👋 Good afternoon. U.S. stocks defied tariff jitters and nudged higher Monday, with the Nasdaq closing at a new record and traders bracing for a week packed with CPI, PPI, and retail data.

While Trump’s trade threats dominated headlines, investors zeroed in on Q2 earnings, AI, and crypto momentum. Orange juice futures stole the commodity spotlight (yes, really), and Palantir soared to new highs as AI euphoria powered tech.

Let’s break down everything that mattered today, without the fluff. 👇

*Stock data as of market close":

Markets: U.S. stocks brushed off President Trump’s tariff threats—30% on the EU and Mexico and 100% on Russian goods—as investors stayed focused on earnings momentum. The Nasdaq hit a fresh record close, while broader indexes posted modest gains across the board.

Commodities: Oil slipped and gold cooled off, but orange juice futures surged to a four-month high after Trump pledged 50% tariffs on all Brazilian imports. ☕ Coffee prices also climbed.

Nebius Group (NBIS) soared 17.1% to close at $51.89 on Monday after Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $68 price target, citing strong positioning in the fast-growing AI infrastructure space.

The Nvidia-backed firm—spun out from Yandex—has aggressively scaled its data center footprint across the U.S. and Europe, benefiting from enterprise demand for high-performance AI compute. Analysts highlighted its exclusive access to Nvidia Blackwell GPUs and a projected $1B ARR run rate by year-end as major catalysts.

The call from Goldman followed recent bullish upgrades from DA Davidson and Piper Sandler, all painting Nebius as a rising neocloud player capable of taking market share from legacy providers.

NBIS shares have now climbed nearly 60% over the last six weeks and are approaching resistance around the $54–$55 zone. Execution risk remains, but sentiment is clearly leaning bullish as institutional inflows accelerate.

Forget about AI… There's a hot new trend on Wall Street… and it's all thanks to President Trump. His administration has begun to fast-track the operations of a handful of companies… Accelerating their potential profits. That's why legendary investor Louis Navellier is now recommending these three stocks that are being fast-tracked.

Autodesk (ADSK) surged 5.35% to close at $294.20 on Monday after confirming it had ended merger discussions with PTC, with analysts and investors applauding the move as a reaffirmation of its standalone strategy.

The architecture and design software leader is now redirecting focus toward its internal GenAI roadmap, which analysts believe could deliver faster, more efficient automation across construction and engineering workflows.

The breakup was well-received, seen as avoiding costly integration and keeping capital deployment focused on organic growth and buybacks. Activist investor Starboard Capital is reportedly pressing for tighter cost discipline.

ADSK stock is now up nearly 20% from its June lows and nearing resistance in the $300–$310 range. Analysts have started to revise price targets upward on improved margin visibility and AI adoption tailwinds.

PayPal (PYPL) gained 3.38% to close at $73.77 on Monday, lifted by stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings and early AI innovation efforts aimed at boosting competitiveness.

The fintech firm reported a rebound in volume through Braintree and Venmo, and introduced pilots for AI-driven fraud detection and real-time crypto conversion tools—signaling a deeper push into smart payments.

Trading at a forward P/E of ~14.2, analysts see the stock as undervalued given its evolving tech stack. The earnings beat helped push PYPL above a key breakout level near $72, reversing a multi-week downtrend.

Shares are now up 10% over the last three weeks, with bullish firms like Evercore and Raymond James projecting a return to YTD highs near $78 if product adoption trends continue.

Rocket Lab (RKLB) rose 0.5% to close at $26.72 on Monday, marking its fifth green session in seven days after Citi raised its price target from $33 to $50 and reaffirmed a Buy rating.

The firm continues to gain investor confidence as its Neutron rocket nears its first commercial launch. Citi projects 20 Neutron flights by 2029, generating over $2.6 billion in revenue, while recent defense satellite contracts and the Geost acquisition add to the upside case.

With a reusable launch strategy and growing presence in national security missions, Rocket Lab is now seen as one of the most credible public competitors to SpaceX.

Shares have rallied over 600% year-to-date, currently trading just above key support at $26, with momentum traders eyeing a breakout toward the $30 mark if upcoming test milestones are met.

Something huge is headed to America's shores – and it scares the hell out of Wall St. legend Louis Navellier. When it makes landfall, its impact will be more violent and more severe than any financial crisis we've ever seen… "No matter how prepared you think you are, you aren't prepared enough," he warns.

💡 That’s a wrap for today.

Markets are dancing between trade drama and tech optimism and we’ll be here every step of the way to decode it all for you.

See you at the opening bell tomorrow,

—The Future Bytes Team