Wall Street Today | Wall Street Is Rooting for an M&A Comeback in the 2nd Half

US consumer sentiment continued to improve through the end of June, while short-term inflation expectations held at a more than two-year low.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index climbed to 64.4 from a preliminary reading of 63.9, according to the final June reading out Friday. That marked a rebound from a May slump.

Consumers expect prices will climb at an annual rate of 3.3% over the next year, matching the preliminary reading. They see costs rising 3% over the next five to 10 years, the data showed.

A measure of US core services prices that Federal Reserve officials are watching closely posted its smallest advance since July of last year.

A measure of US core services prices that Federal Reserve officials are watching closely posted its smallest advance since July of last year.A measure of US core services prices that Federal Reserve officials are watching closely posted its smallest advance since July of last year.

The US Supreme Court's ruling throwing out President Joe Biden's student-loan relief plan will likely further dent consumer spending at a time when the main engine of the economy is already stalling.

The decision to overturn the forgiveness program, which would have canceled as much as $20,000 in student debt for certain federal borrowers, won't have a major impact at the macroeconomic level by itself, according to economists. But it will add to the financial strain households are increasingly facing this year.

It has been a tough start to the year for deal making, but Wall Street is hopeful that things will turn around in the back half of 2023.

U.S. merger-and-acquisition volume totaled $219 billion in the second quarter, according to a tally by KPMG. That's down 8% from the prior quarter and 50% from the year-ago quarter. It's less than a third of the $736 billion in volume seen during frenzied deal making in the first quarter of 2021. That has been bad news for investment bankers who count on advisory fees.

The last time technology stocks had a better first half, Apple was touting its Lisa desktop computer, IBM was the most-valuable tech company in the U.S. and Mark Zuckerberg hadn't been born.

The iPhone maker gained 2.3% on Friday, adding to a rally that's added more than $983 billion to its size this year and leaving it roughly a half-trillion dollars above the next-largest company.

XPeng launched its G6 Ultra Smart Coupe SUV in China. According to the company, the car has "the industry's only mass-produced full-scenario" advanced driver-assistance system, among other features.

The service has already begun talking to partners about the product, according to people familiar with the plan who asked not to be identified because they weren't authorized to speak about it publicly.

On June 23, Ellison used options that he had been awarded earlier to buy 1.75 million Oracle shares for $52.7 million, or $30.11 a share. He then sold the same number of shares that day for $208 million, at an average price of $118.79 each.

Ellison's stock ownership remains at 1.15 billion shares, according to a form he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. His Oracle stake is more than 40%, making him the company's largest shareholder.

The Competition and Markets Authority said Friday that "this merger may be expected to result in a substantial lessening of competition." Adobe has five days to respond to concerns and may face a full-scale investigation after that.