Nasdaq jumps on Google court win, weak jobs data weighs on Dow Jones

4:15pm: Nasdaq jumps

The Nasdaq led Wednesday’s gains, driven by surges in Google parent Alphabet and Apple, up 9% and 3.8%, respectively.

The Nasdaq added 1% at 21,497 points while the S&P 500 was up 0.5% at 6,448 points.

The Dow Jones, on the other hand, edged 24 points lower to 45,271 points following weak JOTLS jobs data.

3:41pm: Proactive news headlines

• Century Lithium Corp. (TSX-V:LCE, OTCQX:CYDVF)'s recent financing has provided it with the financial flexibility to advance its Angel Island lithium project, according to analysts at Noble Capital Markets.
• Graphene Manufacturing Group Ltd (TSX-V:GMG, OTCQX:GMGMF) announced the closing of its bought deal public offering, generating gross proceeds of C$6.9 million.
• Zero Candida Ltd (TSX-V:ZCT, OTCQB:ZCTFF) continued to advance its proprietary, tampon-like device being developed to treat vulvo-vaginal candidiasis (VVC) towards human use during the second quarter of 2025. 
• Millennial Potash Corp (TSX-V:MLP, OTCQB:MLPNF) announced that its Banio Potash Project in southern Gabon received an official site visit from a government delegation that included Séraphin Moundouga, Vice President of the Gabonese Republic.  
• Nextech3D.AI (CSE:NTAR, OTCQX:NEXCF) announced that it has entered into a partnership with Vertical Insure to offer embedded insurance options through its Map Dynamics event platform.
• First Phosphate Corp. (CSE:PHOS, OTCQX:FRSPF) announced the results of the commercial cell testing of its recently produced commercial-grade lithium iron phosphate (LFP) 18650 format (PHOS - LFP 18650) Battery Cells, which use North American-sourced critical minerals. 
• Uranium American Resources Inc. (OTC:UARI) has announced plans to deploy advanced geophysical and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exploration techniques at its Stateline Project, located in Montrose County, Colorado, and San Juan County, Utah.
• Baselode Energy Corp (TSX-V:FIND, OTCQB:BSENF), reported that it has identified elevated radioactivity in sandstone just above the unconformity at its Loki target on the Aberdeen project in Nunavut.
• Gunnison Copper Corp (TSX:GCU, OTCQB:GCUMF) announced that it has achieved the first production of pure copper cathode from its fully-operational Johnson Camp Mine in Arizona during the last week of August 2025. 
• EDM Resources Inc (TSX-V:EDM, OTC:SWNLF) has reported gold assay results from zinc and lead concentrates at its Scotia Mine in Nova Scotia, Canada, which returned grades of 2.93 grams per tonne (g/t) and 142 g/t, respectively.
• HIVE Digital Technologies (TSX-V:HIVE, NASDAQ:HIVE) announced it has completed its Phase 2 expansion at the Yguazú site in Paraguay ahead of schedule, while also exceeding 18 Exahash per second (EH/s) of global Bitcoin mining capacity during the past week.  

2:42pm: Market movers

• Macy's, Inc. (NYSE:M) shares surged on Wednesday after the department store chain’s second quarter earnings topped Wall Street expectations and it raised its full-year guidance.
• Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) shares slid about 8% as the discount retailer warned that tariff-related costs would impact earnings in its current quarter even as its second quarter 2025 financial results topped analyst expectations.  
• Google parent Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) soared after a US judge's ruling indicated that it will not have to separate off its Chrome browser business. 

1:10am: Another strong day for gold 

Gold remained on track for its seventh straight day of gains, trading above $3,600 per ounce.

“Large ETF inflows, ongoing central bank purchases and flight-to-safety trading amid a near 92% chance of a September Fed rate cut, drive the precious metal price towards the $4,000 region,” IG senior technical analyst Axel Rudolph said.

11:45am: Labor market in focus

Wednesday’s JOLTS data is more evidence that the US jobs market is cooling, ING chief international economist James Knightly said.  

“With little inflation pressure coming from the jobs market the Fed is very likely to cut interest rates meaningfully in the months ahead,” Knightley said.

Wells Fargo analysts were more cautious, noting that the labor market balance remains fraught following the JOLTS report.

“The ‘curious’ balance in the labor market Chair Powell highlighted in Jackson Hole looks more delicate following the July JOLTS report,” they wrote.

They noted there is is now less than one job opening per unemployed worker, the first time this ratio has dropped below 1 since 2021.

“Workers and employers alike remain in a freeze, evident in the hiring and layoff rates holding steady at low levels,” Wells Fargo wrote.

10:55am: Job openings drop

US job openings fell to 7.18 million in July, down 176,000 from June and below economists’ forecast of 7.38 million, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Quits totaled 3.2 million. Hiring rose modestly by 41,000 to 5.31 million, while layoffs increased by 12,000 to 1.81 million, signaling a slight softening in labor market conditions ahead of Friday’s August jobs report.

9:55am: Mixed start as Nasdaq climbs, Dow falls

A mixed start for US stocks, as the the Nasdaq is up almost 0.8% and the Dow Jones is down 0.4%, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.3% in early trades. 

Leading the Nasdaq and S&P higher is Google parent Alphabet, up 7.6%, and Apple, up 2.3%. 

Alphabet is not in the Dow, though, which is dragged down by a 1.5% fall for Boeing. 

Nvidia is down slightly, while Amazon, Meta and Tesla are flattish so far. 

Dollar Tree is the biggest faller on the S&P, down 8.4% despite an earnings beat and raised outlook. 

8:02am: Wall Street rebound predicted, led by Nasdaq

Wall Street stocks are predicted to bounce back on Wednesday as bond market anxiety eases slightly, while a legal ruling provided a boost for Silicon Valley. 

US futures climbed into positive territory, with the Nasdaq 100 up 0.65% nd the S&P 500 up 0.4%, while Dow Jones futures were just below flat. 

This followed stocks finishing in the red the previous day, though losses were pared over the session. The Nasdaq Composite fared worst, ending down 0.8%, followed by declines of 0.7% for the S&P and 0.55% for the Dow. 

President Trump said that he was taking the recent tariff decision to the Supreme Court, as markets expected, but calling for an expedited ruling to make sure this does not drag on.

Also after US markets closed, Google parent Alphabet soared in afterhours trading after a US judge ruled that the ongoing $20 billion search deal between the two tech behemoths will remain and not be barred in its current form.

Alphabet Class A shares rose 7.2% and Apple shares rose 3%, as a Federal Court judge said "Google will not be barred from making payments or offering other consideration to distribution partners from preloading or placement of Google Search, Chrome, or its GenAI products". 

The judge ruled that Google can keep its Chrome browser but will not be allowed to strike exclusive deals and must also share its search data.

On the economic data front, today brings the JOLTS job openings release, ahead of the all-important non-farm payrolls figures at the end of the week.

Later in the session, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book provides a regional economic assessment ahead of the September policy meeting.

"Particular attention will be paid to any clues around the price pressures being felt by businesses in response to Trumps tariffs, with the lack of an inflation surge thus far allowing for a relatively dovish stance ahead of the Fed meeting," said market analyst Josh Mahony at Rostro.

Kenny Polcari at Slatestone noted the corporate bond "fever" with a record 27 investment-grade issuers tapping the market for a total of $43.3 billion to bring investment-grade corporate issuance to $1.12 trillion.

"But all that supply came at a cost - investors demanded higher yields. Yesterday’s auction saw rates ranging from ~4.8% to ~5.4%, and that pressure spilled right over into Treasuries."

He said the US 30yr Treasury inching closer to the 5% mark "rattled stocks" and overnight the global bond market "came under renewed pressure as investors wrestled with concerns over global inflation, massive debt loads, and a lack of fiscal discipline", he said.

Yields moved higher across the board in Japan, Australia, the UK and the US.

"On their own, the moves might not raise alarm bells – but taken together, the narrative becomes a bit more of a concern of heavy government spending and the very real risk of global inflation rearing its ugly head again," Polcari said.

With the S&P trading at 22x forward earnings, only the third time when the market was more expensive after the dotcom bubble in 1999/2000 and the post-Covid rally in 2020, he said this will be taken into account if economic data weakens.