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US stocks fell on Tuesday amid dwindling hopes for a quick resolution to Israel-Iran hostilities, as President Trump heightened his rhetoric against Iran and called for an "unconditional surrender."
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US knows where the country's leader is hiding, adding, "He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin."
Stock losses picked up steam shortly following the post. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell around 0.6%, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped roughly 0.8%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also pulled back around 0.8%.
Overall, US stocks have so far proved resilient amid the conflict. The major gauges ended higher on Monday after a report that Iran sought a ceasefire and a return to nuclear program negotiations.
But new reports on Tuesday indicated that the US is contemplating military strikes against Iran, heightening concerns about the possibility of a full-scale regional conflict.
Oil prices jumped about 3% as investors weighed the stream of remarks and reports, with Brent futures (BZ=F) rising above $75 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (CL=F) crude hovering just below $74.
At the same time, Wall Street is also grappling with concerns over Trump's trade policy and the direction of US interest rates. As the date for lifting the pause on Trump's sweeping tariffs approaches, US officials have used the G7 summit to pursue trade deals.
The first completed deal emerged Monday, when Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed off on the US-UK trade pact agreed in May. So far, other deals have proved elusive.
Read more: The latest on Trump's tariffs
Meanwhile, in the week's key data release, US retail sales fell 0.9% in May, more than economists expected, as consumers pulled back from a pre-tariff splurge.
Wall Street is looking to the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting that starts on Tuesday for clues to whether policymakers still want to cut interest rates twice in 2025, given recent signs of cooling inflation. The Fed is expected to hold rates steady in its decision on Wednesday.
LIVE 18 updates
Trump calls for Iran's 'unconditional surrender'
Stock losses accelerated in mid-afternoon trading on Tuesday as President Trump heightened his rhetoric against Iran and called for an "unconditional surrender."
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US knows where the country's leader is hiding, adding, "He is an easy target, but is safe there — We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now. But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin."
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell around 0.4%, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped roughly 0.5%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also pulled back around 0.5%.
Investor optmism around a 'soft landing' is increasing
In the latest in a string of signs that market sentiment has recovered significantly from the heigh of April's tariff turmoil, Bank of America’s June Global Fund Manager’s Survey showed 66% of investors said they believe the global economy will achieve a "soft landing," in which inflation falls to the Fed's 2% target without an outright downturn in economic activity.
The 8-month high among respondents believing a soft landing is in sight, comes as recession probabilities have tumbled over the past month while consumers worst fears about a tariff-driven inflation spike have also subsided.
Bank of America Global Research chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett wrote the survey showed, "investor sentiment back to pre-Liberation Day 'Goldilocks bull' levels."
Central banks forecast more gold purchases, fewer US dollar reserves in years ahead
Yahoo Finance's Ines Ferré reports:
JetBlue stock declines as airline cuts flights
JetBlue's (JBLU) stock declined more than 3% on Tuesday after the company revealed plans to further reduce costs and scale back flights.
Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports:
One way Israel-Iran conflict could accelerate Fed rate cuts
A prolonged conflict between Israel and Iran may do more than rattle energy markets. One argument on Wall Street is that it could push the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates sooner than expected.
"A sustained rise in oil prices could cause the Fed to strike a more dovish tone," Oxford Economics chief US economist Ryan Sweet wrote in a recent note to clients, arguing that an extended oil shock could dent demand and potentially spill over into an otherwise resilient labor market.
That's because, historically, sudden spikes in oil prices tend to cause only a temporary rise in inflation that the Fed usually overlooks. But with the economy already softening, a persistent surge could pose a bigger threat to growth and jobs than to inflation itself.
"The economy has slowed and is vulnerable to anything else going wrong, including a sudden and persistent increase in oil prices," Sweet said. "If the Fed views the hit to the economy and the labor market as greater than the temporary boost to inflation, the central bank could signal that it's open to cutting interest rates sooner."
On Tuesday, oil prices rallied, with international benchmark Brent (BZ=F) rising above $75 a barrel after President Trump called for Tehran residents to evacuate and rebuffed the idea of an Israel-Iran ceasefire.
That contrasted with optimism on Monday, when the Wall Street Journal reported that tensions between Iran and Israel had eased, sparking a rally in US equities and stabilizing crude oil prices following last week's biggest price surge in three years.
Sweet, whose baseline forecast is that the Fed will deliver its first rate cut in December, noted it may take weeks before markets gain a clearer sense of the direction of oil prices.
Sunrun, solar stocks sell off after GOP unites to fully end clean energy incentives
Solar stocks were pummeled in early afternoon trading after the Senate's version of President Trump's tax and spending bill showed that Republicans are united in eliminating tax credits for clean energy.
The Senate's changes to the bill, released on Monday, called for a total phaseout of solar and wind credits by 2028, prompting the sell-off in solar names.
Meanwhile, the revisions extended tax incentives for hydropower, nuclear, and geothermal energy until 2036, boosting shares of Sam Altman-backed nuclear energy startup Oklo (OKLO) and other energy names that are seen as winners.
Read more about what the Senate's budget blueprint means for business.
TikTok could be saved (again)
Yahoo Finance's Dan Howley and Alexis Keenan report:
Stocks open lower
US stocks slid on Tuesday as President Trump played down the prospect of a truce between Israel and Iran and retail sales came in below expectations.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) fell around 0.4%, while the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC) dipped roughly 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) also pulled back 0.3%.
Kraft Heinz to remove all food dyes, stock roughly flat
Kraft Heinz (KHC) stock edged higher after the maker of Kool-Aid and Jell-O said it's eliminating synthetic dyes across the remaining 10% of its US portfolio that contains them.
Yahoo Finance's Brooke DiPalma reports that Kraft Heinz will replace artificial dyes with natural colors or reinvent items with new colors. The company will also refrain from launching new products that contain food additives.
This announcement comes amid growing scrutiny of food additives. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he wants to remove artificial coloring from the food supply by the time he leaves office.
OpenAI's new $200 million defense deal 'could signal increased competition' for Palantir
The US Department of Defense announced Monday that it awarded OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) a $200 million contract to "develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address critical national security challenges in both warfighting and enterprise domains."
"This contract is one of the largest Department of Defense contracts given to a software provider when measured by annual contract value," William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma wrote in a note to clients Monday.
DiPalma said that the "contract announcement could signal increased competition from OpenAI going forward" for Palantir (PLTR) "if OpenAI moves into Palantir's ontology territory." Ontology refers to an operational layer in Palantir's platform.
DiPalma noted that Palantir paved the way for OpenAI and others.
"Palantir has pioneered software providers serving as prime contractors for Department of Defense programs," DiPalma wrote. "Traditionally, software providers served as subcontractors to systems integrators. Under the new administration, the Department of Defense is looking to contract directly with commercial software providers when possible."
Palantir rose less than 1% on Tuesday.
In December, Palantir shares dropped as much as 5% when defense tech firm Anduril (ANIN.PVT) announced a partnership with OpenAI to "develop and responsibly deploy advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for national security missions."
Retail sales slide in May on lower gas, auto sales amid tariff uncertainty
Retail sales fell in May, dragged down by declines in gas and auto purchases during the second month that a wide array of President Trump's tariffs were in effect.
Headline retail sales declined 0.9% in May, surpassing economists' expectations for a 0.6% decline month on month. By comparison, sales decreased 0.1% in April, according to revised Census Bureau data. A 2% decline in gasoline sales, a 3.5% slide in auto purchases, and a 2.7% decline in building materials drove the May headline number lower.
There was some positive news in the release: The control group in Thursday's release, which excludes several volatile categories and factors into the gross domestic product (GDP) reading for the quarter, rose 0.4%. That compares with a 0.1% decrease seen in April. Economists expected a 0.3% increase.
May sales, excluding auto and gas, declined 0.1%. Economists had expected a 0.3% rise. In April, sales excluding auto and gas rose 0.1%.
Reddit stock rises for second day after launching new AI ad tools
Reddit stock (RDDT) rose roughly 5% in premarket trading on Tuesday following the social media platform’s release of new AI ad tools at the Cannes Lions festival for marketers on its platform.
Meanwhile, broader S&P 500 futures (ES=F) fell by 0.3%.
The gain follows Reddit’s 6.8% jump Monday, after media reports spotlighted a recent analysis from data analytics firm Semrush, showing that Reddit is the second most cited website in Google AI overviews.
“Reddit may also perform well because Google has a partnership with Reddit and uses Reddit data to train its systems,” Semrush analyst Rachel Handley wrote in the June 9 analysis. Google announced its $60 million deal with Reddit last February.
Despite Reddit stock’s climb this week, shares are far below their high of above $230 in February. The stock traded at around $131 before the market open Tuesday.
Investor optimism rolls over another geopolitical catalyst
Yahoo Finance's Hamza Shaban writes in today's Morning Brief newsletter:
Citi calls time on gold rally amid slumping demand and Fed rate cuts
A standout record-setting rally in gold (GC=F) is about to peter out, Citigroup strategists said as they forecast a slide back below $3,000 an ounce for the precious metal in coming quarters.
Bloomberg reports:
Good morning. Here's what's happening today.
Trending tickers: T-mobile, Microsoft and solar stocks
Here are some top stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in premarket trading:
T-Mobile US, Inc. (TMUS) stock fell 4% in premarket trading on Tuesday, after SoftBank Group Corp. (SFTBF, SFTBY) managed to raise $4.8B via the sale of T-Mobile US Inc. shares. The move is set to help fund Softbank's plans for artificial intelligence.
Microsoft (MSFT) stock fell over 1% before the bell today following reports that the Big Tech's relationship with OpenAI has become "strained." Per The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI executives are weighing the option of whether to accuse Microsoft of anticompetitive behavior, according to people familiar with the matter.
Solar stocks dropped in premarket trading Tuesday after Senate Republicans released a bill that would end tax credits for wind and solar earlier that other sources. The news caused SunRun Inc. (RUN) stock to drop by 28% and SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (SEDG) by 21%.
Solar stocks tumble after Senate changes to Trump's tax megabill
US solar stocks have tumbled after a Senate panel released proposals for an early and full phase-out of solar and wind energy tax credits on Monday.
The plan to remove credits by 2028 are among the several changes put forward by a Republican-controlled panel to President Trump's "big beautiful" tax and spending bill.
Shares of Enphase Energy (ENPH), which makes solar inverters, dropped 17% before the bell.
Meanwhile, solar panel seller Sunrun (RUN) tumbled 26%, while its peer SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) sank more than 20%. First Solar (FSLR) pulled back 11%.
Gold prices continue to rise as investors seek safe-havens
Gold (GC=F) prices rose higher Monday night as the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict pushed risk-averse investors into safer positions, such as gold as a haven asset.
Bloomberg reports:
