Riding High
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | What Happened in Markets Today | | | | Stocks approached new highs. Tech and financial stocks rose, helping send the S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly above all-time closing highs. The S&P ended 0.8% higher and the Nasdaq gained about 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 404 points. Nvidia set a fresh record. The AI chip giant's shares rose 0.5% for the day. It is the world's most valuable company, with a market capitalization of $3.8 trillion. Trump is considering naming Jerome Powell's replacement as Fed chair early. The move would be a way to undermine Powell's authority, after he signaled a cautious approach to lowering interest rates in congressional testimony this week, conflicting with Trump's preference for looser monetary policy. The dollar weakened following the news. Powell's term runs for another 11 months. Revised U.S. economic figures showed further shrinkage in the first quarter. U.S. GDP contracted at an adjusted 0.5% rate, according to the Commerce Department. It had previously been estimated to have shrunk 0.2%. It was the first contraction in three years. | | | | | | MEMBER MESSAGE: Dow Jones Smart Money |  | | Create a Better Financial Future | | Be ready for every step of your money journey with knowledge and insights from our collection of Dow Jones publications. Curated by experts. Made for you. Learn More | ![]() | | | | | | | | Crude oil, Bitcoin USD and gold continuous contract data refresh every time you open this email. Other data are as of market close. | | | | | |  | | PHOTO: ROSS D. FRANKLIN/ASSOCIATED PRESS | | | | | | Tesla has gobbled up a lot of attention from the recent launch of its robotaxi service in Austin, Texas. But the shaky rollout really highlights how underappreciated Google-parent Alphabet is for its own more advanced self-driving venture. Robotaxis are supposed to be one of the moonshots underpinning Tesla's $1.1 trillion valuation. Yet Waymo, which was valued last year at $45 billion, is far ahead: It serves five cities and has a fleet of over 1,500 cars. | | | | - The results of the Fed's annual bank stress tests are due Friday.
- A May reading from the Fed's preferred inflation gauge—core PCE—is expected.
| | | | | Markets P.M. catches you up on the day's most important markets moves, delivered after the closing bell. This email was written by Heard on the Street, The Wall Street Journal's home for financial analysis and commentary. To send us your feedback, reply to this email. | | | | | | | | | |
