Updated 2 min read
US stocks mostly gained on Wednesday after Google (GOOG, GOOGL) was spared the worst in an antitrust ruling and a fresh update on job openings added to September rate-cut bets.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.9%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up nearly 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which includes fewer tech stocks, moved 0.1% lower on the heels of a downbeat day for stocks.
Tech hopes are buoying markets after a judge’s decision not to force Google (GOOG) to sell its Chrome browser to loosen its search dominance. The ruling late Tuesday also allowed the Alphabet-owned company to continue paying Apple (AAPL) to use Google Search as the default in Safari and Siri.
The outcome of the landmark antitrust case fell far short of Wall Street’s worst fears, lifting a regulatory risk that had hung over Google’s stock. The tech giant’s shares rallied early Wednesday, as did Apple’s, and faith in the staying power of the Big Tech rally got a boost as the ruling was welcomed as a big win.
The Dow is lagging even as the sell-off in bonds eases, having piled on pressure amid uncertainty around President Trump’s trade policy and the Federal Reserve. The 30-year Treasury yield (^TYX) traded at around 4.95%, pulling back after rising to within a hair’s breadth of the key 5% level overnight. Meanwhile, the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield (^TNX) also pared gains to just below 4.27%.
Job openings hit 7.18 million in July, according to the latest JOLTS report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure was below the 7.38 million expected by economists tracked by Bloomberg and the 7.36 million open jobs in June.
July’s jobs report showed cracks appearing in the labor market, and further signs of stress could convince the Fed to make a deeper cut in interest rates than currently expected at its September meeting. The crucial August jobs report is set to land Friday.
LIVE 12 updates
-
Job openings lower than expected in July, adding to rate cut bets
Job openings hit 7.18 million in July, according to the latest JOLTS report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure was below the 7.38 million expected by economists tracked by Bloomberg as well as the 7.36 million jobs open in June.
Meanwhile, hires — the number of people added to a company’s payroll in a given month — totaled 5.3 million, unchanged from the prior month.
The quits level, which tracks voluntary separations initiated by an employee, hit 3.21 million, above the 3.17 million but roughly in line with the previous month. Quits — a measure of workers’ flexibility to leave jobs — increased in business services but decreased in construction, transportation, warehousing, and utilities.
Layoffs totaled 1.81 million versus the 1.64 million expected, roughly unchanged from June.
The latest data added to investor confidence in a rate cut from the central bank in September. Traders were pricing in a 93.7% odds of a rate cut this month following the JOLTS report, ahead of the 91.7% earlier in the morning
-
Tech leads stocks higher at the open
US stocks mostly gained on Wednesday at the open after Google (GOOG, GOOGL) was spared the worst in an antitrust ruling, keeping its search distribution deal with Apple (AAPL) alive.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) rose 0.9%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added nearly 0.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), which includes fewer tech stocks, fell 0.1% following a downbeat day on Tuesday.
Next up, Wall Street is looking to jobs market data slated for release at 10 a.m. ET, which will help set interest-rate expectations ahead of the crucial monthly jobs report due on Friday.
-
Tesla stock rises premarket after Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff praises Musk
Tesla (TSLA) stock rose 1.6% ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday in a choppy week of trading for the electric vehicle maker.
Shares fell Tuesday after Tesla’s sales data from around the world highlighted the company’s challenges with rising competition and brand weakness in certain regions. Musk has seemed to pay little mind to concerns about the EV business, writing on X on Monday that “~80% of Tesla’s value will be Optimus.”
On Wednesday, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff shared a photo of himself and Musk, praising the CEO. “Amazing what @elonmusk is doing to create the future. Just inspiring,” Benioff wrote.
However, as my colleague Pras Subramanian notes today, electric vehicle makers like Tesla may be in a world of pain when President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBB) ends federal EV tax credits later this month. According to one veteran analyst, sales of EVs in the US may be cut in half after the loss of the credits.
-
Big Food shake-ups alone can’t solve the problem of shifting consumer tastes
Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban writes in today’s Morning Brief newsletter:
-
Oil falls as OPEC+ considers another supply hike
Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday following a Reuters report that OPEC+, a group of major oil-exporting countries, will consider another increase in supply when the alliance meets on Sunday.
West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) futures fell $1.17, or 1.8%, to trade above $64 per barrel. Brent crude (BZ=F), the international benchmark, dropped 1.6% to $67 per barrel.
OPEC+ has already raised quotas by 2.5 million barrels per day this year in order to grab market share, reversing its strategy in April.
-
Premarket trending tickers: Apple, Dollar Tree and Macy’s
Here’s a look at some of the top stocks trending in premarket trading:
Apple (AAPL) stock rose 3% in premarket trading on Wednesday following the ruling late Tuesday that Alphabet will continue paying Apple to use Google Search as the default in Safari and Siri.
Dollar Tree (DLTR) stock fell more than 6% on Wednesday before the bell after the discount retailer raised its annual sales and profit forecasts on Wednesday as more Americans across income categories shop for cheaper groceries, apparel, and home decor items at its stores.
Macy’s (M) stock soared premarket after raising its fiscal outlook on Wednesday and after posting better-than-expected quarterly results.
-
Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
-
Important point on Google post-Chrome ruling
I think this is an important point on Google’s (GOOG) stock this morning from the KBW team, after the positive Chrome ruling:
-
Google stock surges as investors cheer antitrust ruling
Shares in Google parent Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) jumped almost 6% in premarket trading after a judge ruled it doesn’t have to sell Chrome as an antitrust remedy.
Judge Amit Mehta also allowed Google to keep control of the Android mobile operating system. But in a setback, the tech giant will have to end billion-dollar contracts that fueled its search market dominance.
The DOJ had argued that Google should divest Chrome and Android after a judgment last year that it held an illegal monopoly in search. However, Judge Mehta noted that AI bots now threaten its dominance, and that fed into his ruling.
At the same time, he stopped short of putting an end to Google’s distribution search deal with Apple (AAPL). Its payments for making Google Search a default in Safari and Siri have added up to $20 billion per year in revenue for the iPhone maker, whose shares rose almost 3% in premarket.
Reuters reports:
-
Bond sell-off deepens with longer debt leading losses
Global bonds are selling off as worries around inflation, debt sales, and fiscal disarray undermine faith in what are usually seen as the safest of assets.
Treasury yields rose on Wednesday, with benchmark 30-year yields (^TYX) within a whisker of the closely watched 5% level.
Meanwhille, UK 30-year bond yields rose to 5.75%, having already hit their highest level since 1998. In Japan, yields on 20-year notes jumped to their highest in over 25 years.
Bloomberg reports:
-
Vietnam rally leads to foreign investment withdrawing record funds
Bloomberg reports:
-
Gold maintains rise to reach new all-time high
Bloomberg reports:
