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US stock futures took a breather on Thursday amid fresh tariff threats from President Trump, as Wall Street looked to keep momentum from a tech-fueled rally that saw Nvidia (NVDA) leap to become the world’s first $4 trillion public company.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) slipped 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures (ES=F) edged down 0.1%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were little changed, on the heels of a return to rally mode for stocks on Wednesday.
Markets are regrouping after Trump’s latest salvos on tariffs, which have done little to sap the ebullient mood that has pervaded for more than two months. Eyes are back on prospects for AI after the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) clinched a new record close, thanks in large part to a near-2% jump for Nvidia.
The AI chipmaker’s stock rose in premarket, set to build on an all-time high hit on Wednesday after Nvidia became the first public company to cross a market value of over $4 trillion.
Meanwhile on Thursday, second-quarter earnings season kicks off with a report from Delta (DAL). Last quarter, the airline pulled its guidance amid Trump’s trade moves.
After Wednesday’s market close, Trump issued his most stringent tariff threat yet, in what is rapidly becoming a drip-by-drip repeat of his “Liberation Day” announcement in April. He threatened Brazil with tariffs of 50% on its imports, citing in part its treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial over an alleged plot to remain in power after losing an election.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
In all, Trump has sent 22 letters to the heads of countries this week, each with a similar formula, dictating the tariff rates he says will apply to their imports starting Aug. 1. But market focus remains on potential trade deals with bigger US partners, including the European Union, India, and Canada, among others. While Trump has said a pact with India is close, the odds have narrowed after he warned of an extra 10% tariff on BRICS members.
An update on weekly jobless claims due later will get attention in a week light on economic data to help set expectations for interest-rate cuts. Few Federal Reserve policymakers were open to a July start to lowering rates at their June meeting, according to minutes released on Wednesday.
LIVE 7 updates
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Delta stock pops premarket as the airline beats on earnings, reinstates guidance
Delta stock (DAL) soared more than 12% in premarket trading after the company’s earnings topped Wall Street estimates and Delta reinstated its guidance for the year.
Delta CEO Ed Bastian told Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian that progress on trade deals and the approval of the tax deal were “helpful” in removing uncertainty for the airline.
Subramanian reports:
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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The early winner in the ‘Dexit’ war for corporate relocations: Nevada
Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Keenan reports:
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London’s FTSE 100 and Germany’s DAX hit record highs
Yahoo Finance UK’s LaToya Harding reports:
The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) hit a new all-time high on Thursday morning, while European stocks also advanced. The German Dax (^GDAXI) also touched a record, as traders shrugged off the threat of Donald Trump’s escalating trade wars.
The US president confirmed overnight that a 50% copper tariff will come into place on 1 August, and announced a 50% tariff on goods from Brazil. …
The Brazilian Real weakened by 2.29% against the US dollar on the back of the news, its biggest decline since 4 April, but mining stocks rallied in London, signalling that investors are not concerned about the new tariffs. …
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Trending tickers: Copper stocks, Ultragenyx and Dollar Tree
Here are some top stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in premarket trading:
Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) shares rose over 3% before the bell on Thursday after President Trump said he would impose 50% tariffs on copper.
Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) stock was also up almost 4% in premarket trading following Trump’s announcement that he would hit copper imports with a 50% tariff.
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. (RARE) stock surged over 20% after announcing that the US FDA had granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for GTX-102 as a treatment for Angelman syndrome.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) rose 2% before the bell following the news that that its board authorized a $2.5 billion share buyback plan.
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Analysts get active ahead of earnings
Some analyst calls that caught my eye this morning as the Street preps for yet another earnings season.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
HSBC analyst Ryan Mellor drops an upgrade on AMD (AMD) to Buy.
Says Mellor: “Turning bullish on new product pipeline. We now believe there could be significant upside to FY26 estimated AI revenue as our revised forecast of USD15.1 billion is now 57% above consensus forecasts of USD9.6 billion driven by a higher-than-expected pricing premium of its recent MI350 series launch. We are also encouraged by its MI400 rack architecture (to be launched in 2026) but it remains too early to quantify. Hence, we now expect that upside to FY26 estimated AI revenue will lead to higher re-rating to AMD that is not fully priced in by the market despite the 14% share price rally post its AI day event (12 June).
PepsiCo (PEP)
JP Morgan analyst Andrea Teixeira is cautious on PepsiCo (PEP) going into its July 17 earnings report.
Says Teixeira”We believe expectations are for another soft quarter for PEP as consumption trends in the U.S. deteriorated in the quarter for both PFNA and PBNA segments, while International should remain relatively solid with some puts and takes. We don’t envision a substantial change to underlying guidance at this point following the cut to EPS with 1Q25 and a low enough bar for OSG, although USD softening could provide some relief to reported results. To date, PEP’s initiatives to turn around the snacking business have disappointed with tracked channel trends remaining under pressure, and with more time elapsing from shelf resets and price portioning and pack size adjustments (to lower absolute price points), if the company doesn’t begin to show signs of improving trends near term (i.e., getting less bad against easing comparisons) there could be a need for more meaningful investment.”
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WK Kellogg Co. shares skyrocket in on reports of potential sale to Nutella-maker Ferrero
The maker of Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, Ferrero, is reportedly close to finalizing a deal to acquire WK Kellogg Co. (KLG) for a roughly $3 billion dollar price tag, per the WSJ. The stock soared in after-hours trading following the report, up over 50%.
As of Wednesday’s market close, the company had a market cap of roughly $1.5 billion.
The cereal maker, behind brands like Froot Loops and Frosted Flakes, has been under pressure lately as consumers crave less breakfast food. Over the course of four weeks, ending June 29, cereal category sales fell 1.8% “in line with the trend from recent months,” Stifel analyst Matthew Smith wrote in a note to clients. For WK Kellogg in particular, dollar sales were down 5.7% in that same time frame.
It could get even worse when compared to the highs of the pandemic, per Smith. He said that “cereal sales had been running down -1.5% or so, we believe the volumes are likely to continue to move towards the historical decline rate.”
“The category is holding in and it’s shifting … we will shift with it,” CEO Gary Pilnick told investors on its recent earnings call, “as consumers are looking for value, they’re looking for health and wellness… No matter what the combination is, the cereal category is a tremendous destination for those consumers.”
WK Kellogg did not respond to a request for comment.
