📰 Market Headlines

US stocks climbed Wednesday after the Federal Reserve held rates steady at its May meeting.

• The Dow gained 0.7%, the S&P 500 rose 0.4%, and the Nasdaq edged up 0.3%.
  

• Trump announced a US-UK trade deal this morning, causing DOW futures to rise 300 points. He said that other deals are in “serious stages of negotiation.”

Alphabet and Apple shares plunged 7% when Apple SVP of Services Eddy Cue testified that generative AI could replace search engines like Google. He was defending Apple’s use of Google as the default search engine in Safari—a deal that brings Apple $20 billion a year.

The Fed held rates steady at 4.25% to 4.5%, citing increased risks of stagflation. Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized there was no "hurry" to cut rates, calling economic uncertainty "extremely elevated.” Trump called him “a fool” for not easing rates.

President Trump refused to lower 145% China tariffs ahead of trade talks in Switzerland this weekend—meanwhile, China injected “tactical” liquidity to buoy its economy. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent clarified that the meeting will be focused on de-escalation.

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😱 Fear and Greed Index

🧠 Make yourself heard

⚔️ Trade Wars

• Morocco emerged as China’s backdoor to Europe for electric vehicles, drawing more than $10 billion in Chinese investment as firms leveraged Morocco’s EU free-trade deal.

• The US Trade Representative’s proposal to charge Chinese vessels up to $1.5 million for port entry sparked concern among seafood importers.

• Ford Motor raised sticker prices by as much as $2,000 on its Mustang Mach-E, Maverick, and Bronco Sport models built in Mexico, citing President Donald Trump’s tariffs and mid-year pricing actions.

• President Trump floated exemptions for baby products such as car seats, cribs, and strollers, but warned against too many carve-outs that could blur his universal tariff policy.

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Here are the stocks with the highest AltIndex AI Score, which assesses a stock's mid-term market outperformance potential (6+ months) by analyzing financials as well as alternative data like job postings, web traffic, downloads, and social media trends.

📊 Alternative Investing News

• Lone Star Funds returned $3.5 billion to investors after netting over 3x on its investment in specialty chemicals firm AOC.

• House Republicans added a provision to their tax cut package allowing massive amounts of public land to be sold in Nevada and Utah, lowering royalty rates for oil, gas, and coal extraction.

• The US continues to try and pressure Iran into a nuclear program deal by sanctioning two small Chinese refiners who bought Iranian oil.

🤖 AI/Future/Tech News

• The FDA announced it completed its first AI-assisted review, part of a broader push to shorten drug approval timelines.

• President Trump’s administration rescinded AI chip export rules, calling them “overly bureaucratic.”

 💡 Ideas, trends, and analysis

🎤 What you said last time

🚚 Market movers

• Apple planned to add AI-powered search options to Safari, including OpenAI and Perplexity.

• Nvidia shares rose in response to the Trump administration’s rescinding of the Biden-era “AI diffusion rule,” which would restrict chip exports.

• Tesla launched the cheaper Model Y in the US, clocking in at ~$44,990 (pre-tax break).

• Disney is planning to launch a theme park and resort in Abu Dhabi (its 7th overall).

• Nintendo predicts it will sell 15 million Switch 2 units at $449.99 each—but that depends on what the US’s tariffs are like at launch in June.

• Microsoft won its appeal against the FTC, clearing the way for its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

• WeightWatchers wrote off $1.15 billion in debt through a bankruptcy filing as demand for its programs collapsed under pressure from weight-loss drugs.

• Rite Aid entered bankruptcy for the second time in two years and began layoffs at its Pennsylvania headquarters.

📊 Earnings this week

• Burger King, Popeyes, and Tim Hortons all experienced lower same-store sales than expected.

• Arm beat Q4 estimates, but issued weak Q1 guidance; shares lifted 1.4%.

• DoorDash missed revenue expectations and announced two acquisitions, including Deliveroo and SevenRooms; shares fell 6.9%.

• Carvana posted record Q1 results, driven by a 46% jump in unit sales and strong used car demand—shares lifted a tiny 0.14%.

• AppLovin crushed Q1 expectations and shares jumped more than 13% after hours.

• Oscar Health reported a 42% revenue increase, with membership up over 47% year-over-year, and shares gained over 30%.

• Unity beat on adjusted EBITDA, but revenue fell 6%; shares tumbled 3.1%.

📺 What to watch today