Market Snapshot for Thursday 5/22/2025
- S&P 500 – 5,842.01 (-0.044%)
- Dow Jones Industrial Average – 41,859.09 (-0.0032%)
- NASDAQ – 18,925.73 (+0.28%)
Market Performance
U.S. stock markets closed with mixed results amid ongoing concerns about the nation’s fiscal outlook and rising Treasury yields. Investors are showing increasing concern over the U.S.’ financial trajectory and credit rating. The narrow passing of President Trump’s tax bill by the House led to more concerns as it could increase the national debt by trillions. The US national debt is already substantial, currently exceeding $36 trillion. By Thursday mid-trading, the 30-year yields slipped just below 5.1%. The benchmark 10-year yield dropped to around 4.55%.
Economic Takeaways
- Bitcoin hit a fresh record above $111,000 as investors seek ‘alternative’ asset.
“The market today is reacting to the fact that the government has sort of said it’s on board to grow deficits, to print more money, to expand the fiscal debt — and that’s forcing people to look outside of fiat currencies to an alternative. Bitcoin is that alternative, ” Matt Hougan, chief investment officer of digital asset management firm Bitwise, told Yahoo Finance on Thursday morning. “I think something may have started to break with investors’ long-term appetite for debt,” Hougan said.
- S&P Global’s flash US composite PMI, which captures activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors, was at 52.1 in May, up from 50.6 in April.
Stronger activity in both the services and manufacturing sectors contributed to the recent gains. S&P’s Services PMI rose to 52.3 in May from 50.8, while the Manufacturing PMI also climbed to 52.3, up from 50.2 the previous month.
“Business confidence has picked up in May following the concerning dip in April, buoyed in part by a pause in further tariff hikes,” said Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
However, the report also highlights growing concerns about inflation and supply chains.
“Supply chain delays are now more widespread than at any time since the pandemic-induced shortages of 2022, and prices for goods and services have surged as companies and suppliers pass tariff costs on to customers,” Williamson noted. “The overall increase in prices charged in May was the steepest since August 2022, signaling a sharp rise in consumer price inflation.”
- Goodbye to the Penny
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday reported that the US Treasury will stop minting new pennies next year, bringing an end to the country’s smallest monetary denomination.
- The US Dollar Index is Free Falling
The U.S. Dollar Index (DX-Y.NYB), which tracks the dollar’s value against a basket of major currencies, has dropped more than 8% since the start of the year, underperforming every other G10 currency, according to Bloomberg data. It ranks as one of the worst-performing asset classes of the year, alongside Brent Crude.
Since April, the index has dipped below the crucial technical and psychological level of 100, hitting lows not seen since 2022.
“Investors now have a very strong reason to hedge their long US asset exposure, and the dollar is no longer behaving like a safe haven,” Jayati Bharadwaj, FX and macro strategist at TD Securities, told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday. “I would say it’s actually following much more of an emerging market playbook, which is the unfortunate truth that we need to come to terms with.”
- Mortgage Rates Rose Again
The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.86% through Wednesday, up from 6.81% a week earlier. The average 15-year mortgage rate was 6.01%, from 5.92%.
- Weekly Jobless Claims Rose
The weekly report on initial jobless claims released Thursday showed the number of Americans filing for unemployment insurance on a continuing basis totaled 1.9 million. This brought the four-week moving average of continuing claims to 1,887,500, the highest since November 2021.
For the week ended May 17, initial jobless claims totaled 227,000, which continues to suggest there is no nascent surge in new layoffs.
- Oil (WTI Crude): On Thursday, oil prices traded with volatility. Early morning saw prices fall due to an unexpected increase in U.S. crude oil stocks, according to a Facebook post. WTI Crude is at $60.90 while Brent Crude is at $64.17.
- Gold: On Thursday, gold traded higher, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and continued economic and geopolitical uncertainties. The price of gold futures settled 0.88% higher at $3309.30.
Solar Stocks Plummet on Passing of Tax Bill
Solar stocks took a nosedive on Thursday as investors accessed President Trump’s tax plan advancing from the House to the Senate.
The bill speeds up the phaseout of clean energy tax credits, which have boosted wind and solar companies and were initially backed by moderates.
- Sunrun (RUN) dropped 43%
- Enphase (ENPH) dropped 18%
- SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) dropped 15%
- First Solar (FSLR) dropped 5%
Top Gainers
Several stocks experienced significant gains. Some of the top gainers included:
- Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (AAP) soared 57.04%
- IonQ, Inc. (IONQ) moved higher by 36.52%
- Rigetti Computing, Inc. (RGTI) exploded 26.46%
- D-Wave Quantum, Inc. (QBTS) surged 23.96%
- Urban Outfitters, Inc. (URBN) rose 22.84%
- LiveRamp Holdings, Inc. (RAMP) moved up 19.34%
- Pony AI, Inc. (PONY) jumped 19.09%
- Hertz Global Holdings (HTZ) spiked 16.16%
- Snowflake, Inc. (SNOW) moved up 13.43%
- Peloton Interactive, Inc. (PTON) surged 11.61%
Top Losers
The top US stock losers today, based on percentage change included:
- Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH) moved lower 19.63%
- EnerSys (ENS) moved lower 14.89%
- Manchester United plc (MANU) sank 8.60%
- Xpeng, Inc. (XPEV) fell 7.87%
- Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) moved down 7.72%
- Humana, Inc. (HUM) moved lower 7.58%
- Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP) sank 6.81%
- Warrior Met Coal, Inc. (HGC) dragged 6.57%
Notables
- Urban Outfitters (URBN) saw a 19% jump in its stock price following strong earnings.
- Nike (NKE) shares rose 2% premarket on Thursday after the company said it will raise prices on some products next week and resume selling on Amazon (AMZN) for the first time in six years.
- Snowflake (SNOW) stock rose 9% in premarket trading on Thursday after it raised its fiscal 2026 forecast for product revenue.
- Hinge Health (HNGE) went public on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange at $32 per share Thursday and rose shortly after trading to $39.
- CoreWeave (CRWV) announced a $2 billion debt offering.
- Lumen Technologies (LUMN) soared over 10% on news that AT&T will acquire Lumen’s mass markets fiber connectivity business for $5.75 billion.
- Advance Auto Parts (AAP) climbed after a solid Q1 earnings report.
- Austin-based MNTN made their IPO debut on Thursday, trading well above its IPO price of $16 per share—the top of the marketed range. Trading was briefly paused due to volatility following the initial surge.
- OnlyFans owner is in discussions to sell to investor group for roughly $8B value.
What to Watch Tomorrow
- April new home sales.
- Earnings from Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. (BAH) and Buckle Inc. (BKE).
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