⛅ Good morning. The S&P 500 enters the post–July Fourth stretch with fireworks of its own closing at a record high as retail investors pour in at historic levels. But the mood this morning is more cautious.

Futures are down as tariff tensions flare up again and job data stirs rate-cut bets. Musk launched a new political party (yes, really), Datadog popped on S&P 500 inclusion, and Avis is quietly ripping as hedge funds pile in.

⏩ Here’s everything you need to know to start your trading day sharp.

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00pm ET.

Markets: The S&P 500 heads into the post–July 4th stretch at a record high, rallying Thursday on the back of a strong monthly jobs report (markets were closed Friday). Retail investors are fueling the surge—they’ve poured a record $155 billion into U.S. stocks and ETFs in 2025, outpacing even the meme-stock craze of 2021, per VandaTrack. That wave of cash has lifted retail darlings like Avis, which has seen its shares take off.

U.S. futures are softer ahead of the open: Dow –0.07%, S&P –0.3%, Nasdaq –0.5%, as investors digest renewed tariff risk and mixed labor data from the start of the week .

Futures & Rates Recap. Treasury yields softened as bond markets priced in weaker jobs dynamics. Dollar slid near multi-year lows, adding pressure on non-U.S. earners 

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Avis Budget Group (CAR) gained 2.12% to close at $181.31 on Monday after hedge fund Pentwater Capital revealed it had tripled its position in the rental-car giant, citing confidence in travel trends and vehicle pricing strength.

The stock recently hit a 52-week high, driven by optimism around summer travel, fleet efficiency gains, and supportive pricing for used vehicles—a key valuation lever for rental companies.

While Q1 results showed a deep EPS miss and negative EBITDA, management struck a bullish tone, highlighting early signs of a recovery and progress in rotating the fleet toward more fuel-efficient models.

Wall Street remains divided: JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight with a $155 price target, while Goldman Sachs maintained a bearish stance, cutting its target to $87.

Still, CAR has climbed nearly 10% in the last two weeks, as institutional buying and technical breakout signals continue to draw momentum traders.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) rose 1.66% to close at $134.36 on Monday, continuing a rally sparked by a strong Q2 earnings beat and fresh analyst praise from Zacks.

The company posted $0.10 in EPS versus $0.09 expected, alongside accelerating demand across its AI-driven government and commercial platforms. Zacks named PLTR a top growth pick, citing the company’s expanding deal pipeline and increasing enterprise adoption.

Momentum has been building for weeks, with the stock pushing through key resistance levels and drawing attention from institutional buyers betting on AI infrastructure growth.

Analysts remain bullish, highlighting Palantir’s unique positioning at the intersection of defense, government data, and enterprise AI. Several raised their FY2025 revenue estimates to reflect growing global demand for secure, large-scale analytics platforms.

Palantir shares are up more than 20% over the past month and are now trading just above a key breakout zone near $134.

Broadcom (AVGO) climbed 1.92% to close at $275.18 on Monday after reporting strong Q2 results and gaining attention from Zacks as a top AI chip play.

The chipmaker posted earnings of $1.58 per share on $15 billion in revenue—both beating expectations—driven by robust demand for data center and AI infrastructure chips. Analysts praised the company’s diversified exposure, which spans semiconductors, enterprise software, and cloud networking.

Broadcom has increasingly positioned itself as a defensive leader in the AI boom, with its VMware integration expanding its reach across hybrid cloud and edge workloads.

Zacks upgraded the stock to a “Strong Buy,” and several Wall Street firms followed with bullish notes, pointing to stable earnings growth even in a choppy macro environment.

AVGO is up roughly 18% year-to-date and is now sitting comfortably above its 50-day moving average, with new support forming near $270.

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That’s it for today!

We’ll be back tomorrow with pre-market movers, sector shakeups, and the next market catalysts.

—The Future Bytes Team

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