Markets Decline as Fed Rate Hike Expectations Weigh
The major averages closed lower as markets gauged the likelihood of a Fed rate hike this year and how much room is left on the AI trade. Markets kicked off the second half of 2026 with a bit of a cautious tone after a powerful second-quarter rally. Semiconductor names such as Micron, SanDisk, Nvidia, and Broadcom slid to start the quarter after their massive year-to-date rallies as investors took some profits and rotated to other areas.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Nikereportedbut guided for Q1 revenue to declineBloombergthat Metais building a cloud business to sell access to AI computing, while NPR reported that Meta had explored buying prediction market app KalshiAlcoaSouth32'sbauxite, alumina, and aluminum assets for $4.1BKrogerGiant Eagle for $1.65BQualcommbriefly jumped after thethat SpaceXhas a prototype of a handset-like AI device, though Elon Musk called the report "utterly false," resulting in Qualcomm giving up the gains2. WALL STREET CALLS:GuggenheimSalesforce, ServiceNowand Check Pointto Buy, calling the fatal AI bear case on software a "hallucination"RBCDow Inc.to Sector Perform on falling polyethylene pricesWedbush sees SpaceXas "major hyperscaler,"coverage with an Outperform rating and $190 price targetLockheed Martinto Buy at CitiSimon Propertyto Peer Perform at Wolfe3. AROUND THE WEB:South Korea's antitrust regulator is alleging that Googleabused its dominant position in the Android app marketplace to restrict competition, affecting an estimated 14.16 trillion won in revenue and potentially resulting in corrective measures and financial penalties from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Reuters saysCMA CGM is close to a deal to buy FedEx'sthird-party logistics business for $1.4B in cash, FT reportsParamount Skydancehas offered remedies to address EU concerns related to its acquisition of Warner Bros, Reuters saysOpenAI engineers earlier this month told some colleagues they had figured out a way to more than halve the cost of inference, The Information reportsMicrosoftintends to announce layoffs soon as it continues efforts to lower costs, Business Insider says4. MOVERS:Evolvincreases afterof its hardware and software subscription agreement with TD GardenDLocalgains in New York after UBSthe stock to Buy from NeutralGrindrhigher after Morgan Stanleythe stock to OverweightOptimumlower after its subsidiarypreliminary results of its tender offerShutterstockfalls after Getty Imageswith the company5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:General Millsreported, provided guidance for FY27, and said it is targeting $3B in cost savings by FY30FactSetand backed its guidance for FY26Genius Group, with revenue higher year-over-yearMSC Industrial, with EPS and revenue beating consensusProgress Software, provided guidance for Q3, and raised its outlook for FY26INDEXES:The Dow fell 13.96, or 0.027%, to 52,305.24, the Nasdaq lost 173.69, or 0.66%, to 26,040.03, and the S&P 500 declined 16.13, or 0.22%, to 7,483.23.
