NEWS
Look Out Pelosi
The market split to start the week, as positivity carried the S&P 500, while tech held back, as the market waits for a massive tech and fintech earnings week. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the ball was in China’s court to move tariff deals forward, as the administration aims to negotiate about six deals a week.
Nvidia and U.S. semiconductor firms fell after the weekend news that Huawei was ready to test its newest high-powered AI chip, while Nvidia faces restrictions in China.
Today's issue covers Nvidia's semi competition, the PELOSI Act revamped, and Boeing rebuying Spirit Aero.
Here’s the S&P 500 heatmap. 9 of 11 sectors closed green, with healthcare (+0.58%) leading and technology (-0.34%) lagging.
And here are the closing prices:
S&P 500 | 5,529 | +0.06% |
Nasdaq | 17,366 | -0.10% |
Russell 2000 | 1,966 | +0.41% |
Dow Jones | 40,228 | +0.28 |
COMPANY NEWS
Semiconductor Drama Shakes Up Shaky Market
Nvidia faces fresh competition in the AI chip market as Huawei tests its new Ascend 910D processor, aiming to rival Nvidia’s H100 chips.
Nvidia shares fell 2% following reports.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Huawei plans to ship over 800,000 Ascend 910B and 910C chips this year to major clients like ByteDance and state-owned telecom carriers. The news comes as Nvidia recorded a $5.5B write-off loss after the Trump Administration restricted selling their H20 chips to China, the highest performance tech they were previously allowed to sell.
Huawei plans to ship the chips to major clients like ByteDance and state-owned telecom carriers. While Nvidia’s latest Blackwell chips remain ahead globally, Huawei’s state-backed efforts could shift the landscape in China, especially because they are easy to get.
Not The Only Semi In Town
IBM climbed after the U.S. chipmaker announced a $150 billion investment in the U.S. over the next five years, including $30 billion for R&D to advance mainframe and quantum computer manufacturing.
Like many other tech and semi firms pledging allegiance, the firm aims to bolster American tech leadership and create jobs, aligning with IBM's long-standing focus on domestic innovation.
Earnings Today
NXP Semiconductors reported an earnings beat Monday, with guidance that mostly met tough Wall Street expectations. The stock fell nearly 8% after hours when the firm said CEO Kurt Sievers is retiring from the Dutch chipmaker in October. The firm pulled in $2.64 in non-GAAP Q1 EPS, beating the $2.60 est.
Revenue came in at $2.84B, basically in line with est. $2.83B. The firm sees Q2 adj. EPS in a $2.46-$2.86 range, roughly in line with the $2.65 that analysts had been forecasting. $NXPI ( ▲ 1.39% ) .
Source: Stocktwits
REGULATION
Are You A Congress Rep Insider Trading? Well, Look Out!
Senator Josh Hawley reintroduced the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act this week, targeting insider trading by banning members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks.
The bill is named after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who, alongside her husband, has made options calls that by some accounts, place her among the greatest traders of all time.
Source: Congress
Last summer, Fintwit headline poster Unusual Whales found that Paul Pelosi pulled in 20x Pelosi’s salary on one Nvidia call trade. Christopher Joseph, co-founder of Autopilot, estimated the Pelosi family’s gains last year were nearly 28% in six months.
Fox Business reported that Paul Pelosi bought over $1M in Nvidia Calls weeks before a vote on chip subsidies sent the stock even higher. Just this January, Pelosi disclosed millions in call options buys and exercises, on names like Alphabet, Amazon, and Palo Alto Networks.
Congress representatives must file trades they or their family make within 30 days, according to the Stock Act rules written by Congressman Brian Baird, D-Wa, and signed into law by President Obama. The value of trades only needs classification within broad categories, which makes it hard to know if Senators clear $1M or $5M in a call buy.
According to the Campaign Legal Center, 95% of representatives last year owned investment funds, and 46% owned stocks on both sides of the aisle.
Source: CLC
The bill, reintroduced by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo, has gained traction across party lines. He introduced the bill in 2023, but Fox Business said it gained little traction during the Biden Administration. The CLC reported Hawley holds “Widely Held Investment Funds.”
M&A
Boeing Splitting Spirit With Europe’s Airbus
Boeing climbed Monday after news that it and Airbus were planning to buy off pieces of the failed Spirit Aerosystems facilities in the U.S., Europe, and Africa, in a bid to take direct control of production while it was cheap.
Spirit broke off from Boeing nearly twenty years ago, and has recently made some really bad stuff: they built the Boeing 737 Max that fell apart last year.
Boeing agreed to buy out Spirit AeroSystems months ago. The deal, valued at $439 million, is part of Spirit's restructuring ahead of its $4.7 billion acquisition by Boeing, expected to close in Q3 2025.
Airbus, seen by consumers as a recently safer plane to fly in, will take over Spirit sites to address supply issues for fuselage sections. It would be great news for flight safety if Airbus does a better job with quality control, or it could be a nightmare for those who fear flying.
Source: Stocktwits
STOCKS
Other Noteworthy Pops & Drops
Domino's Pizza ($DPZ +0.6%): Pizza giant Domino’s reported Q1 revenue of $1.11 billion, up 2.5% YoY but slightly below the $1.12 billion estimate. U.S. same-store sales fell 0.5%, while international same-store sales rose 3.7%, driven by higher franchise royalties and advertising revenues.
Sabre Corporation ($SABR +15%): Travel technology company Sabre announced the sale of its Hospitality Solutions business to TPG for $1.1 billion in cash. This move allows Sabre to reduce its $4.5 billion debt.
Palo Alto Networks ($PANW +1%):Network Security provider Palo Alto announced its acquisition of Protect AI, a leader in AI and ML security, to bolster its Prisma AIRS platform. The deal addresses emerging AI-specific threats like model manipulation and data poisoning, enhancing end-to-end security for AI applications.
Eli Lilly ($LLY -0.8%): HSBC issued a rare double downgrade of the drugmaker, lowering its rating to "Reduce" from "Buy" and slashing the price target to $700 from $1,150. The move reflects concerns over valuation and stiff competition from Novo Nordisk.
Pfizer ($PFE +0.6%): Reported positive late-stage trial results for its experimental bladder cancer drug, sasanlimab. The Phase 3 CREST trial showed a 32% reduction in disease-related events with standard therapy in some bladder cancer patients.
WHAT’S ON DECK
Tomorrow’s Top Things
Economic data: CB Consumer Confidence (10 am), JOLTS Job Openings (10 am).
Pre-Market Earnings: SoFi Technologies ($SOFI), Pfizer ($PFE), General Motors ($GM), Coca-Cola ($KO), Spotify Technology ($SPOT), Royal Caribbean Group ($RCL), United Parcel Service ($UPS).
After-Hour Earnings: Snap ($SNAP), Starbucks ($SBUX), Visa ($V), First Solar ($FSLR), Booking Holdings ($BKNG), Caesars Entertainment ($CZR), Seagate Technology Holdings ($STX).