its position as the world's most valuable company. Nike's shares NKE.N , opens new tab jumped 15.2% after forecasting a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter revenue. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.29-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. There were 347 new highs and 55 new lows on the NYSE. On the Nasdaq, 2,111 stocks rose and 2,342 fell as declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.11-to-1 ratio. The S&P 500 posted 35 new 52-week highs and 6 new lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 101 new highs and 68 new lows. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 22.07 billion shares, compared with the 18.27 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-stock-futures-rise-rate-cut-hopes-ahead-inflation-data-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 20:22
June 27 (Reuters) - The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a conditional credit line of $2 billion to strengthen fiscal management in Brazil, it said on Friday. The funds will go toward modernizing the South American nation's tax management processes and systems, the lender said in a statement, starting with an initial $30 million loan for the state of Amazonas. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/idb-approves-2-billion-credit-line-brazil-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 20:16
California regulator proposes ways to keep gasoline affordable Phillips 66, Valero plan to close refineries in state Regulator says proposals would negate fuel price hike from closures Consumer Watchdog calls proposals a 'bailout' for refiners NEW YORK, June 27 (Reuters) - California's energy regulator on Friday recommended new rules to encourage more private investment in fuel imports and a pause on refiner profit limits, hoping to stop gasoline prices from skyrocketing in the state as it braces for the closure of two of its major refineries. The recommendations by the California Energy Commission came in response to a letter by Governor Gavin Newsom to suggest changes to the state's energy transition efforts by July 1. Phillips 66 (PSX.N) , opens new tab and Valero Energy (VLO.N) , opens new tab have announced plans to close two plants that make up about 20% of refining capacity in one of the world's biggest fuel markets. Sign up here. The CEC is exploring ways to keep existing refineries operational, while raising capacity at third-party import terminals to bring in and distribute more gasoline and jet fuel, CEC Vice Chair Siva Gunda said. Gunda said gasoline prices in the state could rise 15 to 30 cents per gallon in the short-term as refineries close, but the state hopes that these recommendations will negate that. Retail gasoline prices averaged $4.61 per gallon in California as of Friday, the highest in the country, according to AAA data. The national average was $3.21. As part of those efforts, the CEC recommended a pause on a program that capped the maximum profit refiners can earn on gasoline sales in the state. It said additional analytical work is needed to ensure it works as intended to protect consumers. It said the pause should be for a "reasonable length of time" but did not specify how long that would be. The CEC also asked Newsom to take steps to stabilize crude oil production in the state. California's crude oil output has dropped steadily from a peak of over 1 million barrels per day in the mid-1980s, to less than 300,000 bpd last year, according to U.S. government data going back to 1981. The recommendations drew a sharp rebuke from consumer and environmental advocacy groups, which called them a bailout for refiners in a letter addressed to Newsom, California Senate Majority Leader Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas. The groups called on the state to reject the proposals, and instead propose rules for price gouging penalties and implement proposals requiring minimum inventory levels for refiners. The CEC declined to comment on the letter, which was published by Consumer Watchdog and signed by 51 advocacy groups. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/california-should-support-fuel-imports-find-ways-retain-refiners-regulator-says-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 19:59
June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. energy company EQT (EQT.N) , opens new tab agreed to pay $167.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by investors who claimed EQT overstated the benefits of its $6.7 billion merger with Rice Energy in 2017, according to a federal court filing on Thursday by the plaintiffs. Officials at EQT were not immediately available for comment. Sign up here. Plaintiffs in the case include the Government of Guam Retirement Fund, Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Annuity Fund, Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Pension Fund and Cambridge Retirement System. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT When the deal was announced in 2017, it was expected to create the biggest natural gas producer in the U.S. and was the biggest deal ever for EQT as it looked to expand its gas business. EQT is currently the No. 2 gas producer in the country. "The recovery - $167.5 million in cash - is notable as it is (by far) the largest securities class action recovery ever in the history of this District and the 14th largest in the history of the Third Circuit," the plaintiffs said in a filing. The district is the U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania. The Third Circuit is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The plaintiffs said in the filing that they reached the settlement after almost six years of litigation and three mediation sessions. "The Settlement provides a favorable result for Class Members because it allows for an immediate recovery and removes the considerable possibility that Class Members could recover significantly less or even nothing," according to the filing. The case is In Re EQT Corporation Securities Litigation filed in June 2019, according to the federal court website. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/us-energy-firm-eqt-agrees-settle-lawsuit-1675-million-2025-06-27/
2025-06-27 19:51
June 27 (Reuters) - American Airlines (AAL.O) , opens new tab said on Friday a technology issue was affecting connectivity for some systems, causing flight delays. The Texas-based airline said while it was working with its partners to fully resolve the problem, it had not canceled any flights at this time. Sign up here. Data from FlightAware shows 26% of American's flights and 30% of its subsidiary PSA Airlines' planes were delayed on Friday, as of 3:40 PM ET. https://www.reuters.com/business/american-airlines-says-technology-issue-affecting-some-systems-2025-06-27/
