Biggest S&P 500 Movers on Monday
30 minutes ago
Decliners
- Universal Health Services (UHS) shares plunged 10.2%, the most of any S&P 500 stock, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Republican officials interested in cutting costs could target Medicaid-related profits generated by hospital chains. According to the report, supplemental Medicaid payment programs accounted for more than half of Universal Health Services’ pretax revenue last year.
- Shares of asset management giant Blackstone (BX) dropped 7.8%. Although strength in private equity and credit helped the company top profit forecasts in Thursday’s quarterly earnings report, Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman suggested that economic uncertainty could impinge on asset sales in the near term.
Adek Berry / AFP / Getty Images
- The Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Energy is considering significant cuts of nearly $10 billion in funding for clean energy projects. While the reduced funding could affect a variety of energy technologies, nuclear generators were one group facing pressure during Monday’s trading session. Shares of Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy (CEG) fell 7.7% and 6.8%, respectively.
Advancers
- Federal regulators consented to Capital One Financial‘s (COF) purchase of Discover Financial Services (DFS) while markets were closed on Friday. The combined entity is set to become the largest credit card company in terms of customers’ outstanding balances. Discover Financial shares added 3.6% to notch the S&P 500’s top performance on Monday, the first trading session following the approval. Capital One shares were up 1.5%.
- Shares of financial technology firm Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) gained 2.4% after Citi upgraded the stock to “buy” from “neutral” and lifted its price target. Analysts highlighted a deal announced last week that helped Fidelity National expand its presence in the credit card processing space, suggesting potential cross-selling opportunities with clients in the banking industry.
- Netflix (NFLX) shares advanced 1.5% following price target boosts by analysts at a swath of research firms. The video streaming giant beat sales and profit estimates in its quarterly results released Thursday afternoon. During the company’s earnings call, co-CEO Greg Peters pointed out Netflix’s resilience despite the challenging economic backdrop.
Watch These Tesla Levels as Stock Drops Ahead of Earnings
50 minutes ago
Tesla (TSLA) shares skidded on Monday as investors await the EV maker’s highly anticipated quarterly results, due after Tuesday’s closing bell.
The company released weaker-than-expected first-quarter delivery numbers earlier this month, and analysts have expressed concern about the impact that the Trump administration’s tariffs will have on the auto maker the remainder of the year.
Tesla shares have reversed gear in 2025, slumping 44% since the start of the year amid concerns that CEO Elon Musk’s active involvement in the Trump administration has dented the automaker’s brand, hurting sales, and distracted him from leading the company.
Since finding a local bottom in early March, Tesla shares have consolidated within a descending triangle, a bearish chart pattern that signals a continuation of the stock’s recent downtrend. Moreover, the 50-day moving average (MA) crossed below the 200-day MA last week to form an ominous death cross, a technical event that forecasts lower prices.
Meanwhile, the relative strength index (RSI) points to lackluster price momentum, with the stock’s recent upswing barely bumping the indicator back above the 50 threshold.
Investors should watch important support levels on Tesla’s chart around $170 and $139, while also tracking overhead areas near $289 and $360.
The stock fell nearly 6% to $227.50 on Monday.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Trump’s Criticism of Powell Rattles Markets
1 hr 32 min ago
Markets are sending a message to President Donald Trump: Don’t mess with the Federal Reserve.
Investors fled U.S. assets again on Monday after Trump put more pressure on the Fed to cut interest rates—potentially threatening its ability to act independently of the president’s desires. The latest Trump criticisms are making investors even less confident about the U.S. dollar and the country’s dominant role in global financial markets, analysts say.
Markets had “already started to entertain notions of de-dollarization” following Trump’s tariff policies, according to Themistoklis Fiotakis, a top strategist at the British bank Barclays. Trump is adding fuel to the fire, Fiotakis wrote, bringing about risks to the dollar that are “too large to ignore.”
“The notion of the Fed independence being at risk … is an event that carries very significant tail risks not only for the dollar, but also for the global financial system,” Fiotakis wrote in a note to clients.
Financial markets are clearly uncomfortable with the politicization of the central bank, Thierry Wizman, global currency and rates strategist at the Australian financial services firm Macquarie, said in an interview.
“The market is okay with rates coming down. What the market is not okay with is having the president or politicians tell the Fed that the rates need to come down,” Wizman said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has told the White House that firing Powell could prompt turmoil in financial markets, according to Politico. But Kevin Hassett, a top Trump economic adviser, said on Friday that the White House will “continue to study that matter.”
Andrew Harnik / Getty Images
“We’d be remiss to conclude that the president’s rhetoric won’t lead to action,” Ian Lyngen, an interest rate strategist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients.
If he does attempt to remove Powell, the question could end up in the Supreme Court, Lyngen wrote.
“At a moment in which the Administration has already instilled ever-higher levels of uncertainty into the economic outlook, any attempt to remove Powell will add to the downward pressure on U.S. assets,” he wrote.
Read the full article here.
Coca-Cola Should Continue to Outperform, JPMorgan Says
2 hr 11 min ago
Coca-Cola (KO) is well-positioned amid continuing uncertainty in the market over the Trump administration’s tariffs, JPMorgan analysts said in a Monday note.
The analysts lifted their price target to $78 from $74 previously, keeping their “overweight” rating in a note previewing the soda maker’s first-quarter results, which are set to be released on April 29. The new price target brings JPMorgan analysts closer to the analyst consensus of $78.58 compiled by Visible Alpha, as they are among 11 other analysts with a “buy” rating, while just one has a “hold” rating on the stock.
“While KO is not immune to tariffs and macro headwinds, it is a relatively more defensive stock that will likely deliver among the highest [organic sales growth] in our coverage universe in 2025,” the JPMorgan analysts wrote.
They lowered their estimates for Coca-Cola’s first-quarter and full-year earnings and sales growth due to a “moderating consumption environment in the U.S.,” which they expect to be partially offset by a softening dollar.
The company has relatively limited exposure risk to tariffs, as the analysts said Coca-Cola’s largest risks are likely imported fruit juice and aluminum. They said Coca-Cola’s management “doesn’t see a potential impact” from possible aluminum inflation that could “derail its outlook.”
Noting the consumer staple market will be “highly dependent on the macro and tariff situation,” the analysts said that “if the current environment continues, we believe KO will continue to outperform peers and the broader market.”
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Shares of Coca-Cola, a Dow Jones Industrial Average component, closed 0.3% lower at $72.77 on Monday. They have gained about 17% since the start of the year.
Stocks Off to Worst Start to a Presidency in a Century
2 hr 24 min ago
Trump 2.0 was supposed to usher in a stock market bonanza. That’s not what’s happened in the first few months.
The S&P 500 has declined 14% since President Trump’s inauguration, marking the stock market’s worst start to a presidency in the last century, according to an analysis released Monday by Bespoke Investment Group.
The S&P 500’s drop is “by far the biggest decline the index has seen three months into a Presidential term since 1928,” the analysts wrote. The second worst came during FDR’s third term in 1941 when stocks fell 9% amid a domestic debate about whether America should enter the Second World War.
The stock market was gripped with euphoria in November and most of December last year, when the S&P 500 rode Trump’s promises of lower taxes and deregulation to record highs. At the time, investors dismissed the President-elect’s tariff threats as a negotiating tactic. Since then, Trump’s unpredictable, ever-changing trade policy has plunged financial markets into turnmoil and cast a dark cloud over the economy. U.S. stocks, which fell sharply again Monday, have suffered some of their worst days in decades amid the uncertainty.
Few stock markets have suffered more from President Trump’s “America First” agenda than America’s. Of 45 country ETFs surveyed by Bespoke, only Taiwanese stocks, down 15.5%, have had a rougher start to Trump’s presidency. The average country ETF has risen 3.2% since Trump’s inauguration, about 18 percentage points of outperformance against the S&P 500.
European stocks have been among the best performers this year. The iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG) has risen 10.8% in the last three months, boosted by new stimulus measures and plans to boost defense spending. Stock markets in Italy (+10.2%), the UK (+6.6%), and France (+3.7%) have also outperformed the U.S. despite taking a hit early this month from Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement.
Uber Stock Falls as FTC Sues
3 hr 11 min ago
Uber (UBER) shares fell Monday as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit alleging “deceptive billing and cancellation practices” related to the company’s Uber One subscription service.
The FTC accused Uber of charging consumers for Uber One without their consent, not delivering promised savings, and making it difficult for users to stop paying for the service. Uber One, which costs $9.99 per month, includes 6% back on rides and $0 delivery fees on Uber Eats, among other perks.
The FTC said Uber “obscures material information about the subscription” in part through the use of small, gray text that is easy to miss. Some consumers have complained that Uber enrolled them in the service without their consent, the FTC said.
An Uber spokesperson told Investopedia, “we are disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action, but are confident that the courts will agree with what we already know: Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law. Uber does not sign up or charge consumers without their consent, and cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less.”
Shares of Uber slid 3% Monday, but have still added over a fifth of their value in 2025. The ride-hailing company plans to report its first-quarter earnings on May 7.
Gold Jumps to Another Record High
4 hr 36 min ago
Gold prices hit another record high on Monday as tensions with China simmered and President Trump continued his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Gold futures recently were up more than 3% at around $3,440 an ounce, trading near their high for the session. Monday’s advance put gold’s price up 30% since the start of the year.
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Worries about President Trump’s unpredictable tariff policies have lifted economic uncertainty to its highest level in years, sending investors flocking to safe-haven assets like gold. Gold ETFs took in $21 billion in the first quarter of the year, their second-largest quarterly inflows on record.
Gold, which has already closed at an all-time high more than 20 times this year, is expected to continue benefiting from chaos in the stock and bond markets. More than 40% of fund managers recently surveyed by Bank of America said they expect gold to be the year’s best-performing asset.
Market participants were de-risking on Monday after China said it would retaliate against any country that reaches a trade deal with the U.S. that hurts China’s interests. The White House, which paused sweeping tariffs earlier this month but kept a 145% levy on Chinese goods, has said it is negotiating deals with dozens of countries.
Trump amplified anxiety on Wall Street when, shortly after markets opened, he renewed his attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, reviving concerns that the president could move to oust Powell before the end of the central banker’s term next year.
Amazon Gets a Downgrade as Tariff Worries Weigh on Stock
5 hr 9 min ago
Amazon (AMZN) shares dropped Monday as brokerage Raymond James downgraded the e-commerce giant’s stock.
Tariff-related uncertainty weighed on stocks broadly, and Raymond James analysts in a Monday note said that Wall Street is underestimating how much Amazon’s earnings may be pressured by tariffs and its investments in rural deliveries.
The analysts replaced their “strong buy” rating with an “outperform” rating, and cut their price target nearly 30%. The new target—$195—is more than 20% lower than the roughly $248 average price target among analysts who cover Amazon and were polled by VisibleAlpha.
“We remain constructive on AI prospects/long-term investments, but with rising [earnings before interest and taxes] risk/limited monetization progress it is more challenging for us to stick with our Strong Buy rating,” the note said.
Raymond James analysts said they prefer Meta Platforms (META) (which they said has a “known China risk and a clear AI product cycle”), Uber Technologies (UBER) (due to “fading” autonomous vehicle worries), and MercadoLibre (MELI) (because of Latin America exposure and “cohort profit drivers”).
Amazon may make less profit selling items from China, which account for about 30% of gross merchandise value on its platform, according to Raymond James’ estimate. Ad revenue may also suffer as U.S. and China slap import taxes on one another’s products and tensions rise, the analysts said. The online retailer’s domestic shipping strategy also presents a headwind. The company is spending $15 billion on warehouses in the rural U.S. to serve communities where UPS has cut back, the analysts said.
Bank of America Securities analysts maintained their “buy” rating, while acknowledging tariffs may affect Amazon’s business. The bank gave Amazon a $225 price target Sunday.
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Amazon shares were down 4% at around $166 in mid-afternoon trading Monday. The stock has lost a quarter of its value since the start of the year, outpacing the decline of the Nasdaq Composite over that stretch.
Why the Dollar Hit a 3-Year Low on Monday
5 hr 38 min ago
The dollar slumped to a three-year low on Monday as investors worried about President Donald Trump’s threats to curtail the independence of the U.S. central bank.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) slid as low as 97.92, its lowest level since March 2022, early Monday morning. The benchmark dollar index has declined about 5% since early April when President Trump shook global financial markets with his unveiling of sweeping tariffs on nearly every country.
Wall Street on Monday was focused on Trump’s relationship with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom the president has accused of slow-walking interest rate cuts. Trump on Thursday said the Fed Chair’s “termination can’t come fast enough.” White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett on Friday told reporters the president was looking into whether they could oust Powell, whom Trump first appointed to the position in 2018.
The fight over the Fed’s independence is just the latest development in Washington to spook investors. Stocks sold off, Treasury yields soared, and the dollar slumped in the weeks after Trump unveiled his “reciprocal tariffs” aimed at nearly every country in the world. Market watchers noted with concern that turmoil in the stock market should have sent investors flocking to traditional safe havens like Treasurys and the dollar. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen recently said the pattern suggested “investors are beginning to shun dollar-based assets.”
Investors have rushed into one safe haven: gold, which has risen nearly 30% so far this year and climbed to a fresh all-time high of more than $3,440 an ounce on Monday.
Trump’s fight with Powell could have far-reaching implications for the global economy. “Arguably, the great moderation of inflation was driven by a trend toward central bank independence,” wrote Paul Donovan, Chief Economist at UBS Global Wealth Management, on Monday. “While monetary policy is a relatively blunt weapon, it can be wielded to control medium-term inflation. This depends on trust in the central bank. Building that trust takes years. Losing that trust can happen overnight.”
The President railed against Powell again on Monday morning, claiming on his social media platform Truth Social that “there is virtually No Inflation” and calling on Powell to cut interest rates “NOW.”
The Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision will come on May 7. Fed officials have indicated they’ll take a cautious approach to rate cuts as they wait to see how tariffs affect economic growth and inflation.
Intel’s New CEO Will Make His Earnings Debut This Week
6 hr 29 min ago
Lip-Bu Tan, the microphone is yours.
Tan, named CEO of chipmaker Intel (INTC) in mid-March, hasn’t been invisible since his appointment. He gave the keynote address at a company event later that month, coming onstage in sneakers and a suit, sans necktie, and admitting in a speech that “there are areas we have fallen short of your expectations.”
Still, Thursday afternoon will be the first quarterly earnings report and conference call under his leadership. Investors—who bid the stock up after he was named, but have seen the shares give all those gains back and more—are eager to learn what might be next. (A rough 2024 for the company and its stock contributed to the December retirement of the former chief, Pat Gelsinger.)
That will put the focus on Tan’s next steps. Investors have been broadly excited about the possibility of deals for Intel—a while ago, there were even rumblings regarding a possible sale of the company itself—but there has been comparatively little smoke on that front in recent weeks.
Still, there has been news to digest. The company recently said it would sell a 51% stake in its Altera programmable chips unit to tech-focused private equity firm Silver Lake. And reports have described a possible chipmaking joint venture with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM), though TSMC threw some cold water on the idea last week.
“TSMC is not engaged in any discussion with other companies regarding any joint venture, technology licensing or technology transfer and sharing,” CEO C.C. Wei said on a conference call, a transcript of which was made available by AlphaSense.
For the most recently completed quarter, Wall Street analysts expect Intel to report revenue of $12.3 billion and adjusted net income of $41.6 million, according to the mean compiled by Visible Alpha.
Wall Street may re-rate the stock after Thursday’s report, but for now the watchword seems to be caution. All the analysts following the company and tracked by Visible Alpha have neutral ratings, though their mean target just under $23 represents a roughly 20% premium to last week’s finish near $19.
The stock was down nearly 3% in recent trading.
Tesla Bull Says EV Maker Faces ‘Code Red’ Situation
7 hr 35 min ago
Tesla (TSLA) shares sank Monday morning after long-time bull Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities warned the electric vehicle (EV) maker faced a “code red situation” if CEO Elon Musk didn’t back away from his service in the Trump administration and refocus on Tesla.
Ives wrote in a note to clients that Musk is too distracted by his efforts to cut federal spending by leading the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. He said Musk “needs to leave the government, take a major step back on DOGE, and get back to being CEO of Tesla full-time.”
Ives pointed out that he remains bullish on the stock, and believes that Tesla and Nvidia (NVDA) are “two of the most disruptive technology companies on the globe over the coming years.” However, Ives says that won’t happen without Musk giving his full attention to the firm. He added that “we are now at a major crossroads for the Tesla story.” The automaker is scheduled to release its quarterly results after the close of trading Tuesday.
Earlier this month, Ives slashed the price target on Tesla to $315 from $550, citing the U.S.-China trade spat plus the backlash against the company over Musk’s involvement in the government’s cost-reduction moves. He noted that it was a “very bad thing” that Tesla has “become a political symbol globally.”
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Tesla shares were down 7% in late-morning trading, pushing their year-to-date decline to about 45%.
Capital One, Discover Shares Rise as Merger Moves Closer
8 hr 11 min ago
Shares of Capital One (COF) and Discover (DFS) rose early Monday, the first trading session since federal regulators on Friday approved their planned multibillion-dollar merger.
Capital One’s shares were up slightly in recent trading, while Discover’s were about 2% higher, after gaining nearly 7% early in the session. Regulators on Friday approved Capital One’s intended purchase of Discover, a deal that would create the country’s biggest credit-card company.
The approval came from the Federal Reserve and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; the Justice Department is not expected to oppose the deal. Some analysts had suggested before the news that the government might not support the merger, so investor relief is likely to be driving some of the market’s response today.
The news may be seen as indicating a friendly regulatory environment for dealmaking, a condition generally expected by investors after the re-election of President Donald Trump.
The Capital One-Discover deal, announced earlier last year, was at the time valued at more than $35 billion.
Nvidia Extends Decline on US-China Trade Spat
9 hr 16 min ago
Nvidia (NVDA) shares headed lower for a third straight session Monday on continuing concerns the AI chipmaker could face a major economic hit from the trade fight between the U.S. and China.
CEO Jensen Huang talked about the potential impact of new Trump administration tariffs in a visit to China last week, telling China-owned CCTV, “The increased restrictions have impacted our company significantly.” Huang pointed out the importance of China to Nvidia’s business, and that the company “will continue to make significant efforts to optimize our products to comply with regulations and continue serving the Chinese market.”
Franck Robichon / Pool / AFP / Getty Images
According to reports, Huang met with several government officials, including Ren Hongbin, head of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, as well as Liang Wenfeng, founder of Chinese AI research firm DeepSeek, which stunned the tech world earlier this year when it said it produced an AI product at a much lower cost than traditional models.
Also last week, Nvidia reported in a regulatory filing that it was advised by U.S. officials that it would need a license to export its key H20 AI chips to China, and that requirement could result in up to $5.5 billion in charges in the first quarter.4
Nvidia shares were down more than 5% in recent trading. They have lost nearly 30% of their value so far this year.
UnitedHealth Levels to Watch After Selloff
9 hr 38 min ago
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) shares lost ground in early trading Monday after logging their worst daily decline since 1998 as the healthcare giant cut its full-year profit forecast.
The company, which cited higher-than-expected medical costs for the downward revision, has faced challenges in recent years from increasing demand for healthcare services under its government-assisted Medicare plans for aging adults and members with disabilities.
UnitedHealth shares fell 22% on Thursday, ahead of a day off from trading as U.S. markets were closed in commemoration of Good Friday. The stock was down another 4% at around $436 this morning.
A recent recovery in UnitedHealth shares toward their all-time high (ATH) ended abruptly last week, with the price staging a decisive close below the closely watched 200-week moving average. Importantly, the sell-off occurred on above-average volume, indicating conviction selling by larger market participants, such as institutional investors and hedge funds.
Moreover, the drop also thrust the relative strength index (RSI) below the 50 threshold, signaling accelerating selling momentum.
Investors should watch crucial support levels on UnitedHealth’s chart around $439 and $389, while also monitoring key overhead areas near $550 and $606.
Read the full technical analysis piece here.
Netflix Rises as Analysts Lift Price Targets After Earnings
10 hr 10 min ago
Netflix (NFLX) shares rose in premarket trading Monday after several analysts raised their price targets for the streaming giant’s stock.
Netflix reported better-than-expected results after the bell on Thursday, and markets were closed for Good Friday. Several analysts wrote in notes Friday that Netflix’s ability to thrive in an uncertain economy is impressive.
Analysts from Morgan Stanley and Wedbush lifted their price targets to $1,200 from $1,150, while Piper Sandler analysts also made a $50 bump to $1,150. KeyBanc, Goldman Sachs, and Deutsche Bank analysts also raised their targets, to $1,070, $1,000, and $900, respectively, from $1,000, $955, and $875.
Netflix shares were up 2.2% at $994 ahead of the bell on Monday.
JPMorgan analysts made one of the biggest moves, retaining an “overweight” rating and raising their price target to $1,150 from $1,025. The analysts said that the streaming giant “continues to play offense in its business, while the stock remains defensive in the uncertain environment.”
Netflix’s cheapest ad-supported subscription tier makes it “widely accessible,” the analysts said, noting that the streamer’s management highlighted the low-priced tier as something that could prove resilient in an economic downturn or recession.
Analysts tracked by Visible Alpha are divided between 15 “buy” ratings and four “hold” ratings, with an average price target of about $1,125.
Major Stock Index Futures Point to Lower Open
10 hr 50 min ago
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.8%.
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S&P 500 futures were off 1.1%.
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Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 1.4%.
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