Time to celebrate

Stocks up

Fed Chair Jerome Powell has confirmed that an interest rate cut “could be on the table as soon as September” if inflation and jobs continue to improve. Translation: Keep an eye on the incoming data. The odds of a 50 basis point rate cut also climbed after the comments, underscoring the market’s confidence that the monetary policy easing cycle was imminent.

Powell’s shift in tone was enough for the Nasdaq (COMP:IND) and S&P 500 (SP500) to see their best day in over five months

AI

Tech is back

Following the rally, Meta (META) soared 7.2% AH to $509/share after its Q2 results easily beat expectations. More importantly, the tech giant reassured investors about underlying growth, especially in its core advertising business, despite massive spending on artificial intelligence. A major area of focus is “figuring out the right level of infra capacity to support training more and more advanced [AI] models,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on an earnings call. “At this point, I’d rather risk building capacity before it is needed rather than too late, given the long lead times for spinning up new infra projects.”

Stock Market News

Fed holds rates steady but notes progress on inflation – CNBC

Facebook parent Meta forecasts upbeat Q3 revenue after strong quarter – Reuters

Qualcomm beats estimates and phone chip sales are up 12% – CNBC

ASML shares pop 7% after report that U.S. will exempt allies from new China chip restrictions – CNBC

Uber, BYD partner to bring EVs to ride hailing platform globally – Reuters

Crude oil prices pop after assassination of Hamas leader – Yahoo Finance