US Stock Market Close: S&P 500 Index Soars 2%, Musk's Return Sends Tesla Up 7%

On Tuesday, Eastern Time, the three major US stock indices closed collectively higher, as Trump's postponement of tariff hikes on the EU and a significant rebound in the US consumer confidence index boosted investors' risk appetite.

Earlier, Trump posted on social media that he had extended the deadline for imposing additional tariffs on EU goods, stating that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had requested the extension.

On Monday, the EU's chief trade negotiator said he had a "positive call" with the Trump administration and expressed the EU's commitment to reaching a trade agreement before the July 9 deadline.

Paul Nolte, a senior wealth advisor and market strategist at Murphy and Sylvest, commented that Trump's tough actions on April 2 had caused significant market panic, prompting investors to sell off assets rapidly and aggressively, but the market subsequently rebounded quickly.

Nolte added, "Investors now have a bit of an understanding of Trump. He's like a poker player at the table; you know he'll make some bets, but when other players pressure him, he folds."

In terms of economic data, figures released by The Conference Board on Tuesday showed that the US consumer confidence index rose 12.3 points to 98 in May, well above the expected 87 and the previous 86. This marked the first monthly increase since November last year and the largest monthly gain since March 2021.

Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin stated that people are observing policy uncertainties, and there is no evidence that declining sentiment is affecting consumer spending. This aligns with the views of many US Fed officials, who expect key interest rates to remain unchanged until the full impact of Trump's tariffs is determined.

Market Movements

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 740.58 points, or 1.78%, to 42,343.65; the Nasdaq Composite gained 461.96 points, or 2.47%, to 19,199.16; and the S&P 500 index advanced 118.72 points, or 2.05%, to 5,921.54.

Among US sector ETFs, the Global Jets ETF closed up 3.92%, the Semiconductor ETF rose 3.17%, the Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund gained 2.95%, and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund, Regional Bank ETF, Bank ETF, and Global X Cloud Computing ETF each rose at least 2.22%, with the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund being the worst performer, up 0.87%.

Among the 11 sectors of the S&P 500, the Consumer Discretionary sector rose 3.04%, the Information Technology/Technology sector gained 2.55%, and the Communication Services sector increased 2.14%.

Performance of Popular Stocks

Major tech stocks generally rose, with Nvidia up 3.21%, Alphabet (Google A) up 2.63%, Apple and Amazon each up at least 2.5%, Meta up 2.43%, and Microsoft up 2.33%.

Tesla's shares surged nearly 7% after Elon Musk posted on social media platform X that he had returned to a state of working "24/7" or sleeping in conference rooms, server rooms, or factory spaces.

Trump Media & Technology Group fell more than 10% after the company announced it had signed subscription agreements with 50 institutional investors to issue $1.5 billion worth of common stock and $1 billion worth of zero-coupon convertible bonds, with the conversion price 35% higher than the current market price. The offering is expected to close around May 29. With the $2.5 billion raised from the financing, the company plans to establish a Bitcoin reserve.

Pinduoduo fell more than 13%. In its recently released first-quarter earnings report, Pinduoduo achieved revenue of 95.67 billion yuan, up 10% YoY (vs. an estimated 101.6 billion yuan); adjusted net profit was 16.92 billion yuan, down 45% YoY (vs. an estimated 27.88 billion yuan).

The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.28%, with most popular Chinese ADRs declining. Bilibili rose more than 2%, while Zhihu, New Oriental, and iQIYI rose more than 1%. Li Auto and JD.com fell more than 2%, while XPeng Motors and NIO fell more than 3%.

Corporate News

[FDA Halts Rocket Pharma's Gene Therapy Trial]

Following the death of a patient due to severe complications, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the suspension of a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial for Rocket Pharma's gene therapy for Danon disease. Affected by this news, Rocket Pharma's shares closed down more than 60% on Tuesday. According to an announcement released by Rocket Pharma on Tuesday, the patient who unfortunately passed away received treatment in early May but developed complications related to capillary leak syndrome. The FDA halted the relevant clinical trial last Friday before the patient's death. At that time, Rocket was testing its gene therapy drug RP-A501, primarily for the treatment of Danon disease, a rare genetic disorder that causes myocardial damage and progressive muscle weakness. Currently, Rocket is investigating the specific cause of death, focusing on a new immunosuppressant recently added to the treatment regimen to enhance patient safety.

[Texas Governor Signs Law to Implement Age Verification for Apple and Google App Stores]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill requiring Apple and Google to verify the ages of users on their app stores, making the second-most populous US state a focal point in the debate over whether and how to regulate children's and adolescents' use of smartphones. Another legislative draft has passed the Texas House of Representatives and is awaiting Senate approval, which would restrict the use of social media applications by users under 18.

[Apple Plans to Launch a Dedicated Video Game App for Its Devices]

Apple is planning to launch a dedicated video game app on its devices, which will be pre-installed on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple TVs later this year. The app will serve as a game launcher, centralizing in-game achievements, leaderboards, communication history, and other activities, while also providing editorial content, access to the App Store's gaming section, and promoting the Arcade subscription service. This app will replace the existing Game Center and is part of Apple's efforts to enhance the gaming experience on its devices. Currently, games and in-app purchases contribute approximately two-thirds of the App Store's revenue.

[Meta is Restructuring Its AI Team to Accelerate the Launch of New Products and Features]

Meta Platforms is restructuring its AI team to accelerate the launch of new products and features. In an internal memo released on Tuesday, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox announced that the new structure will divide the team into two branches: ① AI Product Team: Led by Connor Hayes, responsible for the development of the Meta AI assistant, AI Studio tools, and AI features within Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. ② General AI Foundation Team: Co-led by Ahmad Al-Dahle and Amir Frenkel, covering Llama model R&D, inference capability enhancement, multimedia and speech technologies, etc. The company's original AI research division, FAIR (Fundamental AI Research), will remain independent, but a specific team focused on multimedia technologies will be merged into the newly established AGI Foundation Team.