[Market Summary]
The three major New York indices closed higher as the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling against the administration’s tariff policies injected optimism into the market. Investors anticipate that the removal of these tariffs will ease import price pressures, clearing a path for the Federal Reserve to resume interest rate cuts.
Dow Jones: 49,625.97 (+0.47%)
S&P 500: 6,909.51 (+0.69%)
Nasdaq: 22,886.07 (+0.90%)
The Legal Verdict: In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court invalidated the global tariffs enacted last year. In response, President Trump announced he would invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act to impose a temporary 10% global tariff for 150 days to replace the emergency measures.
Sector Reaction: Consumer-facing sectors like toys and furniture surged. Major tech players that had been under pressure also rebounded: Alphabet (+4.01%), Amazon (+2.56%), and Apple (+1.54%).
Macro Data: Q4 GDP growth came in at a disappointing 1.4% (annualized), missing the 2.5% estimate. This weakness was largely attributed to the 43-day government shutdown that began in October. Despite this, the 10-year Treasury yield remained stable at 4.08%.
[Detailed Investment Bank (IB) Analysis]
■ Microsoft (MSFT): Citi urged investors to "buy the dip," noting that the recent sell-off has pushed Microsoft's valuation to its lowest level in nearly a decade.
■ Broadcom (AVGO): Goldman Sachs expects next week's earnings to reconfirm strong AI momentum. Maintained Buy.
■ GE Aerospace (GE): Morgan Stanley initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and a $425 target. They cited a massive competitive moat in the engine manufacturing sector and strong long-term pricing power.
■ Etsy (ETSY): Barclays upgraded the stock to Overweight, citing a cheap valuation and recovering revenue growth despite disappointing EBITDA trends.
■ Wayfair (W): JP Morgan added the stock to its Analyst Focus List, praising its strong revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth.
■ Walmart (WMT): HSBC downgraded to Hold but raised the target to $131. They noted that Walmart’s valuation gap with Costco has closed, making it less of a "relative bargain" than before.
[Featured Stocks & Corporate News]
■ Microsoft (MSFT)
Gaming Leadership Shake-up: Phil Spencer, CEO of the gaming division, is retiring after 38 years. Asha Sharma (formerly of Instacart) will take the helm. Xbox President Sarah Bond is also departing. Sharma pledged to avoid "soulless AI content" and reaffirmed commitment to console gaming.
■ Amazon (AMZN)
Tariff Relief: Since Amazon sources up to 70% of its goods from China, the court ruling is a massive tailwind for its retail margins.
Refuting FT Report: Amazon formally denied a Financial Times report claiming AI defects caused service outages, clarifying that the December issue was a simple internal configuration error in the AWS Cost Explorer.
■ Meta Platforms (META)
Option Cuts: Meta reduced annual stock option grants by 5% for most employees to fund Mark Zuckerberg’s massive $115B–$135B AI infrastructure push.
Safety Concerns: Internal documents revealed concerns that end-to-end encryption might lead to 7.5 million unreported child exploitation cases annually. Zuckerberg defended the policy in an LA court, emphasizing ongoing development of safety tools.
■ Energy & Utilities (BTU, ARLP, HCC)
Coal Rebound: Energy stocks rallied as the Trump administration issued an executive order requiring the DoD to purchase power from coal-fired plants and allocated $175M for facility upgrades.
■ Automotive & Transport
Lucid (LCID): Benchmark maintained a Buy ($30 PT) ahead of Feb 24 earnings. Focus remains on "Gravity" SUV production and cash burn.
Texas Roadhouse (TXRH): Revenue rose 3.1% in Q4, and the company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.75.
Boeing (BA): Facing renewed scrutiny after a 300-page NASA report labeled a failed June test flight as a "Category A" incident.
■ AI Infrastructure & Cloud
CoreWeave (CRWV): Reportedly faced challenges in securing a $4B data center financing deal with Blue Owl, though both parties later denied any issues with the project's funding.
RingCentral (RNG): Proved AI is a tailwind, not a threat, by reporting that annual recurring revenue (ARR) from AI-using customers doubled YoY.
[After-Hours Featured Stocks]
■ Carnival (CCL)
Corporate Restructuring: Agreed to consolidate its dual-listed structure into a single entity, Carnival Corporation Ltd., and move its headquarters from Panama to Bermuda by year-end 2026. This move aims to simplify governance and optimize listing on the NYSE.
