Dow gains 200 points as traders shake off tariff developments: Live updates

There’s good news ahead for the M&A market, according to Deutsche Bank.

“Our M&A growth indicator predicts dealmaking will continue to decline this summer but could start bottoming out in Q3 — we see a recovery in H2 and in the coming years,” the bank wrote in a Wednesday note.

Going forward, Deutsche Bank is also optimistic on the state of new listings and initial public offerings in the U.S.

“New listings show some green shoots in absolute terms and this underscores relative U.S. exceptionalism. The types of companies that went public YTD also underscore our view that U.S. innovation power is second to none and that the country has, by far, the deepest, most liquid, most diversified capital markets in the world,” the bank said.

It continued: “Will this carry on into H2? We believe that the roaring animal spirits that lifted lossmaking stocks in Q2 mean riskier deals that were shelved in H1 are likely to be back in H2. Risk assets continue to perform well and volatility and credit risk remain low across many ways of slicing and dicing the various indicators.”

— Lisa Kailai Han

The exchange-traded fund was on pace for its best day since April 9, when it gained 9.7% in a session. The ETF was boosted by shares of MP Materials, last up 54% after the company said that the Pentagon would become its largest shareholder.

— Gina Francolla, Lisa Kailai Han

A resumption in DOGE layoffs — combined with the ongoing hiring freezes — will lead to weakening in the job market, Wolfe Research wrote in a Wednesday note.

However, the firm noted that this weakening was unlikely to be too substantial.

“At the margin, this adds to the softening in the labor market but likely isn’t a game changer for the Fed — at least not ahead of the next live meeting in September,” wrote Stephanie Roth, the firm’s chief economist.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Initial unemployment benefit filings unexpectedly declined last week as the pace of layoffs held low, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 227,000 for the week ending July 5, down 5,000 from the previous period and below the Dow Jones estimate for 235,000.

However, continuing claims, which run a week behind, continued to climb. The total increased to 1.96 million, up 10,000 to the highest level since Nov. 13, 2021 as long-term unemployment held higher.

— Jeff Cox

Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading.

• Brazilian stocks — The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) dropped nearly 2% premarket after President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports into the U.S. Brazil’s president said the country would respond with similar duties of its own targeting American products. Shares of oil giant Petrobras fell more than 1%.

Read the full list here.

— Brian Evans

The Pentagon will buy a newly created class of preferred shares that can be converted into the company’s common stock. MP Materials will use the proceeds to invest in its magnet production capacity and to expand its rare earths processing capabilities.

— Spencer Kimball, Lisa Kailai Han

Shares of Delta Air Lines jumped about 11% premarket after the company reinstated its 2025 profit outlook and CEO Ed Bastian said bookings have stabilized.

Delta had pulled its outlook for the year in April. The airline now expects adjusted earnings of between $5.25 and $6.25 a share in 2025, down from a January forecast of more than $7.35 a share.

The carrier’s outlook for summer travel beat Wall Street expectations, with Bastian saying bookings have stabilized albeit at a lower than the start of the year.

— Leslie Josephs, Spencer Kimball

Bank of America expects firmer inflation on the horizon.

“We expect inflation to accelerate over the coming months in large part due to tariff related price increases,” wrote economist Stephen Juneau. “But tariffs aren’t the only reason to expect firmer inflation in the coming months; the rebound in stock prices is another.”

More specifically, the economist pointed out that the recent rebound in equity prices means that portfolio management fees should turn into a driver of inflation in the upcoming months.

— Lisa Kailai Han

The iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) dropped more than 1.8% in the premarket after President Donald Trump announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded by saying his country will respond with similar tariffs targeting U.S. products going into Brazil.

— Fred Imbert

The S&P 500’s information technology and industrial sectors rose to close at records on Wednesday, lifting the broad market index to its first winning day in three.

The tech sector gained 0.9%, catching a tailwind from gains in Nvidia, which was up nearly 2%, and Palantir, which added about 2.5%. Nvidia’s ascent briefly pushed it into a $4 trillion market capitalization during the session.

The industrial sector added 0.7%. Boeing and Caterpillar were among the notable winners in the space, up 3.7% and 2%, respectively.

—Darla Mercado, Chris Hayes

President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday the U.S. will impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, partially due to the trial against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro for his role in an alleged coup attempt to overturn his loss in the country’s 2022 election.

In a letter shared on Truth Social, Trump called Brazil’s treatment of Bolsonaro “an international disgrace” and the ongoing prosecution a “Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!”

Trump also accused Brazil in the letter of having a “very unfair trade relationship” with the U.S., adding that the U.S. is launching an investigation into Brazil for its trade practices.

— Kevin Breuninger, Sean Conlon

Bitcoin hit a fresh record on Wednesday afternoon as an Nvidia-led rally in equities helped push the price of the cryptocurrency higher into the stock market close. Just before 4:00 p.m. ET, it hit a high of $112,052.24, surpassing its May 22 record of $111,999.

The flagship cryptocurrency has been trading in a tight range for several weeks despite billions of dollars flowing into bitcoin exchange traded funds and public companies racheting up their bitcoin purchases.

“The same fundamentals of a scarce asset are at play amid record-breaking budgets and debt ceilings,” said Chris Kline, chief operating officer and cofounder of BitcoinIRA. “There is a friendly regulatory environment, and bitcoin has gained legitimacy from institutional adoption. Additionally, the rumor mill has continued to accelerate speculation that Fed Chair Jerome Powell may either step down or be removed, which has crypto bulls excited about a potential rate cut.”

“This is a perfect storm for even the smallest catalyst to springboard bitcoin and crypto overall to new price discovery levels and … more volatility,” he added.

— Tanaya Macheel

Some stocks are making big moves in extended trading Wednesday:

WK Kellogg – Shares surged more than 55% after The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that chocolate maker Ferrero is nearing a deal to buy the breakfast food company for about $3 billion. The acquisition could be finalized as early as this week, the report said.

PTC – The global software stock fell almost 3%, reversing some of the gains seen during the day’s regular session. On Wednesday, PTC shares soared more than 17% after a Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said that Autodesk is exploring a possible takeover of the company. Autodesk shares, which finished Wednesday’s session with a more than 2% decline, were likewise more than 2% lower after hours.

— Sean Conlon

U.S. stock futures were relatively unchanged on Wednesday evening.

S&P 500 futures hovered around the flatline just after 6 p.m. ET, as did Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were likewise flat.

— Sean Conlon