Tuesday brought an extraordinary day for the United States’ stock market, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nasdaq Composite all accomplishing unprecedented milestones by reaching new records. Incrementally higher, the S&P 500 succeeded in surpassing its previous peak by gaining 17.46 points, or an increase of 0.3%, to settle at 6,512.61. Similarly, boasting an uptick of 196.39 points or a 0.4% gain, the Dow concluded the day at 45,711.34. In addition, the Nasdaq’s performance exceeded that of its prior high by advancing 80.79 points or expanding by 0.4%, to close at 21,879.49.
UnitedHealth was one of the key drivers behind this market success, registering an impressive 8.6% surge post its announcement to retain its profit projections for 2025. This optimism enabled the company to offset its year-to-date losses that were 36.7% at the beginning of the day. The insurance industry at large has been grappling with skyrocketing healthcare expenses, a factor posing considerable challengesto these businesses.
A daunting report speculating the state of the job market added more weight to the expectations around prospective interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve. The forthcoming Federal Reserve meeting, scheduled for the following week, is being widely anticipated by the trading community who foresee the year’s first interest-rate cut.
The government has revised its initial calculations concerning nationwide job numbers from March, stating a potential overestimation of about 911,000 jobs, equating to an error of approximately 0.6%. This discrepancy has fueled speculation in Wall Street circles that this could influence the Federal Reserve’s review of the economy, shifting its focus towards the labor market’s uncertainties, as seen as a more pressing issue than President Trump’s imposed tariffs causing inflation risks.
The hypothesis suggests that this scenario may prompt a reduction in the Federal Reserve’s primary interest rate, which might serve as a stimulus for the economy, albeit with a potential increase in inflation. Despite Tuesday’s modifications pertaining to job growth, traders remain resolute in their expectations of a rate cut in the following week. Although they have scaled back estimations for an unusually steep reduction and this has encouraged a slight rebound in Treasury yields, which had recently seen a significant drop.
On Wall Street, a remarkable development occurred for the Dutch firm Nebius Group, which specializes in artificial intelligence-infrastructure. The company’s US-traded stocks witnessed an extraordinary ascent, soaring by 49.4% after announcing their commitment to provide GPU services to software giant Microsoft.
The deal with Microsoft could potentially have massive financial implications for the Nebius Group. Estimates suggest that the contract’s value could range between a colossal $17.4 billion and $19.4 billion, providing a steady stream of business until 2031.
However, things did not sail smoothly for everyone; media titan Fox saw its stock decline by 6.1%. The dip followed the revelation that Rupert Murdoch’s family had finalized an agreement about the future control of the renowned media mogul’s empire after his eventual departure. This agreement assures that there will be no drastic changes in the approach and direction followed by Fox News.
In an interesting turn of events, tech behemoth Apple saw its share value diminish by 1.5%. This occurred subsequent to the announcement of its latest iPhone models. Despite being a usual routine for Apple to experience some fluctuations in its stock after key product announcements, the slightly negative reaction to the new generation of iPhones was noteworthy.
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