CLOSING BELL
Quantum Of Uncle Sam
The market climbed Thursday, more than recovering mid-week losses. Equities sold off after a report that software-enabled tech exports were on the table for tariffs with China, but Thursday's news that talks were still planned helped boost prices. CPI data is finally arriving tomorrow.
President Trump and Chinese leader Xi will meet one week from now in South Korea, in a meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit finalized today. Officials like Treasury Secretary Bessent are laying the groundwork for talks already, in a “frank and detailed” conversation about rare earths, Russian oil, and soybeans.
Speaking of oil, crude futures climbed after the White House finally sanctioned major Russian oil producers in a bid to push Putin toward a ceasefire deal in Ukraine. The goal is to freeze out buyers like India and China from Russian companies Rosneft and Lukoil. In January, the Biden White House sanctioned Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, runners of Russia’s “shadow fleet,” but it had little effect on the Russian war effort. Let’s hope Russian exporters don’t find ways to circumvent sanctions again.
Aaand speaking of sanctions, Trump pardoned crypto billionaire Changpeng Zhao, founder of Binance, who in 2023 pled guilty to charges relating to money laundering and evading sanctions, as militants used his firm’s infrastructure to funnel funds to Hamas.
Today’s RIP: Intel beats, Tesla reclaims lost price, Quantum flies on U.S. stake rumor, and more.
7 of 11 sectors closed green. Energy $XLE ( 0.0% ) lead and staples $XLP ( 0.0% )lagged.
$SPY ( 0.0% ) $QQQ ( 0.0% ) $IWM ( 0.0% ) $DIA ( 0.0% )
AFTER THE BELL
Intel, Ford, Deckers Round Out Thursday’s Reports
Tesla was gaining on Thursday, after hitting -4% following its earnings miss. Eyese turned toward after the bell reports.
Intel $INTC ( 0.0% ) was up 7% after its post-market Q3 report, its first performance filing since handing out a 10% stake to the Fed, and a 4% stake buy from Nvidia. It pulled in $13.7B in revenue, up year over year and above estimates, and 2C/share, DOUBLE the 1C analysts predicted. (An earnings report double can be major news, but it amounts to one more penny.)
Intel’s Foundry Services reported a loss of $2.3B in the quarter, as the company still struggles to pull buyers away from Taiwan Semi and toward a U.S. alternative large-scale semiconductor manufacturing.
Deckers $DECK ( 0.0% ) shares dived after a lackluster report from the Hoka and UGG shoe maker. The stock was down 8%, after domestic net sales fell 2.8%.
"Though uncertainty remains elevated in the global trade environment, our confidence in our brands has not changed, and the long-term opportunities ahead are significant," Deckers CEO Stefano Caroti said.
Ford $F ( 0.0% ) shares climbed, the car-making giant set a record with $50B quarterly revenue with its post-market report, but said the Novelis aluminum plant fire was going to hit the F-150 line to a tune of $1.5-$2B.
MACRO NEWS
Later Loosers, Uncle Sam Is Going Quantum
The quantum industry spiked Thursday, after a Wall Street Journal report that Uncle Sam was not stopping at rare earths and semiconductors: Captain America needs to lead with quantum-enabled chips.
Companies like IonQ $IONQ ( 0.0% ) Rigetti Computing $RGTI ( 0.0% ) and D-Wave $QBTS ( 0.0% ) were climbing, specifically mentioned in the article discussing deals with the government for stake purchases, in exchange for federal funding:
“Deputy Commerce Secretary Paul Dabbar, a former quantum-computing executive and Energy Department official, is leading the funding discussions with companies in the industry,” per WSJ.
The report said companies are looking at funding awards for a minimum of $10M, which sounds small: a minimum investment like that would be a hundredth of the size of State Street Global Advisors’ ~$1B stake in D-Wave.
The news follows an insane rash of retail attention on quantum stocks. Google said Wednesday its Willow chip, the science fiction-like device that started the quantum craze a year ago, can run 13,000X faster than supercomputers.
The White House denied the stake speculation:
“The Commerce Department is not currently negotiating equity stakes with quantum computing companies,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
D-Wabe Quantum
POPS & DROPS
Top Stocks News Stories
- West Pharmaceutical raised full-year guidance on strong GLP-1 component demand.
- Microsoft unveiled new Copilot features including voice mode.
- Tesla, IonQ, Molina led top moves as earnings and guidance drove sharp swings.
- Integer Holdings fell 32% after cutting 2025 revenue and EPS guidance.
- OpenAI acquired Mac-focused UI startup to boost ChatGPT desktop tools.
- Mortgage rates fell to 6.19%, boosting home sales.
- Viking Therapeutics rose 8% after Morgan Stanley set bullish price target.
- Super Micro fell 8% after slashing Q1 revenue outlook.
WHAT’S ON DECK
Tomorrow’s Top Things
Economic data: CPI (8:30 AM), Hourly Earnings YoY (8:30 AM), Import Price Index (8:30 AM), Housing Starts (8:30 AM), Unemployment Rate (8:30 AM), Industrial Production YoY (9:15 AM), Atlanta Fed GDPNow (1:00 PM), TIC Net Long-Term Transactions (4:00 PM)
Pre-Market Earnings: American Express ($AXP), SLB ($SLB), Ally Financial ($ALLY), Regions Finl ($RF), Huntington Bancshares ($HBAN), and Truist Finl ($TFC).