A slow summer for markets this is not.
Traders entered Wednesday’s session digesting more President Trump tariff chaos that has sent copper prices ripping higher. This is in addition to fresh uncertainty on the future of the Federal Reserve.
Some 10 minutes into the opening bell on Wall Street, however, investors shook it off to shift focus on AI chip darling Nvidia (NVDA). The company broke through a $4 trillion market for the first time ever (watch the above analysis).
Here is everything we touched on during Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid on Wednesday.
1. 50% copper tariffs!
President Trump’s off-the-cuff move to slap copper imports with a 50% tariff should remind investors of one key point: In this administration, one must always brace for surprises.
Shares of copper plays Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) and Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO) dropped 5% and 3%, respectively, in early trading.
“I think it’s [the copper tariffs] just a reminder that markets don’t move in a straight line, that we’ll get some hiccups along the way,” Truist co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner said.
Lerner remains bullish on the markets.
2. The race to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell
The “Apprentice”-style battle to be President Trump’s Fed chair pick is heating up, according to the Wall Street Journal. Two of the top candidates — former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett — are certainly qualified but ratchet up Wall Street’s concern on Fed independence. Both are seen as key economic allies of Trump.
“If one of the Kevins does come in and take over, it’s setting up for maybe a little bit more contentious conversations perhaps at the FOMC going forward,” Crossmark Global Investments chief markets strategist Victoria Fernandez said. “It does not necessarily mean that they are going to be able to lower rates.”
3. Zuck’s cool vibes
Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg is having a summer to remember, including poaching top AI talent such as Alexandr Wang with big paychecks. On July 4, he posted a video of himself wakesurfing in an eagle costume on Instagram. And now his company is plunking down a reported $3.5 billion to increase its stake in eyewear maker EssilorLuxottica.
Meta lost $4.2 billion in its Reality Labs division in the most recent quarter, which has never been profitable. Yet Meta’s stock has rallied 25% this year while Apple (AAPL) has seen its stock drop 16%. After all, Apple has a lot of tariff exposure!
Fernandez said, “I think Meta is a good fundamental place to be.”
4. Eyes on Uber
The no-tax-on-tips provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill includes 1099 workers, such as Uber (UBER) and Lyft (LYFT) drivers, according to a new note from BofA. Federal income tax savings will be available even for those who don’t itemize, with a max deduction of $25,000.
BofA estimates that US Uber drivers will earn $42 billion this year and will save $1 billion in taxes, which equates to a 2.5% pay bump. BofA said the tax benefit could provide a modest tailwind to the supply of Uber drivers.
Combined with research showing that the number of Uber rides has accelerated this summer, BofA said Uber’s stock could climb at least 18% from current levels.
Though Uber’s stock has come a long way, up 37% in the past year. You can see how the stock is priced for perfection when studying multiples on the Yahoo Finance platform.
Shares trade on a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 35 times compared to 22 times for the S&P 500 (^GSPC). The price-to-earnings growth ratio of 15.8 times is miles away from the 1x often viewed as reasonable for a stock.
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance’s Executive Editor and a member of Yahoo Finance’s editorial leadership team. Follow Sozzi on X @BrianSozzi, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Tips on stories? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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