After a rocky start to the week, US markets staged a solid recovery yesterday as investors shook off "AI disruption" fears and cheered strong economic data. Hereโs what you need to know:
๐ Market Snapshot
- S&P 500: ๐ผ +0.8% (Closed around 6,880)
- Nasdaq Composite: ๐ผ +1.1% (Leading the charge in tech)
- Dow Jones: ๐ผ +0.8% (+410 points to ~49,214)
๐ Key Market Movers
- AMD & Meta’s AI Power Play: AMD surged over 9% after announcing a massive multi-year deal to supply chips for Meta Platforms’ next-gen AI infrastructure. This effectively reminded the market that the AI boom still has plenty of gas in the tank.
- Tech Recovery: Software giants like IBM and Salesforce saw a nice bounce-back, recovering a portion of Mondayโs steep losses triggered by fears of AI-driven displacement in the coding sector.
- Home Depot (HD): The retail giant rose 3% after beating earnings expectations, proving resilient despite "ongoing consumer uncertainty."
๐ง Why the Vibe Shifted?
- Economic Strength: Consumer confidence hit 91.2 (beating the 87 forecast), and private hiring data from ADP came in stronger than expected. It seems the US economy remains robust enough to handle higher-for-longer interest rates.
- Tariff Watch: While the market rallied, sentiment remains capped by the White House’s move to raise global tariffs to 15%. This policy uncertainty is keeping the VIX (Fear Gauge) slightly elevated.
- Geopolitical Tension: Stalled nuclear talks with Iran kept oil prices firm, which investors are watching closely for inflation impacts.
๐ก Closing Thought
Yesterday was a classic "relief rally," showing that while policy and AI-disruption fears are real, the fundamental growth of big tech and the strength of the US consumer are still the primary drivers.