Closing Bell
The three major averages all ended Tuesday's session in the green with modest gains, one session after they all dropped more than 1% on fears of a protracted trade war with China.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the day up 0.12%, or 29 points to 24,282, while the S&P 500 gained 0.22%, or 6 points to 2,723, and the Nasdaq gained 0.39%, or 30 points to 7,562.
Tesla's Next Move Could Be a Pickup
Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk took to Twitter Tuesday to ask his 22 million followers what they would like to see in a pickup truck produced by the electric vehicle maker.
What would you love to see in a Tesla pickup truck? I have a few things in mind, but what do you think are small, but important nuances & what would be seriously next level?
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 26, 2018
The Tesla Truck will have dual motor all-wheel drive w crazy torque & a suspension that dynamically adjusts for load. Those will be standard.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 26, 2018
The announcement comes days after Musk said that his fleet of electric semi trucks would feature a "Mad Max" mode that is expected to help the vehicle navigate lane turns in autopilot mode.
Supreme Court Sides With American Express in Antitrust Case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor on American Express (AXP) Tuesday, saying that the company isn't barred from encouraging merchants it has contracts with from discouraging the use of rival cards by patrons.
The court's conservative majority ruled 5-4 in favor of the credit card company with Justice Clarence Thomas writing in the majority ruling that the special nature of credit card transactions is what protects the practice from antitrust laws.
"Amex's business model sometimes causes friction with merchants," he wrote. "To maintain the loyalty of its cardholders, Amex must continually invest in its rewards program. But, to fund those investments, Amex must charge merchants higher fees than its rivals."
"Even though Amex's investments benefit merchants by encouraging cardholders to spend more money, merchants would prefer not to pay the higher fees," Justice Thomas wrote. "One way that merchants try to avoid them, while still enticing Amex's cardholders to shop at their stores, is by dissuading cardholders from using Amex at the point of sale."
Uber's Future in London Hangs in the Balance Tuesday (Update)
Uber will be allowed to operate in London for the next 15 months after being awarded a license to operate after a court ruled in favor of its appeal against the Transport for London's decision to deny the company the license.
The regulator was dissatisfied with the ride-hailing company's operations in the city and declined to renew its license as a result.
Uber has more than 3.6 million regular users in London with a fleet of around 45,000 drivers.
Cities' Lawsuit Against Big Oil Over Climate Change Dismissed
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the cities of Oakland and San Francisco against BP (BP) , Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) , Exxon Mobil (XOM) , ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) .
The lawsuit sought to force the companies to pay to protect cities' residents from the effects of climate change.
"The dangers raised in the complaints are very real," U.S. District Judge William Alsup wrote. "But those dangers are worldwide. Their causes are worldwide. The benefits of fossil fuels are worldwide. The problem deserves a solution on a more vast scale than can be supplied by a district judge or jury in a public nuisance case."
Trump Attacks Harley-Davidson in Tuesday Tweet Storm
President Trump has been going on a tirade against motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson (HOG) for about 15 hours now following the company's decision to move some of its operations overseas to combat tariffs from the EU.
The 'Make America Great Again' President showed his displeasure with the move through a series of tweets Monday night and Tuesday morning.
Surprised that Harley-Davidson, of all companies, would be the first to wave the White Flag. I fought hard for them and ultimately they will not pay tariffs selling into the E.U., which has hurt us badly on trade, down $151 Billion. Taxes just a Harley excuse - be patient! #MAGA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018
But he wasn't done.
Early this year Harley-Davidson said they would move much of their plant operations in Kansas City to Thailand. That was long before Tariffs were announced. Hence, they were just using Tariffs/Trade War as an excuse. Shows how unbalanced & unfair trade is, but we will fix it.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018
....We are getting other countries to reduce and eliminate tariffs and trade barriers that have been unfairly used for years against our farmers, workers and companies. We are opening up closed markets and expanding our footprint. They must play fair or they will pay tariffs!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018
....We are finishing our study of Tariffs on cars from the E.U. in that they have long taken advantage of the U.S. in the form of Trade Barriers and Tariffs. In the end it will all even out - and it won't take very long!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018
Harley's shares are all but guaranteed to take a hit following Tuesday's barrage.
Premarket
U.S. futures were mixed ahead of the opening bell Tuesday with Nasdaq futures representing the lone equities trading in the green.
Nasdaq futures were rising 0.02%, indicating an open 2 points higher, while Dow futures were down 0.14%, indicating an open 35 points lower, and S&P futures were down 0.14%, indicating an open 4 points lower.
In Asia, markets were also mixed with the Nikkei being the lone index to finish the day in the green, rising 0.02%. Meanwhile, the Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite fell 0.28% and 0.52% respectively.
In Europe, the FTSE 100 was rising 0.55%, the DAX gained 0.17% and the CAC 40 rose 0.38% with about four hours left in trading.
