Tonight’s Highlights | Figma Hits NYSE, Meta And MSFT Soar

Following the strong post-earnings rally of Microsoft and Meta, U.S. stock futures surged pre-market, bringing back long-absent volatility.  

As of this writing, Nasdaq 100 futures (2409 contract) rose 1.34%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.91%, and Dow futures increased 0.18%. Including Wednesday, the S&P 500 has seen 25 consecutive trading days with moves under 1%.  

Meanwhile, Microsoft, boldly claiming leadership in AI infrastructure, jumped 8% pre-market, nearing the “$4 trillion market cap club”; Meta soared 11.13% pre-market, boosted by strong earnings and its “superintelligence” AI vision.

 

Together, their pre-market market cap grew by $537.6 billion,.  

 

Incidentally, Apple and Amazon will release earnings after Thursday’s close, with their combined market cap reaching $5.5 trillion.  

 

As a key “White House vs. Fed” gauge, the just-released U.S. June PCE price index rose 2.6% year-over-year, with the core PCE up 2.8%, both exceeding expectations.  

 

With July ending, a series of “Trump tariffs” will take effect tomorrow. Logically, the rise in U.S. effective tariff rates will further fuel inflationary pressure.  

 

Among major U.S. trading partners, Canada and Mexico have yet to announce agreements, potentially facing 35% and 30% tariffs, respectively. Additionally, the U.S. will impose a 25% tariff on Indian goods, plus unspecified “punitive fees.”  

 

Adding to the chaos, the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals will hold oral arguments on the Trump tariff case Thursday morning. The U.S. government is appealing a May ruling by the International Trade Court, which deemed Trump unable to use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a legal basis for tariffs.

 

The market widely expects this case to reach the Supreme Court.  

 

The uncertainty from tariffs has already materialized. After the White House excluded refined copper from the 50% copper tariff on Wednesday, New York copper futures plummeted for two straight days, erasing the premium over London copper. U.S. copper producers like Freeport-McMoRan saw stock price drops.  

Other Market News  

Figma Lists on NYSE at $33/Share  

 

Hot tech stock Figma will list on the NYSE. Figma raised its IPO price to $33 on Wednesday, up from $25-28 and later $30-32, due to frenzied market demand. With subscription oversubscription doubling that of superstock Circle, expectations are high for its debut.  

 

Tesla Launches ‘Castrated’ Robotaxi in California  

 

Thursday morning Eastern Time, Tesla CEO Musk announced a ride-hailing service launch in the San Francisco Bay Area, but notably avoided confirming autonomous vehicles. Internal memos show it’s invite-only, like in Austin, but unlike there, it includes safety drivers in California.  

 

Ford Warns of $3B Annual Hit from Tariffs  

 

Ford’s Wednesday earnings cited an $800 million Q2 tariff impact, raising its full-year tariff hit forecast by $500 million to $3 billion. Pre-market, Ford fell over 1% Thursday.  

 

Moderna to Cut 10% Global Workforce  

 

Thursday Eastern Time, U.S. vaccine maker Moderna announced a 10% staff reduction to offset declining vaccine sales.  

 

Eli Lilly Trial Shows Mounjaro Benefits Heart Health, but Market Displeased  

 

Eli Lilly’s Thursday long-term trial results showed Mounjaro (tirzepatide) reduced cardiovascular death, heart attack, or stroke risk by 8% vs. Trulicity (dulaglutide) for type 2 diabetes patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

 

However, the modest improvement disappointed, with Lilly dropping over 5% pre-market, narrowing to ~2% by this writing.

 

Notably, Trulicity’s patent expires in 2027. Lilly argues the study strengthens Mounjaro’s case as a top prescription for type 2 diabetes, where heart disease/stroke risk is double that of non-diabetics.