Quarter-End Muscle 💪

Welcome to LazyListen. This is The Daily Rip for today. The market powered higher Tuesday, wrapping up the quarter on a strong note, led by tech stocks pushing the major indexes upward.

It marked the best quarter for S&P 500 blue chips since 2020, despite a macro backdrop that offered no clear signal for rate cuts. 2, and Treasury yields moved higher. So, growth showed up without a cleaner path to easier monetary policy, yet investors shrugged and leaned into quarter-end risk appetite.

Gold edged up slightly on the consumer confidence boost, but the metal remains under pressure after a quiet Fed and a Supreme Court ruling that largely shielded the Federal Reserve’s independence while giving former President Trump some regulatory leeway. Gold tends to thrive on uncertainty, so the calmer environment has kept it subdued. Turning to individual names, Nike’s earnings report after the bell stole the spotlight.

The sneaker giant beat lowered expectations thanks largely to a tariff recovery benefit, but core sales declined, and the stock slipped in after-hours trading. I. infrastructure plan, fueling momentum in that sector.

Circle, a crypto-related stock, faced a sharp drop amid stablecoin competition concerns, sparking debate about whether it’s a buying opportunity or a deeper problem. Let’s unpack the Nike report first. The company posted earnings per share of seventy two cents, well above the roughly 12 to thirteen cents analysts expected, but this was mostly due to a tariff-related accounting gain.

Revenue came in just under 11 billion dollars, down one percent from the prior year, with direct sales falling seven percent. Gross margins expanded nearly nine percentage points to just over forty nine percent, helped by the tariff windfall. On the bright side, wholesale revenue grew four percent, North American footwear sales improved, and selling expenses declined two percent.

On the flip side, Nike Direct sales dropped seven percent, Converse revenue plunged thirty two percent, Nike Brand sales fell three percent on a currency-neutral basis, and earnings from Greater China declined twenty percent. So, while the headline numbers beat expectations, the underlying business showed some softness. Investors are watching to see if Nike can prove its strength without the tariff tailwind next quarter.

I. stock infrastructure, sparking a rally in chip-tool companies. -related technology, which has broad implications for the tech sector and supply chains.

Among quick movers, fuel cell stocks like FuelCell soared more than twenty percent after landing a 380 megawatt data-center deal with Fit Energy. Bloom Energy also jumped over twenty percent following an expanded 25 billion dollar framework agreement with Brookfield. Memory-related names like SanDisk gained around eleven percent after a bullish target upgrade tied to improving memory pricing.

-driven data-center power demand broadened. On the downside, Verizon shares fell about four percent after Alphabet replaced it in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, a notable index reshuffle. Circle, the crypto equity, dropped eighteen percent amid intensifying competition in the stablecoin space, raising questions about its near-term outlook.

QXO slipped two percent due to concerns over dilution from a merger with TopBuild. m. Eastern, which could offer clues on monetary policy direction.

m. On the earnings front, General Mills reports before the open, while VCI Global and National Beverage release results after the market closes. So, the quarter ended on a high note with tech leading the charge despite mixed macro signals.

I. spending momentum, and the market is digesting some notable index and crypto equity moves. Eyes will be on tomorrow’s Fed commentary and manufacturing data for fresh direction.

Thanks for listening. Catch you next time on LazyListen.