Market Snapshot for Thursday 6-26-2025
Dow Jones – 43,386.84 (+0.94%)
NASDAQ – 20,167.91 (+0.97%)
S&P 500 – 6,141.02 (+0.80%)
Market Performance
U.S. stocks surged on Thursday, closing just shy of all-time highs as major indexes extended their powerful rally.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.8%, ending the session at 6,141.02, just below its February record of 6,144.15. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose over 1%, finishing just a few points away from setting a new record of its own.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) climbed approximately 400 points, or 0.9%. Nvidia (NVDA) added 1%, continuing its upward momentum after reaching a record high on Wednesday.
In global markets, European stocks were mixed after a weaker-than-expected consumer confidence reading in Germany, while Asian markets also showed mixed results overnight.
Economic Takeaways –
- Donald Trump said on Thursday the US and China had signed a trade deal two weeks after saying they had reached an understanding in London.
- First-quarter real GDP was revised down to show a 0.5% annualized contraction, though initial jobless claims came in lower than expected, signaling continued labor market resilience.
- Bond yields edged lower, with the 10-year Treasury yield dipping to 4.24% and the 2-year yield settling around 3.72%.
- President Trump appeared to move closer to selecting a successor for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He has considered announcing his choice as early as September or October.
- White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that Trump’s July 9 deadline “is not critical” for countries aiming to finalize trade agreements with the U.S. to avoid reciprocal tariffs. Previously, White House chief economist Stephen Miran told Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi that Trump would likely extend the deadline for countries “negotiating in good faith.”
- The dollar (DX=F) retreated to its lowest level since April 2022.
- Data from the Department of Laborreleased Thursday showed 1.974 million continuing claims were filed in the week ending June 14, up from 1.937 million the week prior and the highest level seen since November 2021.
- Markets are pricing in a 27% chance the central bank cuts interest rates at its next meeting in late July, up from a 12.5% chance seen last week, per the CME FedWatch Tool.
- Mortgage rates dropped for the fourth consecutive week. The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.77% through Wednesday, from 6.81% a week earlier, according to Freddie Mac data. The average 15-year mortgage rate was 5.89%, from 5.96% last week.
- Platinum futures surged to their highest level since 2014, rising more than 5% at one point to as high as $1,411.80 per ounce.
Gold –
- U.S. gold futures settled at $3,307.
- Gold has declined over the past few sessions due to de-escalation in the Middle East.
Oil –
- Oil prices edged higher on Thursday as crude inventories in the United States fell on higher demand as summer driving season ramped up, while concerns over Middle East supply risks eased, offsetting some gains.
- Brent crude futures settled 5 cents, or 0.07%, higher to $67.73 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 32 cents, or 0.49%, to $65.24 a barrel.
Crypto –
- The price of Bitcoin settled a little under $108,000 on Thursday.
- Judge Torres rejected Ripple SEC motion for indicative ruling.
- Coinbase touched a 52-week high.
QuantumScape Soared Again
QuantumScape (QS) surged another 29% on Thursday, building on a roughly 31% gain from the previous day, after the battery developer announced a key manufacturing breakthrough.
The rally followed news that the company had advanced its process for producing solid-state lithium-metal batteries.
Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports:
QuantumScape is among several companies racing to bring next-generation battery technology to market for electric vehicles and other applications. On Tuesday, the U.S.-based startup revealed it had successfully established its Cobra ceramic separator process as the standard in its battery cell production, proving that the enhanced method can be implemented on its manufacturing lines.
Core Scientific Jumps on Report of Acquisition Talks with Nvidia-backed CoreWeave
Shares of Core Scientific (CORZ) surged more than 28% in afternoon trading Thursday following a report from The Wall Street Journal that Nvidia-backed (NVDA) AI cloud company CoreWeave (CRWV) is in talks to acquire the bitcoin mining and AI data center infrastructure provider.
CoreWeave had previously made a bid to acquire Core Scientific — as recently as last year — but was rebuffed. In June 2023, Core Scientific said it rejected the “unsolicited” offer of $5.75 per share, which valued the company at more than $1 billion. As of Thursday, Core Scientific’s market cap had risen to over $4.5 billion.
Core Scientific filed for bankruptcy in 2022 but restructured and emerged in 2024. The company already has an ongoing business relationship with CoreWeave. Last year, the two announced a “series of 12-year contracts” under which Core Scientific would host CoreWeave’s Nvidia GPUs at its data centers.
CoreWeave is one of the largest holders of Nvidia (NVDA) GPUs and leases its data center capacity to tech giants like Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta (META), whose own GPU supplies haven’t kept up with their AI computing needs.
Still, CoreWeave’s business model has faced skepticism from some on Wall Street due to its large debt load, much of it borrowed at high interest rates.
Nike Reported Earnings
Nike’s fiscal fourth quarter proved difficult, though the results came in better than many had anticipated. Sales dropped over 10% compared to the same period last year, and the company warned that new tariffs will push operating costs up by more than $1 billion in the current fiscal year. Still, Nike reported fiscal fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded expectations.
The company expects tariffs will cost it $1 billion in the current fiscal year before price increases and supply chain shifts.
Nike revealed it absorbed the biggest financial blow yet from its ongoing turnaround plan during the quarter but said it expects the pace of sales and profit declines to slow moving forward. While signs suggest the worst may be over, new hurdles — particularly tariff-related pressures — threaten to complicate its recovery. On a call with analysts, CFO Matt Friend described the duties as a “new and meaningful” cost.
“With the new tariff rates in place today, we estimate a gross incremental cost increase to Nike of approximately $1 billion” in its current fiscal year 2026, Friend said.
He also noted the company plans to “fully mitigate” the impact over time through adjustments to its supply chain, collaborations with factory and retail partners, and implementing strategic price hikes.
At present, around 16% of Nike’s supply chain remains in China, though the company aims to reduce that to the high single-digit percentage range by the end of the current fiscal year, ending next summer.
“Despite the current elevated tariffs for Chinese products imported into the United States, manufacturing capacity and capability in China remains important to our global source base,” said Friend.
Top Gainers
Several stocks experienced significant gains. Some of the top gainers included:
- QuantumScape Corp. (QS) moved higher 34.92%
- Core Scientific, Inc. (CORZ) soared by 33.01%
- Hesai Group (HSAI) exploded 19.26%
- AeroVironment, Inc. (AVAV) surged 15.93%
- Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) rose 12.83%
- Pony AI, Inc. (PONY) moved up 11.98%
- Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) rose 11.76%
- Rocket Lab Corp. (RKLB) spiked 11.72%
- Joby Aviation, Inc. (JOBY) moved up 11.27%
- Newegg Commerce, Inc. (NEGG) surged 10.96%
Top Losers
The top US stock losers today, based on percentage change included:
- Equinix, Inc. (EQIX) moved lower 9.56%
- XPeng, Inc. (XPEV) moved down 6.51%
- VSE Corp. (VSEC) sank 5.97%
- Etsy, Inc. (ETSY) fell 4.56%
- Remitly Global, Inc. (RELY) was down 4.18%
- TMC the metals company (TMC) moved lower 4.14%
- Fair Isaac Corp. (FICO) sank 4.10%
- Wingstop Inc. (WING) dragged 3.56%
- Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU) moved down 3.43%
- Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. (TKC) slumped 3.22%
Notables
- Circle (CRCL) stock jumped more than 12% on Thursday, clawing back some of the steep losses from earlier in the week, as the USDC (USDC-USD) stablecoin issuer braces for heightened competition in the digital asset space. Shares had tumbled over 15% on Tuesday and nearly 11% on Wednesday, following a major rally last week driven by optimism around stablecoin regulation and adoption.
- Nvidia (NVDA) shares extended their rally on Thursday, gaining more than 1% in early trading after hitting a record high above $154 during Wednesday’s session.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance stock (WBA) gained less than 1% in premarket trading on Thursday after the pharmacy chain beat earnings estimates in its fiscal third quarter.
- Micron Technology (MU) shares rose 2% after it topped Wall Street expectations with its fiscal third-quarter results. Micron reported adjusted earnings of $1.91 per share, beating the $1.60 forecast from analysts polled by LSEG. Revenue reached $9.3 billion, ahead of the $8.87 billion consensus estimate. The strong performance, driven in part by doubled data center revenue and a bullish AI outlook, led several analysts to raise their price targets.
- Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (KTOS) dropped nearly 7% after unveiling a $500 million stock offering. The company said proceeds may be used for capital expenditures and other general corporate purposes.
- McCormick (MKC) jumped more than 4% after delivering stronger-than-expected adjusted earnings for its second quarter. McCormick reported earnings of 69 cents per share, beating the 66 cents forecast by analysts surveyed by LSEG.
- B. Fuller (FUL) shares surged over 6% after the adhesive manufacturer posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.18 per share, topping the $1.08 estimate from FactSet. The company also issued a robust full-year profit outlook.
- Truist Financial (TFC) was upgraded to “Buy” from “Neutral” by Citi in a Thursday note, with analyst Keith Horowitz raising his price target to $55 per share from $44.
- Alphabet (GOOGL) advanced 1% early Thursday, building on a 2% gain the previous day. Citi Research reiterated a Buy rating and raised financial projections, citing strong investor response to Alphabet’s YouTube ad and AI updates at a major advertising conference in France. Meta (META) may have also seen a boost from the event.
- Tesla (TSLA) shares were flat in early trading after sliding 3.8% Wednesday due to weaker-than-expected May vehicle sales in Europe. Markets are now focused on Tesla’s upcoming quarterly delivery report, due early next month.
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI) climbed 1.7% pre-market, extending Wednesday’s nearly 9% rally that followed the pricing of a $2.2 billion convertible senior note offering.
- ASML (ASLM), the semiconductor equipment maker, fell 1.4% before the bell after Jefferies downgraded the stock from “Buy” to “Hold.”
- Acuity Brands (AYI) shares popped 6.8% after reporting stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings.
- Worthington Steel (WS) soared over 16% following a solid earnings beat and upbeat guidance.
- PENN Entertainment, the casino and sports betting company, gained 2.5% pre-market after Citizens JMP upgraded the stock to “Outperform,” citing signs of operational improvement and several near-term catalysts.
What to Watch Ahead
Wall Street’s focus to close out the week will be on Friday’s release of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report. Investors will be watching closely for any indication that Trump’s tariffs have contributed to rising prices.
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