Big Tech companies have increasingly come under scrutiny as local communities push back against the rapid expansion of massive data centers across the U.S. In response, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has promised to invest in and improve the communities where its data centers reside in an attempt to garner public support while offsetting the local impacts of its expanding technology footprint.
MSFT stock is down 1.7% today while the Nasdaq Composite has turned slightly positive.
The financial industry is responding to President Trump’s decree that credit card interest rates should be capped at 10%. JPMorgan CFO Jeremy Barnum believes that a rate cap would be damaging to both consumers and the U.S. economy, according to the investment bank’s Q4 earnings call. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune reportedly expects a credit card interest rate ceiling would result in many Americans losing access to credit.
The Nasdaq Composite has turned lower on the day.
President Trump has responded to signs of cooling inflation in the economy, saying that the Federal Reserve has the green light to cut interest rates “meaningfully” or risk being too late once again, signing his social media post “Mister Tariff.”
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Stocks are mixed out of the gate on the heels of some promising economic data that could cement the case for lower interest rates. Inflation is showing signs of easing and moving toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, with the latest CPI reading coming in at a cooler than expected annual rate of 2.6%. Grocery store item prices climbed higher with the exception of eggs, which continue to fall further from their peak. Sectors of the economy are mostly trading in the green, led by energy stocks with a 1% jump today.
JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM | JPM Price Prediction) CEO Jamie Dimon has weighed in on the economy, pointing to a softening labor market coupled with a resilient consumer that continues to spend money, strengthening the balance sheets of businesses. Dimon also cautioned, “We remain vigilant, and markets seem to underappreciate the potential hazards like complex geopolitical conditions, the risk of sticky inflation and elevated asset prices.”
Separately, JPM reported Q4 results, topping revenue estimates though the stock is under pressure with the rest of financials today.
Separately, President Trump is calling on technology companies to foot the massive data center electric bills that are powering the AI revolution. Data centers are often operated by Big Tech companies such as Google (Nasdaq: GOOGL), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META), among others.
Here’s a look at where things stand as of morning trading:
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 49,497.90 Down 72.30 (-0.15%)
Nasdaq Composite: 23,759.89 Up 25.93 (+0.11%)
S&P 500: 6,982.02 Up 5.39 (+0.08%)
KeyBanc analysts are touting a couple of chip stocks including industry stalwart Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and AMD (Nasdaq: AMD), lifting its ratings on both stocks in response to robust server related demand for AI. Both stocks are soaring, with AMD up a whopping 6.5% while Intel is tacking on nearly 5%.
Elon Musk is seemingly feeling threatened by demand for Google’s AI solution Gemini, responding to Apple’s (Nasdaq: AAPL) decision to pivot to Gemini for its Siri chatbot by calling it an “unreasonable concentration of power.” Meanwhile, GOOGL stock has been on a tear, adding 2.4% today so far.
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Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook "Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too." A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.
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