Trump says Fed ‘must now’ lower rates after ADP payrolls report: Morning Buzz

The major averages were fractionally higher near noon as investors are focused on jobless claims and the May employment report coming soon. Meanwhile, ADP announced private payrolls increased a lean 37,000 in May, less than the downwardly revised 60,000 in April and falling short of the 110,000 that economists polled by Dow Jones had anticipated. Following the report, President Trump repeated his view that the Fed “must” lower rates “now.” The president also posted on social media that China’s Xi Jinping is “very tough” to make a trade deal with.

Looking to commodities, gold prices are inching higher, hovering around $3,400. Oil prices are lower, however, following yesterday’s API crude inventories report and after Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia wants OPEC+ to enact larger oil supply hikes.

Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.

1. STOCK NEWS:

• After ADP announced U.S. private payrolls rose 37,000 in May, President Trump posted on Truth Social that the Federal Reserve “very tough, and extremely hard to make a deal with”
• HP Enterprise (HPE) reported upbeat Q2 results and narrowed its FY25 earnings and revenue guidance
• Wells Fargo (WFC) confirmed that the Federal Reserve has removed limits on growth in total assets imposed in its 2018 consent order
• CrowdStrike (CRWD) provided a “beat and raise” report for Q1 and approved an up to $1B share repurchase program
• Chart Industries (GTLS) and Flowserve (FLS) will combine in an all-stock merger of equals

2. WALL STREET CALLS:

• Needham downgraded Apple (AAPL) to Hold on threats to near-term growth
• Snowflake (SNOW) upgraded to Buy at UBS
• CrowdStrike (CRWD) downgraded to Neutral or equivalent ratings at BofA, Evercore ISI and Canaccord after earnings
• Yum! Brands (YUM) upgraded at Goldman Sachs, here’s why
• Constellation Energy (CEG) downgraded to Neutral at Citi

3. AROUND THE WEB:

• As Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk touts robotaxis in Austin, federal regulators are investigating whether the system is dangerous even with a human behind the wheel, Bloomberg reports
• Walmart (WMT) counted 2.165M staff worldwide at the end of last year, which is 70,000 fewer than five years ago, FT says
• Citi (C) has scrapped a policy curbing its dealings with companies selling firearms, FT reports
• A majority of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) investors voted against the 2024 pay packages of CEO David Zaslav and other top executives at the media company’s annual stockholder meeting, Reuters reports
• BlackRock (BLK) has been removed from a blacklist of companies banned from receiving investment funds from Texas, FT says

4. MOVERS:

• K Wave Media (KWM) gains in New York after entering a securities purchase agreement with $500M facility
• Yext (YEXT) higher after B. Riley upgraded the stock to Buy
• CTRL (MCTR) increases in New York after pricing 2M shares at $4 for its initial public offering
• Asana (ASAN) falls after reporting Q1 results and raising its guidance for FY26
• Merus (MRUS) lower in New York after announcing a 5.27M share offering

5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:

• Sprinklr (CXM) reported Q1 results, with CEO Rory Read commenting, “Our Q1 results reflect solid progress in our transformation to better serve our customers and partners”
• REV Group (REVG) reported Q2 results and raised its guidance for FY25
• Genesco (GCO) reported Q1 results and reaffirmed its guidance for FY26
• Dollar Tree (DLTR) reported Q1 results, with EPS and revenue beating consensus
• Thor Industries (THO) reported Q3 results and reaffirmed its guidance for FY26

INDEXES:

Near midday, the Dow was up 0.10%, or 41.15, to 42,560.79, the Nasdaq was up 0.26%, or 50.77, to 19,449.73 and the S&P 500 was up 0.17%, or 10.44, to 5,980.81.