Today's News You Need2Know

Companies mentioned in today’s newsletter

$SPX ( ▲ 1.47% )   $MSFT ( ▲ 2.32% )   $NVDA ( ▲ 2.59% )   $JPM ( ▲ 2.28% )   $NVDA ( ▲ 2.59% )   $AAPL ( ▼ 3.74% )  

Good jobs numbers help Wall Street gain

Wall Street saw a significant boost late last week as the U.S. job market once again defied expectations, delivering stronger-than-anticipated numbers. The S&P 500 $SPX ( ▲ 1.47% ) climbed 1.6%, marking its ninth consecutive day of gains—the longest streak in 20 years. I just want to point out that last week, 80% of Cheddar readers said they expected markets to continue going down from there.

Tech stocks led the charge, with companies like $MSFT ( ▲ 2.32% ) Microsoft and $NVDA ( ▲ 2.59% ) Nvidia gaining 2.6% and 3%, respectively. Banks and financial firms also excelled, with JPMorgan Chase $JPM ( ▲ 2.28% ) up 2.4% and Visa $V ( ▲ 1.5% ) increasing by 1.3%.

April’s job report revealed 177,000 new positions, surpassing economist projections despite a slight slowdown from March. The data underscores continued resilience in employment, a key driver of consumer spending and economic growth. However, looming trade tensions and tariffs remain a pressure point. Economists fear the economic toll of heightened import taxes, which could hurt both businesses and consumers.

Despite uncertainty over trade policy, investor optimism remains buoyed by robust earnings and potential de-escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions. As we move forward, all eyes are on the Federal Reserve, employment trends, and the evolving tariff landscape. Nobody’s saying we’re out of the economic woods, in other words. But I’m sorta saying that, if you read between the lines. #NotFinancialAdvice

Apple made more money than expected Q2, so their stock went down

What’s this, another magnificent tech firm posting surprisingly resilient results?

Apple $AAPL ( ▼ 3.74% ) delivered a stronger-than-expected fiscal second-quarter performance last week, with earnings of $1.65 per share on revenue of $95.36 billion, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.62 per share on $94.19 billion in revenue. iPhone sales, a crucial revenue driver, climbed 1.9% to $46.84 billion, outpacing Wall Street’s expectations.

CEO Tim Cook emphasized Apple’s evolving supply chain strategy, including sourcing the majority of U.S. iPhones from India and iPads from Vietnam, as part of an effort to mitigate the impact of escalating tariffs tied to geopolitical tensions with China. Nevertheless, tariffs are expected to add $900 million to costs in the current fiscal quarter, underscoring the challenges of ongoing trade disputes. That’s why the company’s stock fell 2.5% on the news.

Apple: “We made $95 billion last quarter.”

Investors: “You’re worth 2.5% less than we thought before you told us tariffs are going to cost you less than $1billion.”