June 12th, 2025
Market Performance:
Markets opened on a cautious note Thursday, weighed down by tariff anxieties and a mix of broader economic concerns, despite a cooler-than-expected reading on the Producer Price Index. Jobless claims remained high, adding to the uncertainty.
U.S. stocks showed little movement overall, as President Trump renewed his calls for a large interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve, citing easing inflation—even as he maintained “take it or leave it” tariff threats against key trade partners.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near break-even, pressured by a decline in Boeing (BA) shares following a fatal plane crash in India. The S&P 500 edged up about 0.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite posted a similar gain.
Economic Takeaways:
• President Trump renewed his push for a substantial interest rate cut from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Trump said he told Powell during a meeting that if inflation starts to rise, the Fed could always hike rates again. “If it’s going to go up, I’m OK with you raising — but it’s down, and we’re going out to financing, and I may have to force something,” Trump said. He also emphasized that he has no intention of firing Powell.
• The May Producer Price Index (PPI) and core PPI, which excludes food and energy, both rose 0.1%. Analysts had expected a 0.2% rise for headline and a 0.3% rise for core PPI, which measures prices at the wholesale level.
• The U.S. dollar fell to a three-year low after new inflation data suggested Trump’s tariff policies have had only a limited impact so far, with wholesale prices rising less than economists had anticipated.
• President Trump on Wednesday reiterated that U.S. trading partners will receive letters within a week or two outlining their unilateral tariff rates, renewing the threat of tariff hikes if no agreements are reached. However, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Congress it’s “highly likely” that countries currently engaged in trade talks with the U.S. will be granted an extension of the 90-day tariff freeze, which is set to expire on July 9.
• Mortgage rates held essentially flat this week as Treasury yields moved slightly lower. The average 30-year mortgage rate was 6.84% this week through Wednesday, according to Freddie Mac data, from 6.85% a week ago. The average 15-year mortgage rate was 5.97%, from 5.99%.
• Data released by the Department of Labor on Thursday morning showed 248,000 initial jobless claims were filed for the week ending June 7, unchanged from the previous week and exceeding economists’ forecast of 242,000. Continuing claims rose to 1.956 million, up from 1.902 million the week before, marking the highest level since November 2021.
• Crude oil (/CL) climbed above $67 per barrel on Thursday, reaching its highest level since April, as fading prospects for a U.S. nuclear deal with Iran and rising concerns over a potential strike against the country fueled market tensions. Despite the gain, prices remain below their 2022–24 highs.
• Bitcoin (/BTC) slipped 1.8% in the early going, and shares of crypto-related names like Coinbase Global (COIN) and Strategy (MSTR) each fell 2%.
Chime Made its Grand Debut
Chime shares began trading at $43 apiece in the digital bank’s public debut on the Nasdaq Thursday, marking a strong start under the ticker symbol CHYM.
The stock jumped about 50% within minutes of opening, following an IPO that raised $864 million. Chime priced its offering at $27 per share, giving the company a valuation of $11.6 billion.
The debut is being seen as another sign that the IPO market is beginning to recover after a slowdown driven by tariff-related uncertainty.
Boeing Shares Drop Following Air India Plane Crash
Boeing stock dropped 8% in premarket trading Thursday after an Air India flight carrying more than 200 passengers crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad, a city in western India.
According to aviation tracker Flightradar24, the aircraft involved was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most advanced commercial jets currently in operation.
Air India confirmed the plane, en route to London’s Gatwick Airport, went down in a civilian area near the airport. The airline has not yet disclosed whether there were any fatalities.
The cause of the crash remains unknown. Boeing acknowledged it was aware of the incident and said it is working to collect more details, according to Reuters.
The crash adds fresh pressure on the planemaker as it works to restore confidence in the safety of its aircraft and ramp up production under newly appointed CEO Kelly Orthberg.
“There’s revised fears of the problems that plagued Boeing aircraft and Boeing itself in recent years,” said Chris Beauchamp, analyst at IG Group.
Notables
• Shares of German biopharmaceutical company CureVac (CVAC) surged nearly 39% after domestic competitor BioNTech (BNTX) announced plans to acquire the firm in an all-stock transaction valued at around $1.25 billion.
• GameStop (GME) shares tumbled as much as 19% in early trading Thursday after the video game retailer revealed plans to issue $1.75 billion in convertible bonds.
• Oracle (ORCL) shares soared 10% early Thursday after the company’s fiscal fourth quarter results topped Wall Street’s expectations.
• Tesla (TSLA) dipped 2.3% in early trading but has gained significantly over the past few days amid optimism about the upcoming Robotaxi launch later this month.
• Oracle (ORCL) surged nearly 9% in pre-market trading following earnings that beat analysts’ expectations, along with strong guidance for fiscal 2026. Revenue in its key cloud infrastructure segment grew 52% year over year—an improvement over the previous quarter—with the company forecasting even stronger growth next fiscal year.
• Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM), and ConocoPhillips (COP) slipped in pre-market trading after posting gains of 1% to 2% yesterday, supported by rising oil prices.
• Quantum Computing (QUBT) added another 1% early Thursday after surging about 25% yesterday on positive remarks about the quantum computing sector from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Rigetti Computing (RGTI) also jumped 12% yesterday.
• Semiconductor stocks, including Nvidia (NVDA) and Broadcom (AVGO), fell more than 1% before the open after the sector declined yesterday amid concerns that a potential deal with China may not expand U.S. chip exports to the country.
• Amazon (AMZN) was down 0.5% early Thursday following a 2% drop yesterday alongside other retail stocks. The decline followed an appeals court ruling allowing President Trump’s tariffs on imported goods to remain in place while the legal case continues. An earlier ruling had found the tariffs unconstitutional, with the matter potentially headed to the Supreme Court. Retailers such as Nike (NKE), Walmart (WMT), and Target (TGT)—which all rely heavily on foreign sourcing—also fell again Thursday.
• General Electric (GE) declined 4% pre-market after Barron’s reported that the company’s GEnx engines powered the Air India flight involved in today’s crash.
• Voyager Technologies (VOYG) climbed more than 4% in pre-market trading, building on an 82% surge during its trading debut yesterday.
What’s Ahead
This trading week will end with the Preliminary June University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment tomorrow.
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