Semiconductors exchange-traded fund hits fresh intraday all-time high

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The exchange-traded fund was boosted higher by gains in Nvidia, Broadcom and KLA. All three semiconductor stocks also hit new intraday all-time highs on Wednesday.

Notably, Nvidia was the first company to ever cross over into the $4 trillion market capitalization club on Wednesday morning

— Gina Francolla, Lisa Kailai Han

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

President Donald Trump has released a new round of letters announcing tariff rates set to go into effect on Aug. 1.

Here are the latest countries and the rates:

• Philippines: 20%
• Brunei 25%
• Moldova 25%
• Algeria 30%
• Iraq 30%
• Libya 30%

— Jesse Pound, Adrian van Hauwermeiren

In a Wednesday note to clients, Piper Sandler made the case for the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.

“Just because the overall economy and market, which is increasingly a reflection of the largest businesses and wealthiest consumers, appears to be chugging along doesn’t mean that lower rates aren’t warranted,” the investment firm wrote. “The scar tissue from 2022’s inflation shock has left policy makers and investors overly concerned that lower rates could cause another resurgence of inflation. This is recency bias at its best, we are not in the COVID backdrop any longer and tariffs as an inflation risk akin to the 2022 experience is exaggerated.”

Piper Sandler added that tariffs are a narrow tax that are likely to lead to pockets of price hikes, supply substitution and demand destruction rather than broad-based inflation.

“An improvement in affordability solely from price declines is a worse outcome for the economy compared to one that includes lower rates,” the firm added. “A modest decline in short and long-term rates could go a long way to improving the breadth of economic activity and corporate earnings — something that’s been lacking in recent years.”

— Lisa Kailai Han

The logo of UnitedHealth appears on the side of one of its office buildings in Santa Ana, California, on April 13, 2020.

Mike Blake | Reuters

Investigators in the Department of Justice’s criminal healthcare-fraud unit have interviewed former UnitedHealth employees about the company’s Medicare billing practices, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The report said that the former employees were questioned in recent weeks about UnitedHealth’s efforts to record certain diagnoses that boosted payments and how the company encouraged the documentation of “lucrative” diagnoses through means like testing patients and sending nurses to patients’ homes.

Shares of UnitedHealth were nearly 3% lower in morning trading.

— Sean Conlon

The Nasdaq Composite Index, founded in early 1971, hit another all-time intraday high in early trading Wednesday, touching 20,645.41, eclipsing the prior high of 20,624.51 from July 3 and leaving it some 6.1% higher on the year.

The Composite is also on track to close at a new record high, beating the old closing high of 20,601.10, also from July 3.

The Nasdaq has rallied about 90% since the introduction of the generative AI chatbot ChatGPT in late November 2022.

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Nasdaq Composite since the introduction of ChatGPT in Nov. 2022.

Copper rods used to machine parts are stacked on a shelf at Makerite Manufacturing in Roscoe, Illinois.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

The premium paid for U.S. copper over prices elsewhere is at a record high, after Trump said Tuesday that a 50% tariff rate would be imposed on imports of the metal in the coming weeks.

The gap in U.S. Comex futures over those on the London Metal Exchange, the global benchmark, spiked 138% on Tuesday following the announcement to more than $2,600 a tonne, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. It remains at a record despite a slight dip in Comex rates Wednesday.

Analysts told CNBC there would be a significant effect on the U.S. economy, with prices likely to rise on everything from household appliances to infrastructure projects.

— Jenni Reid

Nvidia on Wednesday did something no other company had done before. The chipmaker rose more than 2%, lifting its market cap above $4 trillion. That marks the first time ever a publicly traded company has reached a valuation that high.

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NVDA year to date

Coffee bags are displayed for sale at a Target store in Austin, Texas, on Feb. 12, 2025.

Brandon Bell | Getty Images

These are the stocks moving the most in premarket trading:

• Starbucks — Shares of the coffee chain jumped almost 2% after CNBC reported that Starbucks China has drawn bids for a potential stake sale that value the subsidiary at up to $10 billion.
• AES — The stock jumped nearly 14% following a Bloomberg report that the energy company was exploring a potential sale amid interest from infrastructure investors.
• Verona Pharma — Shares surged 20% after Merck bought U.K.-based Verona Pharma in a roughly $10 billion deal to expand its respiratory treatment portfolio.

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Yun Li, Lisa Kailai Han

Shares of AES surged more than 12% premarket on a report that the renewable power supplier is considering a potential sale.

Brookfield Asset Management and BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners are studying AES after the company’s stock has lost about half its value over the past two years, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News.

AES is a major supplier of renewable power to the Big Tech companies that are building out data centers to train artificial intelligence.

— Spencer Kimball

KeyBanc is moving to the sidelines on T-Mobile stock.

The firm downgraded the telecommunications stock to underweight in a Tuesday note, alongside a $200 per share price target. KeyBanc’s forecast implies more than 15% downside from Tuesday’s $235.97 close.

“[W]e think that T-Mobile is unlikely to show much upside vs. expectations,” analyst Brandon Nispel said.

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T-Mobile stock in 2025.

“In addition, we expect FCF growth to slow due to higher capital spending and cash taxes,” he added. “With the stock trading at a meaningful premium to peers, we think there are more attractive alternatives.”

— Brian Evans

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett speaks to members of the media outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 19, 2025.

Kent Nishimura | Reuters

Trump is weighing a choice between two candidates named Kevin as the potential next chair of the Federal Reserve, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Of the two, White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett has emerged as a potential favorite, surpassing former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh, the report posted Tuesday night said. The Journal said Hassett has met with Trump twice in recent days to discuss the position.

Kevin Warsh, former governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve, during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring meetings at the IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 2025.

Tierney L. Cross | Bloomberg | Getty Images

At the same time, the report noted that Warsh is facing some skepticism from Trump advisors, primarily from his past history of arguing against zero interest rates and the central bank’s asset purchasing program known as quantitative easing.

Trump has said on several occasions that he plans on naming a successor to Jerome Powell soon, and recently noted that the list of finalists is down to “three or four people” without naming names.

— Jeff Cox

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on June 27, 2025.

Elizabeth Frantz | Reuters

Trump’s decision to delay higher tariff rates until Aug. 1 came after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asked for more time on trade deals, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said Bessent felt the U.S was making progress with some trading partners such as India and the European Union.

The tariffs that Trump has asserted in more than a dozen letters to various countries are close to the so-called reciprocal tariff rates that were initially announced on April 2. A partial pause on those rates was set to expire this week.

— Jesse Pound

Shares of Verona Pharma surged 20% in the premarket after the company agreed to be acquired by Merck for around $10 billion. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025. Verona focuses on respiratory diseases and its portfolio includes Ohtuvayre, which treats chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

“Ohtuvayre complements and expands our pipeline and portfolio of treatments for cardio-pulmonary diseases while delivering near- and long-term growth as well as value for shareholders,” Merck CEO Robert Davis said in a statement.

Merck shares were little changed.

— Fred Imbert

The Wall Street bull is seen in the Financial District in New York City on Feb. 13, 2025.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

Bank of America is bullish on stocks’ short-term future.

“In line with our view, a summer rally is underway as 2025 rhymes with 2018. Our target of 6,266 has been reached with 6,500 / 6,569 possible,” technical strategist Paul Ciana wrote in a Monday note. “The trend is up according to many indicators, breadth and momentum.”

The S&P 500 ended at 6,225.52 on Tuesday afternoon. A level of 6,569 implies an upside of 5.5% for the index.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Copper wire at the Rusty Rooster scrap metal recycling center in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 21, 2022.

Luke Sharett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Copper prices pulled back 2% to $5.5335 per pound after hitting their highest levels on record on Tuesday following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports.

Despite Wednesday’s decline, copper futures remain 37% higher for the year.

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Copper year to date

Investors could take a look at stocks that offer steady dividends and strong growth promises as a way to hedge their portfolios against times of market volatility.

Goldman Sachs highlighted several stocks it likes that offer strong dividend yields and dividend growth, and whose payouts are well covered by earnings. The firm particularly likes dividend growth stocks, meaning companies that have a history of increasing their payouts.

Among the names Goldman listed are buy-rated Lowe’s and NextEra Energy.

Read here in CNBC Pro for Goldman’s top dividend picks.

— Pia Singh

Jeff Bezos gestures as he leaves Aman Venice hotel, ahead of his expected wedding, in Venice, Italy, on June 25, 2025.

Guglielmo Mangiapane | Reuters

Jeff Bezos sold nearly three million shares worth $665.8 million over two days in July, according to a Tuesday regulatory filing. The stock sale is part of a plan announced earlier this year that entails Bezos will unload up to 25 million shares of Amazon through May 2026.

The Amazon founder, who stepped down as CEO of the company in 2021, also sold $736.7 million in stock during the final days of June. He still has more than 900 million shares of Amazon valued at close to $200 billion, and remains the largest shareholder of the e-commerce giant.

— Pia Singh, Chris Eudaily