S&P 500 Ends Winning Streak as AI Continues to Drive Market Interest
The S&P 500 lost 0.39% on Tuesday, ending its six-day winning streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.27%, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.38%. Despite the recent tariff tensions triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump, companies continue to invest heavily in AI infrastructure and leverage the technology for new revenue streams.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk reaffirmed his commitment to leading the company for the next five years during Bloomberg’s Qatar Economic Forum. Musk emphasized his desire for “sufficient voting control” to prevent being ousted by activist investors. In a separate interview with CNBC, Musk confirmed that Tesla will launch robotaxis in Austin by the end of June. This development comes as rival robotaxi firm Waymo, owned by Alphabet, announced it has reached 10 million paid trips.
Google is introducing a new artificial intelligence subscription service called ‘Google AI Ultra’ at $249.99 per month. The service includes Google’s flagship AI app Gemini with the newly announced Gemini 2.5 Pro ‘DeepThink’ mode, along with new filmmaking and note-to-podcast tools.
Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, emphasized that AI remains the primary catalyst for markets despite the current tariff discussions. ‘AI is still the most important theme for markets,’ Brown stated. The focus on AI continues to drive company investments, with Nvidia showing a 0.07% gain year to date, one of the few positive performances among the Magnificent Seven stocks.
In other market news, Japan’s export growth slowed to 2% in April, marking the second consecutive month of decline. The country’s exports have been impacted by a 25% levy on its auto, steel, and aluminum exports to the U.S.
The article also touched on Japan’s farm minister Taku Eto’s resignation following controversial comments about receiving ample rice gifts, highlighting the country’s struggles with soaring rice prices.
