Live Nasdaq Composite: Market Rout Returns With Consumer and Iran in Focus
Quick Read
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Potential U.S. airstrikes on Iran drive Brent oil above $71 per barrel and pressure equity markets.
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Walmart earnings reveal split consumer with higher-income households resilient and lower-income families struggling.
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Fed official Kashkari signals interest rates near neutral though policymakers remain divided.
Live Updates
AppLovin Social
AppLovin (Nasdaq: APP), a mobile tech and ads company, reportedly has a social media platform in the works. This development follows its recently failed bid to acquire TikTok’s non-China assets. The stock is flat today, hovering at the $400-per-share level.
Google Gemini Update
Google VP Josh Woodward has posted on X, “To the Scientist, the Engineer, and the Developer: Gemini 3.1 Pro has arrived in Gemini. It’s a significant leap in complex reasoning (77.1% on ARC-AGI-2) so it’s great at agentic tasks, intricate coding, and data synthesis projects. You should see fewer errors, better logic, and surprisingly good SVGs.” Google parent Alphabet (Nasdaq: GOOGL) stock is up fractionally today.
Consumer Resilience
Walmart CEO John Furner has weighed in on consumer resilience based on his unique vantage point at the discount retailer, revealing that the lion’s share of Walmart’s growth is being fueled by American households earning over $100,000 annually, a strong sign. On the flip side, lower income families are finding it difficult to stretch their dollars.
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) stock is rising 1.6% today.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
The markets are under pressure to start the session, with all three of the major stock market averages trading in the red. The U.S. is preparing for potential airstrikes on Iran amid escalating tensions, drawing comparisons to the situation leading up to the Iraq invasion in the early 2000s, though President Trump is hopeful for a deal. The uncertainty has sent the Brent oil price soaring to above the $71 per barrel threshold, while Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM | XOM Price Prediction) is tacking on 1% today.
Walmart (NYSE: WMT) has reported earnings, and the state of the consumer is split, with higher-income households showing resilience while lower-income families struggle to make ends meet. Additionally, rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran have inserted greater uncertainty into the markets, which is also weighing on sentiment.
In the tech sector, the Nasdaq Composite is being dragged lower by the likes of Tesla (Nasdaq: TSLA), down 1%, Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA), also down 1%, and Micron Technology (Nasdaq; MU), which is tumbling by a steeper 2.6%.
Fed official Neel Kashkari is making the media speaking rounds, reportedly indicating that from where he stands interest rates are close to neutral, though policymakers remain divided.
Here’s a look at where things stand as of morning trading:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 49,458.69 Down 203.97 (-0.40%)
Nasdaq Composite: 22,667.94 Down 81.85 (-0.36%)
S&P 500: 6,860.81 Down 21.36 (-0.31%)
Market Movers
Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) stock is falling by 2.4% today on the heels of its earnings print.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) director John Stanton is increasing his equity ownership in the software giant, laying the regulatory groundwork to scoop up nearly $2 million in MSFT shares.
The CME is gearing up to expand regulated trading of cryptocurrency futures and options to 24/7 starting in late May.
Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.
© alexgo.photography / Shutterstock.com
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