What you need to know today

Tesla meme stock
Bill Gross, renowned investor and co-founder of Pimco, believes Elon Musk’s Tesla is behaving like a speculative play among retail investors. “Tesla acting like a meme stock — sagging fundamentals, straight up price action,” the former chief investment officer and co-founder of Pimco said in a post on X Tuesday afternoon. “But then there seems to be a new meme stock every other day now. Most are pump and dump.” Tesla has risen for 11 days straight and is up 44% since June 24.

Google ‘ditches deal’
HubSpot’s shares plummeted 12% following a Bloomberg report stating Alphabet will not acquire the software company. The news comes amid increased regulatory scrutiny of proposed large tech acquisitions, including those by Amazon and Microsoft.

The acquisition of HubSpot, which specializes in marketing automation software for small- and medium-sized businesses, would have bolstered Google’s business software revenue and diversified Alphabet’s portfolio.

Samsung smart ring
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring, its first smart ring, aiming to expand its health-tracking ecosystem and rival Apple’s advancements in the segment. The lightweight ring, equipped with 24/7 health monitoring sensors, comes amid slowing smartphone sales, prompting device makers to explore new revenue streams.

Samsung is betting on the Galaxy Ring’s health tracking capabilities, alongside its new AI-enhanced foldable smartphones, to boost its market share.

Archegos Hwang guilty
Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang was convicted of fraud and other charges by a Manhattan jury. Prosecutors accused Hwang and his deputy, Patrick Halligan, of lying to banks to secure billions of dollars that were used to inflate stock prices. Archegos collapsed in 2021. Both pleaded not guilty to multiple charges. They face up to 20 years in prison for each conviction.

S&P’s record No. 37
The S&P 500 closed above 5,600 for the first time ahead of Thursday’s inflation data, which could provide evidence for an interest rate cut.

The index rose for the seventh straight day, registering its 37th record close this year. The Nasdaq Composite also hit an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 258 points.

Chip stocks were among the winners, with Advanced Micro Devices rising almost 4% after agreeing to buy Silo AI. Industry leader Nvidia jumped and Apple clocked its seventh consecutive record high.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped, while U.S. oil prices rose as OPEC forecast strong demand.