Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. S&P stops at six
The S&P 500 snapped its six-day win streak Tuesday, falling 0.39% as investors dumped the tech stocks that had fueled the index’s run. It was the benchmark’s longest stretch of consecutive days of gains since a nine-day streak that ended earlier this month. The S&P 500 is up more than 20% since its low in April, which came after President Donald Trump’s tariff announcement, and is now only about 3% from its record high. The Nasdaq Composite also slipped Tuesday, dropping 0.38%, as did the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which lost 114.83 points, or 0.27%. Dow futures dropped more than 300 points before the bell Wednesday as Treasury yields moved higher. Follow live market updates.
2. Getting on the road
Elon Musk interviews on CNBC from the Tesla Headquarters in Texas.
CNBC
Coming soon to the streets of Austin, Texas: Tesla robotaxis. Speaking with CNBC’s David Faber on Tuesday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk confirmed the automaker’s plans to put its robotaxis on the road by the end of June. The launch will start with about 10 vehicles in Austin, Musk said, but Tesla aims to bring the service to Los Angeles and San Francisco next. Waymo is already on the road in all three cities, and its co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana told CNBC on Tuesday that the Alphabet-owned robotaxi company has reached 10 million trips. Musk on Tuesday also committed to leading Tesla for the next five years, but he did say he is stepping back from one thing: political donations. The world’s richest person, who spent more than $250 million helping to elect Trump to a second term, said he plans “to do a lot less in the future.”
3. Still SALTy
U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) speak to members of the media, on the day of a closed House Republican Conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 20, 2025.
Ken Cedeno | Reuters
President Trump went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday in an effort to convince key GOP holdouts in the House to back a major tax bill. He appeared unsuccessful. The “SALT Caucus” — five blue-state Republicans who want a higher deduction cap on state and local taxes — remained opposed to the bill, even after Trump reportedly called them out in the closed-door meeting. The group threatens to derail the bill’s progress, which also faces pressure from Republicans who want cuts to Medicaid and others who want to cut the federal budget deficit. In his meeting on the Hill on Tuesday, Trump warned the House GOP caucus, “Don’t f— around with Medicaid.”
4. All-new AI
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, speaks at the Google I/O developer conference in Mountain View, California on May 20, 2025.
Andrej Sokolow | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Google revealed several new artificial intelligence products at its annual I/O developer conference on Tuesday, including a new “VIP” subscription service for $249.99 a month. “Google AI Ultra” offers the highest usage limits, access to the tech giant’s latest AI models and premium features — as well as early access to experimental products — and a YouTube premium subscription. The company also announced Veo 3, an AI video generator that can create and incorporate audio, available to subscribers of the Ultra plan. And lastly, shares of Warby Parker surged more than 15% after Google announced a $150 million partnership with the eyewear brand to produce a series of smart glasses.
5. Setting a new Target
People walk by a Target store in midtown Manhattan in New York City, U.S., March 21, 2025.Â
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Target cut its full-year sales outlook on Wednesday, citing weaker discretionary spending, consumers’ tariff uncertainty and backlash to its rollback of its DEI efforts. The retailer previously forecasted a net sales growth of about 1% but now expects a low-single-digit decline for this fiscal year. Target also missed Wall Street’s sales estimates for the first quarter, reporting a 3% drop year-over-year. Shares of the retailer were down 3.6% Wednesday before the bell. Shares of Lowe’s, meanwhile, were higher after the home improvement retailer maintained its full-year forecast and beat earnings expectations for the first quarter.
— CNBC’s Lisa Kailai Han, Jesse Pound, Alex Harring, Lora Kolodny, Deirdre Bosa, Ari Levy, Ashley Capoot, Kevin Breuninger, Dan Mangan, Emily Wilkins, Jennifer Elias, Samantha Subin and Melissa Repko contributed to this report.
