Stock market today: Dow, S&P 500, Nasdaq nudge higher after Trump moves to oust Fed’s Cook

US stocks climbed on Tuesday as President Trump indicated he will soon have a majority at the Fed when he replaces Fed Governor Lisa Cook, while investors await Nvidia (NVDA) earnings this week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) rose about 0.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) gained 0.4% as Nvidia stock edged higher ahead of the AI chip giant’s earnings release on Wednesday after the bell.

Trump said he has “very good people” in mind to replace Cook, who he removed from the Fed board via a letter posted on social media.

Cook has said she will not step down, and her lawyer vowed to sue.

The Federal Reserve responded to Trump’s move to oust Fed Governor Lisa Cook, who has said she would not leave while her lawyer signaled a lawsuit was coming.

“Lisa Cook has indicated through her personal attorney that she will promptly challenge this action in court and seek a judicial decision that would confirm her ability to continue to fulfill her responsibilities as a Senate-confirmed member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,” read a Fed statement.

“As always, the Federal Reserve will abide by any court decision,” read the statement.

President Trump said on Tuesday that he may nominate Stephen Miran for a long-term seat on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and expects to hold a majority at the central bank soon in order to push rate lower.

The remarks were made during a cabinet meeting, where Trump was asked about a variety of topics.

The remarks followed his social media post of a letter to Fed Governor Lisa Cook, stating he was removing her over an alleged mortgage fraud incident. Cook has said she will not resign, and her lawyer has signaled a lawsuit over the matter.

When asked about a replacement for Cook, Trump stated, “We have some very good people for that position, and I think we have some very good people we’re down to.”

Trump has been pushing for more control of Federal Reserve policy, hurling social media insults at Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting rates during his term.

Stephen Miran was tapped earlier this month to replace Governor Adriana Kugler, who resigned early from her term, which was set to expire on Jan. 31, 2026.

Bitcoin (BTC-USD) prices fell to the $110,000 level on Tuesday, but a rotation into ethereum (ETH-USD) lifted the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency.

A bitcoin rally following Fed Chair Powell’s speech in Jackson Hole last Friday continued to fade as investors took profits off the table.

“Adding to the pressure is investor rotation into ethereum, which has accelerated in recent times, with ETH-linked products posting multi-billion-dollar inflows already in August in light of recent strong ETH outperformance,” said Leo Zhao, Investment Director at MEXC Ventures.

Ethereum’s native coin, ether, rose more than 1% on Tuesday to hover above $4,500. ETH has surged roughly 36% year to-date, while bitcoin is up about 18% during the same period.

Corporate purchases of crypto, along with favorable regulation and increased inflows into spot ETFs, have helped lift prices in recent months.

Gold (GC=F) prices moved higher Tuesday to trade near record levels after President Trump moved to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook late Monday over alleged mortgage fraud, raising fresh concerns about the central bank’s independence.

Wall Street sees the precious metal’s upward movement as far from over, especially if Cook, who has refused to step down, is replaced.

“We think the episode will add to growing global investor unease over Trump’s efforts to influence the independent central bank,” UBS chief investment officer Americas and Global Head of Equities Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi said.

Gold futures in New York gained 0.48% to hover near $3,, roughly $100 away from record highs. Spot prices edged 0.4% higher to near $3,380, the highest level since Aug. 11.

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President Trump said “very substantial” tariffs on furniture imports will come quickly, sending shares of RH (RH), Williams-Sonoma (WSM), and Arhaus (ARHS) lower.

Trump commented on the tariffs during a live Cabinet meeting on Tuesday afternoon.

On Monday, RH, Williams-Sonoma, and Wayfair (W), a home goods retailer, sank after Trump announced an investigation into furniture imports, suggesting tariffs yet to be determined would be imposed on those goods.

Trump wants more furniture manufacturing to happen in the US.

Consumer confidence fell in August as pessimism about the job market and tariff-related inflation outweighed optimism over future business conditions.

The Conference Board’s August reading for consumer confidence fell by 1.3 points to 97.4, down from 98.7 in July. Consumers’ assessments of current market conditions and short-term expectations also weakened, with the expectations index falling 1.2 points to 74.8. Expectations readings below 80 typically signal a recession ahead.

12-month inflation expectations also picked back up in August, rising to 6.2% from 5.7% in July but below the April peak of

“Consumer confidence dipped slightly in August but remained at a level similar to those of the past three months,” said Stephanie Guichard, Senior Economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board. “Notably, consumers’ appraisal of current job availability declined for the eighth consecutive month, but stronger views of current business conditions mitigated the retreat in the Present Situation Index. Meanwhile, pessimism about future job availability inched up and optimism about future income faded slightly. However, these were partly offset by stronger expectations for future business conditions.”

Cracker Barrel’s (CBRL) controversial redesign has made its way to the president’s desk.

On Tuesday, shares of the restaurant operator rose 5% after President Trump called on the company to change its logo back following a redesign it unveiled last week, which sent shares tumbling amid broad customer backlash.

“Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response (the ultimate Poll), and manage the company better than ever before,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social Tuesday morning.

“They got a Billion Dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major News Conference today. Make Cracker Barrel a WINNER again.”

Cracker Barrel stock fell more than 14% last week after the company announced the fifth evolution of its logo to a more minimalist look, removing the image of Uncle Herschel.

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Interactive Brokers (IBKR) will replace Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) in the S&P 500 index later this week. The change will occur before trading on Thursday, Aug. 28, and will enhance the brokerage’s profile.

The removal of Walgreens Boots Alliance from the index follows its acquisition by Sycamore Partners in a deal that’s expected to be completed soon.

Interactive Brokers’ stock jumped as much as 5% premarket but pared gains to trade roughly flat on Tuesday afternoon. Talen Energy (TLN) stock also got a boost on Tuesday, as that stock will replace Interactive Brokers in the S&P MidCap 400 index.

Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi writes:

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Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) climbed nearly 5% after the company, in which President Trump is a majority stakeholder, said it’s partnering with Crypto.com to launch a new crypto treasury firm.

The new company, called Trump Media Group CRO Strategy, will accumulate Crypto.com’s own cryptocurrency, Cronos.

The announcement follows Trump Media’s move in May to launch a bitcoin treasury, following the trend of companies across various sectors adding bitcoin to their balance sheets to try to replicate the success of crypto advocate Michael Saylor’s company Strategy (MSTR).

The latest news adds to Trump’s rapidly expanding crypto empire, just as the president ushers in regulations to cement digital tokens as legitimate currencies.

Shares of Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) climbed nearly 2% after the company announced a new partnership with IBM (IBM).

The companies said they’re developing a “hybrid” model of computing combining IBM’s quantum computers with AMD’s AI chips.

IBM in June said it is building the world’s first large-scale quantum computer capable of operating without errors, set to launch by 2029.

“As we partner with IBM to explore the convergence of high-performance computing and quantum technologies, we see tremendous opportunities to accelerate discovery and innovation,” AMD CEO Lisa Su saidin a statement.

Also boosting AMD stock, Truist Securities analyst William Stein upgraded his rating on shares to Buy from Hold. Stein said that, while he saw AMD’s AI chips initially only being used as a “price check” to Nvidia, now “hyperscalers are working with AMD in a partnership manner, expressing true interest in deploying AMD at scale.”

Stein said that AMD’s gain on Intel in the CPU market (central processing units, or traditional computer chips) could provide a model for AMD gaining on Nvidia in the GPU (graphics processing units, or AI chips) market.

Stein raised his price target on the stock to $213 from $173.

GoPro (GPRO) shares fell as much as 4.5% Tuesday, before paring losses, after surging 36% during the prior trading session.

GoPro is one of a group of the latest meme stocks including OpenDoor (OPEN), Krispy Kreme (DNUT) and Kohl’s (KSS) that have emerged this summer.

Shares of the mountable camera maker are up 50% for the year. Meanwhile, OpenDoor stock is up roughly 105% in 2025, climbing 14% Tuesday.

US stocks wavered at the open Tuesday as Wall Street watched President Trump’s moves to oust Fed governor Lisa Cook and his fresh tariff threats.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) edged down 0.1%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) was roughly flat. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) hovered above the flat line.

Stocks continued to lag after Monday’s pullback followed a strong rally on Friday.

Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) popped 3% Tuesday morning after the drugmaker announced its weight-loss pill met its goals during clinical testing, paving the way for it to submit the drug to the FDA and compete with rival Novo Nordisk (NVO) for dominance in the anti-obesity market.

The Financial Times reports:

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Defense stocks held steady after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC’s Squawk Box on Tuesday that the Trump administration was thinking about taking stakes in top defense contractors after the US took a 9.9% stake in Intel (INTC).

When asked about the potential for the administration to strike other deals with US companies that do business with the government, Lutnick replied: “Oh, there’s a monstrous discussion about defense.”

“Lockheed Martin makes 97% of their revenue from the US government; they are basically an arm of the US government,” Lutnick said. “But what’s the economics of that? I’m going to leave that to my Secretary of Defense and the deputy Secretary of Defense. These guys are on it, and they’re thinking about it.”

Lockheed Martin (LMT) stock rose 0.4% in premarket trading.

RTX (RTX) shares also rose 0.4%, while L3Harris (LHX) gained 0.2%, and Northrop Grumman (NOC) was roughly flat. Meanwhile, shares of Palantir (PLTR) fell 0.9%.

Lutnick’s comments come after President Trump said Monday morning that he wanted to see “many more cases” like Intel.

“I will make deals like that for our Country all day long,” Trump said.

Shares of EchoStar (SATS) rocketed higher in premarket trading, up 65% as investors welcomed news the company has sold a tranche of wireless spectrum to AT&T (T) in a $23 billion deal.

“This transaction is part of EchoStar‘s ongoing efforts to resolve the Federal Communications Commission’s inquiries,” Dish TV owner EchoStar said in a statement on Tuesday.

In May, the FCC told EchoStar it was investigating its obligations to provide 5G wireless service in the US, with a focus on buildout extension and mobile-satellite service. The following month, President Trump urged the company to come to a deal with the FCC over spectrum licences, reports said.

The licenses cover more than 400 markets across the US in total and will strengthen AT&T’s low-band and mid-band spectrum holdings, the communications giant said, per Reuters.

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Treasury yields rose, and the dollar fell on Tuesday after President Trump said late Monday he removed Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post.

The 10-year yield (^TNX) ticked up 1 basis point to 4.27%, while the 30-year yield (^TYX) rose 2 basis points to 4.91%. The dollar index (DX-Y.NYB) fell 0.27%.

Yahoo Finance’s Allie Canal reports that Trump’s decision to follow through on a threat to oust Cook if she refused to resign comes after members of his administration alleged that Cook engaged in mortgage fraud related to the purchase of two properties earlier this decade.

“You are hereby removed from your position on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, effective immediately,” the president wrote in a letter addressed to Cook and shared on social media. “I have determined there is sufficient cause to remove you from your position.”

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Options traders are pricing in about a $260 billion swing in Nvidia’s (NVDA) market value following the chipmaker’s second-quarter earnings expected on Wednesday, market data has shown.

Reuters reports:

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Small-cap stocks are finally playing catch-up, leaving a market — which has been burned before — wondering if this time is for real, writes Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban in today’s Morning Brief.

He reports:

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