On Tuesday, the major indices had mixed performance, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record high for the 35th time this year. During the session, the S&P 500 peaked at 5590.75 points, and the NASDAQ peaked at 18511.89 points, both setting intraday records.

U.S. Stock Market

At the close, Dow Jones fell by 52.82 points (0.13%) to 39291.97 points;

NASDAQ rose by 25.55 points (0.14%) to 18429.29 points;

S&P 500 rose by 4.13 points (0.07%) to 5576.98 points.

Tesla increased by 3.7%, marking its 10th consecutive day of gains and a monthly increase of 32%. Nvidia (NVDA.US) rose over 2%. The NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index rose by 2.4%, with Baidu (BIDU.US) up over 8%, Lufax (LU.US) up 16.7%, and Alibaba (BABA.US) up nearly 3%.

Macroeconomic News:

Federal Reserve's Powell Warns Against Premature Rate Cuts: Fed Chair Jerome Powell expressed concerns about keeping interest rates too high for too long, which could jeopardize economic growth. He testified before the Senate Banking Committee, indicating inflation has slowed but remains above the 2% target. Powell emphasized that it is premature to cut rates and that the Fed will make decisions on a meeting-by-meeting basis. He also noted the labor market is strong but not overheated.

U.S. Small Business Confidence: The U.S. small business confidence index rose to a six-month high in June, reaching 91.5, the highest since December of last year. However, this is the 30th consecutive month the index remained below the 50-year average of 98. Concerns about inflation and rising borrowing costs continue to pressure capital investment. A net 22% of businesses plan to increase wages in the next three months, up 4 percentage points from May. Labor markets remain tight in sectors like construction, transportation, and retail.

Potential Shift in Fed's Rate Policy: Nick Timiraos of the Wall Street Journal noted that Powell’s testimony hinted at a potential shift towards rate cuts. Powell acknowledged the cooling labor market and suggested that the Fed might be closer to reducing rates than previously indicated.

Short Selling Gains: Despite a generally rising market in Q2, short sellers made significant profits. The S&P 500 rose by 3.9%, with Nvidia (NVDA.US) up nearly 37%, and the NASDAQ 100 increased by 7.8%. According to S3 Partners LLC, short sellers gained $10 billion in Q2. Gains in industrial, healthcare, and financial sectors offset losses in tech stocks.

Company News:

Microsoft $Microsoft Corporation MSFT$ : Microsoft China reportedly required employees to use iPhones for system login verification, banning Android devices for multi-factor authentication starting in September. Microsoft stated this was to provide necessary application access due to unavailability of Google Mobile Services in the region.

Boeing $Boeing Company BA$ : June commercial aircraft deliveries reached the highest monthly total since the 737 Max incident, with 44 planes delivered, including 35 of the 737 series. The company recorded 14 new orders and 2 cancellations in the month.

Apple $Apple Inc. AAPL$: Global PC shipments grew by 3% in Q2, with Apple leading the growth at 21%, according to IDC. Acer followed with a 14% increase in shipments.