Robots are everywhere, even making their debut at the world’s premier lawn tennis championship Monday. Wimbledon’s smartly dressed line judges, fixtures for 148 years, have been replaced by technology.
The growth of robots and artificial
intelligence has been a boost for the stock market. Nvidia has led the charge, closing at a record high on Monday and nearing the first-ever $4 trillion market valuation. Meta Platforms stock
has also reached new heights, lifted by CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s AI hiring spree. Relative laggard Apple is now considering turning to AI start-ups Anthropic and OpenAI to update its Siri digital assistant, according to a Bloomberg report.
But it’s a different story for workers. Amazon has more than one million robots in its facilities and they’re taking humans’ jobs—the average number of Amazon employees per facility in 2024 was its lowest in the past 16 years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees last month that AI will lead to a
smaller workforce.
OK, most jobs will not be as susceptible to automation as a line judge or warehouse worker. But the advance of AI threatens white-collar workers, too, with areas such as customer service and software development particularly vulnerable.
Is there any hope for the human worker? A recent study by Apple researchers concluded AI models offer the “illusion of thinking” and fail to solve the most complex tasks. Top-performing employees are still safe for
now.
However, that barrier might not last. Meta’s Zuckerberg is assembling a team to push AI to the next level, with his new “Superintelligence” unit at the social-media company. The Facebook founder has
outlined an expansive vision of AI where it fully automates business tasks and people even have virtual friends.
As the robot revolution plays out on Centre Court, the top-seeded tech companies will be those that serve up more AI gains, such as Meta and Nvidia.
—Adam Clark
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Trump and Musk Reignite Feud Over Tax Bill
They are clashing again. President Donald Trump hit back at Elon Musk early Tuesday, suggesting the DOGE department he once ran should review government subsidies handed out to the Tesla CEO’s companies. That was in response to Musk venting
against Trump’s tax and spending bill Monday.
- Musk called the legislation “utterly insane and destructive.” He also promised to launch a new political party if the bill passed, adding that those in Congress who vote for it will lose their primary next year “if it’s the last thing I do on this Earth.”
- The president responded by hinting that the Department of Government Effiency—which Musk helped run until the end of May—should investigate its former leader. “No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production and our Country would save a FORTUNE,” he added. “Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this?”
- Trump and Musk publicly fell out in an escalating war of words on social media last month just days after the Tesla CEO left his role in Washington. Tesla stock plunged 14% on June 5 and was under pressure again after the pair resumed their hostilities Tuesday.
- A marathon
session in the Senate entered a second day Tuesday as Republicans worked to secure enough votes to pass Trump’s signature bill by their self-imposed July 4 deadline.
What’s Next: Tesla investors have plenty to navigate right now, including the recent robo-taxi launch and upcoming second-quarter deliveries data this week. But how the bitter feud between Musk and Trump develops in the coming days could end up being the most important factor for the stock.
—Callum Keown
Stocks End First Half at Records. Tariffs Could Be Next Catalyst.
Markets ended the quarter and first half of the year by rising to record levels for the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq, overcoming a rocky patch around April, when investors were worried about tariffs. The sentiment has shifted amid optimism the Trump administration’s trade policy will be milder than feared.
- The S&P 500 marked its best quarterly
performance since the fourth quarter of 2023, and the Nasdaq had its best quarterly performance since 2020’s second quarter. Both indexes closed at records on Monday and are up more than 5% this year.
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average had its best quarter since last year’s third quarter and is now just 2% off its December record. But it has lagged behind the other two indexes, rising just 3.6% so far this year.
- After rebounding from tariff fears, stocks have rallied on catalysts such as the Republican tax and spending megabill, which is making its way through the
Senate ahead of a Friday deadline, and a cease-fire between Israel and Iran.
- Coinbase Global, the crypto exchange operator, was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 during the quarter, up more than 106%. NRG Energy gained 72%. The worst performer in the quarter was UnitedHealth Group, which fell 41%, followed by green energy stock Enphase, down 37%.
What’s Next: The next major test for markets could be tariff negotiations. President Donald Trump has recently ratcheted up his tariff rhetoric, saying Monday that Japan will likely get a letter from him setting a tariff level. The
sustainability of the market’s recovery may hinge on him bluffing on such threats.
—Connor Smith and Mackenzie Tatananni
Moderna Gets News That Could Lead to MRNA Combo Shot
Moderna’s messenger-RNA seasonal-flu vaccine
