Live: Dow, Nasdaq Soar as Trump Pressures Israel to Hold Iran Ceasefire, Oil Prices Slide

The race to dominate autonomous driving is heating up, with Tesla and Waymo both making major moves this week. Waymo, backed by Alphabet, announced Tuesday it’s launching robotaxi services in Atlanta, expanding its partnership with Uber. This adds to Waymo’s growing presence in cities like Los Angeles, Austin, Phoenix, and San Francisco — with plans to roll out in Miami and Washington, D.C., next year. While Alphabet shares rose slightly — up just over 1% — Tesla’s stock saw a bigger boost as investor excitement around its recent robotaxi rollout continues to build.

U.S. markets moved higher at the open on Tuesday after President Trump publicly called on Israel to stop its airstrikes on Iran, boosting hopes the ceasefire deal could stick.

The Dow rose about 275 points, up 0.6%, while the S&P 500 gained 0.7%. The Nasdaq added roughly 1%, leading the gains as tensions appeared to ease — at least for now.

Americans grew more uneasy about the economy in June, as fresh worries over inflation and trade weighed on their outlook.

The Conference Board’s monthly confidence reading dropped to 93, falling short of both May’s 98.4 and economists’ expectations of 99.8. The dip follows a major rebound last month, which marked the biggest monthly jump in over a decade.

The drop was led by weaker expectations for the months ahead — that index slipped to 69, a notable decline from 73.6 in May.

“Tariffs and rising costs were top of mind for many households,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at The Conference Board, who noted that concerns about price increases were growing louder.

Circle (CRCL) shares slipped up to 7% on Tuesday, cooling off after a strong rally that saw the stock more than double in recent days. The pullback ends a three-day winning streak powered by excitement over new U.S. legislation supporting stablecoins.

But as optimism around regulation fades, investor attention is shifting to what comes next — a wave of fresh competition. With federal rules on the way for digital tokens like Circle’s USDC, the door is opening for new players to enter the space.

While the recent gains were driven by hopes of long-term growth in stablecoin use, the road ahead may be tougher as rivals step in under the same regulatory umbrella.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell made one thing clear on Tuesday: the Fed won’t be distracted by political noise, even if it comes from President Trump.

Speaking to lawmakers on Capitol Hill, Powell pushed back against growing pressure from Washington, especially recent comments from Trump accusing the Fed of being too slow to cut interest rates.

“We’re focused on one thing — making sure the economy works for the American people,” Powell told Congress. “Everything else is a distraction.”

Though he didn’t mention Trump by name, Powell said political criticism doesn’t influence the Fed’s decisions. “We do what we believe is right, and we deal with the outcome,” he said. “That’s the job.”

When asked whether Americans should be worried about political pressure on the central bank, Powell stayed firm: “The decisions we make really matter in people’s lives. That’s what we stay focused on — not politics.”

Tech giants saw solid gains on Tuesday, with Amazon and Nvidia leading the pack among the “Magnificent Seven” stocks.

1. Amazon (AMZN) jumped 2.3%
2. Nvidia (NVDA) climbed 1.8%
3. Google (GOOG) and Meta (META) rose 1.8% and 1.3% respectively
4. Microsoft (MSFT) edged up nearly 1%
5. Apple (AAPL) was mostly unchanged

The tech-heavy XLK ETF gained 1.6%, outperforming the S&P 500, which rose about 1%. Over the past 10 sessions, the tech sector is up 3%, compared to the broader market’s 1.3% increase.

Analysts at Bank of America said tech stocks attracted their biggest inflows since June 2024, signaling renewed investor confidence in the sector.

Meanwhile, Tesla (TSLA) slipped 1.6% as scrutiny over its robotaxi launch continues, with regulators reviewing safety concerns raised in recent videos shared online.