S&P 500 Trading Volume Spikes at Wall Street Close: Markets Wrap

(Bloomberg) — A jittery week ended with losses in stocks as investors weighed geopolitical and trade developments, chipmakers sank while a $6.5 trillion options expiration spurred a surge in volume. Short-dated yields fell as Federal Reserve’s Christopher Waller said rates could drop as early as July.

Not even signs President Donald Trump is giving a chance to diplomacy in de-escalating the war between Israel and Iran were able to spur risk appetite. A closely watched gauge of chipmakers slid almost 1% on a Wall Street Journal report the US may revoke waivers for allies with semiconductor plants in China. Yields on two-year notes — more sensitive to Fed policy — slipped to around 3.9%. Oil slid. The dollar saw its best week since February.

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Trump signaled he might consider backing a ceasefire in the Middle East, but also warned he could order military action sooner than the deadline flagged just a day earlier. He dismissed European efforts to find a diplomatic solution after foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany met their Iranian counterpart Friday.  

Equities briefly extended losses as the Financial Times reported Japan canceled a top-level meeting with the US as the Trump administration told Tokyo to spend more on defense.

Meantime, Waller reiterated his view that the inflation hit from tariffs is likely to be short-lived. The Fed governor’s comments on CNBC followed this week’s central bank decision to keep rates on hold. Money markets slightly increased their bets on a September Fed reduction, with an October move remaining fully priced in.

“The market is dealing with a lot presently, from geopolitical tensions, tariff uncertainty and questions about the Federal Reserve’s next move,” said Brian Buetel at UBS Wealth Management. “While there are different risks on the horizon, stocks are a forward-looking barometer of economic growth, which we believe will hold up this year.”

Corporate Highlights:

• Meta Platforms Inc. held discussions with artificial intelligence search startup Perplexity AI Inc. about a possible takeover before moving ahead with a multibillion-dollar investment in Scale AI, according to people familiar with the matter.
• Tesla Inc. is set to open its first showrooms in India in July, people familiar with the discussions said, kicking off formal operations in the world’s third-biggest automobile market as the Elon Musk-led firm hunts for growth amid falling sales in Europe and China.
• Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI Corp. offered investors sweeter pricing on its $5 billion debt offering Friday, as Morgan Stanley wraps up commitments for the deal.
• Kroger Co.’s sales surpassed expectations during the latest quarter, a sign that consumers are still spending on groceries and other essentials despite economic turbulence.
• Darden Restaurants Inc. is considering “strategic alternatives” for its Bahama Breeze chain, Chief Executive Officer Rick Cardenas said.
• Aflac Inc. said a recent cybersecurity breach could have given intruders unauthorized access to customers’ personal information, including Social Security numbers, as well as health and claims data.
• QXO Inc. won’t raise its $5 billion offer for building products distributor GMS Inc. after Home Depot Inc. reportedly made its own bid.
• CarMax Inc. reported comparable sales and earnings per share that beat consensus estimates.
• Accenture Plc reported results and gave an outlook. Analysts highlighted bookings as a weak spot of the print.
• SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son is seeking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. to realize what could be his biggest bet yet — a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build robots and artificial intelligence.
• Temu’s sales decline in the US is deepening as the online marketplace drastically cuts spending on advertising targeting American consumers, signaling a shift in focus after President Donald Trump’s tariff barrage.

Some of the main moves in markets:

Stocks

• The S&P 500 fell 0.2% as of 4 p.m. New York time
• The Nasdaq 100 fell 0.4%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed
• The MSCI World Index fell 0.2%
• Bloomberg Magnificent 7 Total Return Index fell 1%
• Philadelphia Stock Exchange Semiconductor Index fell 0.8%
• The Russell 2000 Index fell 0.2%

Currencies

• The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.1%
• The euro rose 0.2% to $1.1516
• The British pound fell 0.1% to $1.3445
• The Japanese yen fell 0.5% to 146.20 per dollar

Cryptocurrencies

• Bitcoin fell 0.9% to $103,406.76
• Ether fell 3.6% to $2,418.77

Bonds

• The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined one basis point to 4.38%
• Germany’s 10-year yield was little changed at 2.52%
• Britain’s 10-year yield was little changed at 4.54%

Commodities

• West Texas Intermediate crude fell 0.3% to $74.93 a barrel
• Spot gold fell 0.2% to $3,365.51 an ounce

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