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US stocks closed out the week on a high note as Wall Street assessed President Trump’s nomination of Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and took in his new regime of sweeping tariffs.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5%, and the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.8%, just a stone’s throw away from all-time highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) climbed nearly 1% to set its second record close in a row.
All three major averages posted gains for the week.
Gold futures (GC=F) in New York retreated from record highs on Friday after the White House said it would soon issue an executive order “clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars” on the heels of reports indicating they were not exempt from tariffs on Swiss imports.
Stocks were mixed on Thursday as Trump’s deadline for countries to strike tariff deals expired, setting in motion higher duties on dozens of countries worldwide. The indexes trimmed earlier losses following Trump’s nomination of Stephen Miran, current chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, to serve on the Fed board.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
Miran’s nomination must pass Senate approval, and it’s unclear how long that might take with lawmakers on August recess. Trump’s decision on Miran also underscored his search for the next Fed chair. He has talked up the “two Kevins” — current economic adviser Hassett and former Fed governor Warsh — and a report on Thursday said current governor Christopher Waller is seen as the favorite by Trump’s team.
Amid the jockeying, about 90% of bets are on the Fed cutting rates in September after last week’s disappointing labor data. Next Tuesday, investors will scour the monthly inflation report for clues on the central bank’s next policy move.
LIVE 19 updates
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Nasdaq reaches fresh record as Dow, S&P 500 climb to close out winning week for stocks
US stocks rose on Friday, with the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) notching a fresh record close as investors looked past tariffs that kicked in this week and anticipated looser monetary policy after President Trump’s nomination of Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve.
The benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.8%, coming just short of a record close. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) led the gains, climbing nearly 1% to notch an all-time high close for a second day in a row.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.5%. All three major averages closed out the week with gains.
Next week, investors will assess a fresh inflation print in the lead-up to the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium later in August.
Optimism over a September Fed rate cut has grown since last week’s poor labor market data release. Trump’s nomination of Miran to serve as a Fed board governor has also fueled speculation that the central bank will be less restrictive in its monetary policy.
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Trump says US court ruling against tariff authority ‘would be 1929 all over again’
Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Keenan reports:
Read more here.
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3 things you need to know about Trump’s nominee for the Fed
Yahoo Finance’s Jen Schonberger reports:
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Gold prices trim gains after White House says it will issue executive order clarifying tariffs on precious metal
Gold prices trimmed gains on Friday after the White House said it will issue an executive order to clarify its position on the precious metal and tariffs.
Gold (GC=F) futures in New York retreated from their intraday record levels to trade near $3,459 per ounce, after hitting $4,490 earlier in the session.
“The White House intends to issue an executive order in the near future clarifying misinformation about the tariffing of gold bars and other specialty products,” a White House official told Yahoo Finance.
The precious metal hit a record on the Comex exchange after the Financial Times reported that one-kilogram and 100-ounce bars of gold are indeed subject to 39% reciprocal tariffs on Switzerland recently announced by the Trump administration.
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Trump says Fannie and Freddie will go public by end of year and raise $30 billion: Report
Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith reports:
Read more here.
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AI chips startup CEO: Intel has to fix systemic issues to get back on track
Yahoo Finance’s Francisco Velasquez reports:
Read more here.
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Gold futures in New York surge as tariff confusion sweeps precious metal market
Gold (GC=F) futures in New York hit intraday record highs on Friday amid reports that imports of Swiss gold bars would not be exempt from tariffs.
The precious metal hit $4,490 per ounce on the Comex exchange in New York after the Financial Times reported that one-kilogram and 100-ounce bars of gold are indeed subject to 39% reciprocal tariffs on Switzerland recently announced by the Trump administration.
“The move is significant because 1-kilo and 100-ounce gold bars form the backbone of much of the gold trading activity in the United States,” Ryan McIntyre, senior managing partner at investment manager Sprott, told Yahoo Finance.
McIntyre highlighted contracts on the Comex with physical delivery requirements are based in large part on bars, noting “the introduction of tariffs will likely inject additional uncertainty into that market.”
Read more here.
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The Trade Desk stock crashes, falls 38% as growth slows, company replaces CFO
Yahoo Finance’s Jake Conley reports:
Read more here.
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Trump’s tariffs are pummeling top automakers. The hit is $11.7 billion — and climbing
The auto sector is taking President Trump’s tariffs on the chin, Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian reports.
Subramanian writes:
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Altcoins rally after Ripple’s stablecoin acquisition, Chainlink’s reserve launch
Altcoins were rallying early Friday following news that Ripple (RIPL.PVT) would buy a stablecoin payments platform and Chainlink will launch a funded reserve for its own tokens, Yahoo Finance’s Jake Conley reports.
Conley writes:
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Trade Desk tumbles after CEO warns of tariff impact on large brand advertisers
Trade Desk (TTD) stock fell by more than a third during premarket trading on Friday after CEO Jeff Green warned that tariff uncertainty began to weigh on some leading global advertisers.
If losses hold, the decline in Trade Desk stock would wipe out more than $12 billion from the company’s market capitalization. The stock was off by 38% just after the opening bell.
The Trade Desk, which specializes in helping advertisers buy and optimize digital ad campaigns, has concentrated on large global advertisers, making them more vulnerable to tariff uncertainty.
“The impact of tariffs and related policies on these [large] businesses are very real,” Green said on the earnings call. “Most others rely heavily on SMBs, and our platform is largely concentrated on the large global advertisers. So we see the effects that are directly impacting them.”
“I would argue that this is a short-term negative,” he added, noting that the company’s focus on large companies “is almost always a positive, but just in this moment, it’s negative because of how uniquely they’re being affected by the tariffs and related policies.”
The Trade Desk’s second quarter earnings of $0.18 per share were in line with analyst estimates. Revenue of $694 million beat analyst estimates of $686 million, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. The company expects third quarter revenue of at least $717 million, roughly in line with estimates.
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Stocks rise at the open
US stocks moved higher at the open on Friday as investors continued to digest President Trump’s sweeping tariffs and absorbed his nomination of Stephen Miran to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, while those on the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.35%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also gained nearly 0.4%.
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Gold rises after US Customs determines the metal is subject to Trump’s tariffs
Gold (GC=F) prices rose 0.85% on Friday to $3,483 per ounce as the industry learned that gold bars are not exempt from President Trump’s latest across-the-board tariffs, which went into effect Thursday, as previously thought.
Bloomberg reports:
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SoundHound stock soars on record revenue fueled by AI, automation demand
SoundHound AI (SOUN) reported record revenue in its second quarter results, as its expansion into new verticals, such as restaurants and hospitals, helped fuel 217% year-over-year revenue growth.
The stock rocketed 2% higher in premarket trading on Friday.
SoundHound develops artificial intelligence solutions that businesses use for automation and to create conversational experiences for their customers. In Q2, SoundHound reported strong growth in its automation, automotive, and enterprise AI for customer service verticals.
The company posted a GAAP loss of $0.19 per share on $42.7 million in revenue. Last year, SoundHound reported a loss of $0.11 per share and revenue of $13 million.
SoundHound also raised its 2025 revenue outlook to $160 million to $178 million, up from its previous forecast of $157 million to $177 million.
“The investments we are making are already showing high returns,” SoundHound CFO Nitesh Sharan said on the company’s earnings call. Sharan noted that the company sees a path to profitability “in the near-term horizon.
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk disbands Dojo supercomputer team
Tesla (TSLA) stock fell 0.2% in premarket trading following news that CEO Elon Musk is shutting down the company’s Dojo team, its multibillion-dollar supercomputer unit that was viewed as central to the company’s AI efforts.
Bloomberg reports that Peter Bannon, who was heading up Dojo, is leaving Tesla. Dojo also lost about 20 workers recently to DensityAI, a stealth startup created by ex-Tesla executives. The remaining Dojo employees are being reassigned to other compute projects within Tesla.
Musk previously called Dojo “a long shot,” but one worth taking. Now, Tesla plans to rely on partners like Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) for training its AI models and machine learning that go into electric vehicles’ Full Self-Driving software and Optimus robots. Tesla also announced a $16.5 billion deal last month with Samsung to secure AI chips through 2033.
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Under Armour forecasts downbeat quarterly sales, shares drop
Under Armour (UA) stock slumped 12% before the bell on Friday after the sportswear maker forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates.
The company is grappling with muted demand in North America due to still-high inflation and tariff uncertainty.
Reuters reports:
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New York gold futures spike over spot price after tariff shock
Gold futures (GC=F) in New York rose above London prices after the FT reported that the US now plans to put tariffs on 1kg gold bar imports.
Bloomberg News reports:
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Oil heads for worst run since 2021 as traders discount US curbs
Oil is heading for its longest losing run since 2021, as markets digested the US efforts to try and end the war in Ukraine and whether this would not impact overall supplies, alongside Trump’s tariffs on India due to its purchase of Russian crude oil.
Bloomberg News reports:
