Oleksandr Pylypenko
10 min read
June S&P 500 E-Mini futures (ESM25) are up +0.20%, and June Nasdaq 100 E-Mini futures (NQM25) are up +0.33% this morning, pointing to a slightly higher open on Wall Street after yesterday’s drop, while investors await the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and updated projections, as well as Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks.
Investors also await updates on whether the U.S. plans to become directly involved in the conflict in the Middle East. The conflict between Israel and Iran entered a sixth day on Wednesday, showing no signs of easing. Reuters reported that U.S. President Donald Trump and his team were weighing several options, including joining Israel in strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. President Trump demanded Iran’s unconditional surrender on Tuesday and threatened a potential strike against the country’s leader. Iran’s Supreme Leader rejected President Trump’s demand for unconditional surrender in a statement read by a television presenter on Wednesday, warning that U.S. military action would have “serious and irreparable consequences.”
In yesterday’s trading session, Wall Street’s main stock indexes closed lower. Solar stocks cratered after Senate Republicans outlined revisions to President Trump’s tax-and-spending bill that would phase out solar, wind, and energy tax credits by 2028, with Sunrun (RUN) plummeting over -40%, and Enphase Energy (ENPH) tumbling more than -23% to lead losers in the S&P 500. Also, Lennar (LEN) slumped over -4% after the homebuilder posted weaker-than-expected FQ2 adjusted EPS. In addition, T-Mobile US (TMUS) slid over -4% after Bloomberg reported that shareholder SoftBank Group sold 21.5 million shares of the wireless network operator to finance its AI initiatives. On the bullish side, Jabil Circuit (JBL) climbed more than +8% and was the top percentage gainer on the S&P 500 after the supplier of electronic parts posted upbeat FQ3 results and raised its full-year revenue guidance.
Economic data released on Tuesday showed that U.S. retail sales slumped -0.9% m/m in May, weaker than expectations of -0.5% m/m, while core retail sales, which exclude motor vehicles and parts, unexpectedly fell -0.3% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.2% m/m. Also, U.S. May industrial production fell -0.2% m/m, weaker than expectations of no change m/m, while manufacturing production rose +0.1% m/m, in line with expectations. In addition, the U.S. import price index was unchanged m/m in May, stronger than expectations of -0.2% m/m.
“Investors should still expect some volatility in economic data due to lingering effects of trade policy. The economy and the consumer are holding up for now, but there are signs of vulnerability. That could present risks in the second half of the year — particularly if we see a further slowdown in jobs or spending,” said Bret Kenwell at eToro.
