Nasdaq Rises to New High as Nvidia Leads Tech Rally; S&P Retreats from Record as Bank Stocks Slump After Earnings

BlackRock Tumbles After Revenues Misses Estimate

3 minutes ago

BlackRock (BLK) said its assets under management reached a record $12.5 trillion in the second quarter, though its revenue missed estimates, sending shares lower Tuesday.

BlackRock reported revenue rose 13% year-over-year to $5.42 billion, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $5.44 billion. Adjusted earnings per share of $12.05 beat expectations.

The revenue miss was driven in part by lower net inflows, which BlackRock said reflected the impact of a single institutional client’s “partial redemption” withdrawing $52 billion from index funds.

BlackRock shares were down nearly 6% in recent trading, after hitting an all-time high yesterday.

BlackRock added that it closed on its $12 billion purchase of HPS Investment Partners on July 1, which brought in $165 billion of client AUM and $118 billion of fee-paying AUM.

–Bill McColl

MP Materials Stock Soars on Apple’s $500M Commitment

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Shares of MP Materials (MP) skyrocketed Tuesday after Apple (AAPL) said it would invest $500 million in the owner of the U.S.’s only operational rare earths mine.

The move by the iPhone maker to ramp up its supply chain at home comes days after the Department of Defense took a 15% stake in the Las Vegas-based rare earths producer. MP Materials shares were up 26% in recent trading, boosting the stock’s year-to-date gain to nearly 300%.

MP Materials will supply the metals as part of Apple’s pledge to spend more than $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years, the tech giant said. The two companies are also planning to build a rare earth recycling line in Mountain Pass, California, and “develop novel magnet materials and innovative processing technologies to enhance magnet performance,” Apple said.  

“Rare earth materials are essential for making advanced technology, and this partnership will help strengthen the supply of these vital materials here in the United States,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said. 

The deal comes as the Trump administration makes becoming less dependent on other nations like China for rare earths a top priority and a national security issue. China controls much of the world’s supply of rare earth minerals such as neodymium and terbium, which are used in the manufacture of electric cars, drones, and advanced electronics.

In April, as tensions mounted between the U.S. and China, Beijing imposed curbs on exports of the metals but recently opened the door to selling them amid a trade truce with Washington.

–Nisha Gopalan

Nvidia Levels to Watch as Stock Surges to New Highs

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Nvidia (NVDA) shares moved sharply higher Tuesday morning after the AI investor favorite said it plans to resume selling one of its most popular chips to China. 

Through Monday’s close, Nvidia shares had gained nearly 90% from their early-April low and were up 22% since the start of the year, as major tech companies continue to ramp up spending on AI infrastructure that depends on the company’s chips. The stock was up more than 4% at around $171.50 in recent trading.

After reclaiming the closely watched 200-day moving average (MA) in mid-May, Nvidia shares have continued to trend higher, a move that has coincided with the relative strength index staying near its overbought threshold for most of that time, signaling strong price momentum.

In another win for the bulls, the 50-day MA crossed back above the 200-day MA in late June to form a golden cross, a bullish chart pattern that points to a new trend higher.

However, trading volume and volatility have contracted in recent months, suggesting market participants may be waiting for the chipmaker’s earnings report next month before deploying further capital.

Trend analysis, which takes the stock’s move higher throughout June and repositions it from this month’s low, projects a near-term price target of around $178. Investors should also watch key support levels on Nvidia’s chart around $159, $150 and $143.

Read the full technical analysis piece here.

–Timothy Smith

Trade Desk Stock Jumps on News of S&P 500 Inclusion

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The Trade Desk (TTD) shares soared in early trading Tuesday, a day after S&P Dow Jones Indices said the digital advertising company will be replacing software maker Ansys (ANSS) in the S&P 500 Index.

The change will take effect prior to the start of trading Friday, July 18, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, which also noted that Ansys would be bought by chip design software provider Synopsys (SNPS) in a deal set to be completed Thursday.

Synopsys said Monday that it had received approval from Chinese regulators for its $35 billion purchase of Ansys, clearing the final regulatory hurdle for the deal.

Inclusion in the S&P 500 can boost shares by introducing them to new investors or by becoming part of index funds that track the components of the benchmark. Last week, Datadog (DDOG) became an S&P 500 member, after Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) completed its acquisition of fellow S&P 500 component Juniper Networks.

Trade Desk shares were up more than 11% in recent trading, pacing Nasdaq 100 gainers. Coming into Tuesday’s session, the stock had lost more than 35% of its value so far this year.

–Nisha Gopalan

Wells Fargo Stock Slides After Earnings

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Wells Fargo (WFC) on Tuesday lowered its outlook for net interest income, a key measure of profitability, sending shares lower in premarket trading.

Wells Fargo cut its guidance for 2025 net interest income “to be roughly in line” with its 2024 net interest income of $47.7 billion, from its previous forecast of 1% to 3% growth.

Net interest income for the second quarter fell to $11.71 billion from $12.02 billion a year ago—below the $11.84 billion analysts anticipated. The lender reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.6 on revenue that rose to $20.82 billion from $20.69 billion, above analysts’ estimates.

The results come after the Federal Reserve last month lifted curbs on the bank’s growth imposed seven years ago following a series of scandals, including one where staff set up fake accounts.

“The lifting of the asset cap in the second quarter marked a pivotal milestone in Wells Fargo’s ongoing transformation, along with the termination of thirteen consent orders since 2019, including seven this year alone,” CEO Charlie Scharf said in a release.

Wells Fargo shares, which entered Tuesday up about 19% this year, were down close to 3% in premarket trading.

–Nisha Gopalan

Nvidia Jumps on Plans to Resume China Chip Exports

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Nvidia (NVDA) said it plans to resume sales of its best-selling H20 AI chip to China, days after CEO Jensen Huang met with President Donald Trump.

Shares of Nvidia surged more than 4% in premarket trading Tuesday following the news. Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), other chip companies, and Nvidia partners including Super Micro Computer (SMCI) also rose, boosting Nasdaq futures.

“NVIDIA is filing applications to sell the NVIDIA H20 GPU again,” the company said in a blog post late Monday. “The U.S. government has assured NVIDIA that licenses will be granted, and NVIDIA hopes to start deliveries soon,” the chipmaker said. 

The green light from Washington marks a big win for Nvidia, as analysts had said the restrictions would send sales in China, a key market, down to “zero.” The AI chipmaker said in May that it took a $4.5 billion charge in the fiscal first quarter associated with export curbs imposed by the Trump administration on sales of its H20 products to China. The H20 chips are less powerful than Nvidia’s newer ones and had been tailored to meet prior export limits for the Chinese market.

Separately, Nvidia announced a new RTX PRO AI chip that it said was “fully compliant” for the Chinese market. The White House didn’t immediately respond to an  Investopedia request for comment.

Nvidia shares enter Tuesday’s session up 22% so far 2025.

–Nisha Gopalan

S&P 500, Nasdaq Futures Point Higher

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Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were essentially flat.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.4%.

Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.6%.