Breakfast News: S&P 500 Climbs, VIX Declines

Breakfast News: S&P 500 Climbs, VIX Declines

May 13, 2025

1. Relief Drives Stocks Higher and the VIX Lower

Tech (+4.66%) and consumer discretionary (+5.66%) sectors led the S&P 500 to the highest level since early March, with the Dow Jones exiting correction territory.

• Signs of thawing tensions: The White House confirmed this morning the U.S. would cut the “de minimis” tariff on China shipments from 120% to 54%. China has removed the month-long ban on airlines taking delivery of Boeing (BA 1.83%) planes.
• The VIX continues to fall below 19: The common market fear gauge moved to the lowest level since March 27. Improving investor sentiment was noted by Goldman Sachs (GS 4.27%), raising its S&P 500 year-end forecast to 6,500 points.

2. Amazon Taps FedEx for Deliveries

Amazon (AMZN 8.09%) has partnered with FedEx (FDX 6.91%) to handle some package deliveries previously looked after by UPS (UPS 5.50%), with the tech giant citing cost favorability and capacity issues.

• “Securing FedEx capacity is our primary solution for these capacity constraints”: FedEx will work alongside other third-party partners, such as UPS and USPS, but the added bandwidth will help following news UPS would be reducing its shipping volume for Amazon in the coming year.
• Amazon shipped 6.3 billion parcels in 2024: Data shows Amazon grew deliveries by 7.3% last year, far outstripping UPS at 4.7 billion and FedEx at 3.7 billion, highlighting the logistics powerhouse it has become.

3. Bitcoin Stalls, Coinbase Set for S&P 500

Bitcoin (BTC -0.38%) fell short of posting record highs, with the cryptocurrency being a notable absentee to the risk-on party. Some flagged profit-taking and trader nerves after a rapid 25% gain in the past month.

• Jitters ahead of all-time highs: After trading around $5k from record levels, demand has stalled, with some flows moving to Ethereum (ETH -1.12%), which has rocketed 37% in the past week.
• Welcoming crypto stocks to the mainstream: Heightened trading activity has been advantageous for Coinbase (COIN 3.86%), with the company set to join the S&P 500 next week. While Bitcoin has a Superscore of 90 in our Cryptoball database, Coinbase has a Superscore of 70 in Moneyball.

4. After-Hours Earnings: Rigetti Reels, Hertz Hurts

Rigetti Computing (RGTI 9.31%) fell over 12% after the market closed, following a disappointing operating loss for Q1 and a steep gross margin fall, partly due to lower margin contract deals.

• Focusing on technological advancements: The management team highlighted innovation awards and new projects when looking ahead for the rest of the year, but it remains to be seen if these will help improve profitability.
• “The company intends to remain prudent in its fleet management, entering the summer with a relatively tight fleet”: Hertz (HTZ 3.57%) missed revenue and earnings estimates for Q1, causing the stock to drop over 6% after the closing bell. The fall was primarily driven by reduced fleet capacity.

5. Key Tuesday Results: NU, ONON, SE

Rule Breakers recommendation Nu Holdings (NU 0.66%) will release earnings after the closing bell. Investors are watching for the extent of growth in the customer base, alongside the activity engagement rate.

• Beating the S&P 500 by 14% since June 2024 Stock Advisor rec: On Holding (ONON 3.97%) will be hoping to match the strong Q4 earnings beat when it reports pre-market open. It has been pushing the direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels, so investors will be keen to see what portion of total revenue this makes up.
• Growth hinging on expansion in Asia and Brazil: Sea Limited (SE 2.02%) is expected to grow Q1 revenue by 30.8% from the prior-year period when it puts out financials before the market opens. This should be thanks to strong performances in e-commerce and digital financial services, the same as last quarter.

6. Foolish Fun

Hellen Obiri was the second-fastest woman at the Boston Marathon, wearing On’s Cloudboom Strike LS shoes. Sharon Lokedi won in Under Armour‘s (UA 5.64%) Velociti Elite 3 Prototype, while third place went to Yalemzerf Yehualaw in Nike‘s (NKE 7.44%) Alphafly 3.

Which has the best chance of beating the market over the next 5 years, and why: On Holding, Nike, or Under Armour? Debate with friends and family, or become a member to hear what your fellow Fools are saying!

This image and article was created using Large Language Models (LLMs) based on The Motley Fool’s insights and investing approach. It has been reviewed by our AI quality control systems. Since LLMs cannot (currently) own stocks, it has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Bitcoin, Coinbase Global, Ethereum, FedEx, Goldman Sachs Group, Nike, and Sea Limited. The Motley Fool recommends Nu Holdings, On Holding, Under Armour, and United Parcel Service. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.