Closing Bell: Stocks Fall as Yields Climb on Inflation and Debt Concerns

U.S. equities continued to face selling pressure as Treasury yields climbed and geopolitical risk remained top of mind for traders and investors.

The S&P 500 declined 0.67%, the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.61%, while the Russell 2000 finished down 1% on the session. Health Care, Energy, and Utilities were the top-performing sectors on the day, while Materials and Communication Services lagged.

Google and Blackstone Launch $5B AI Cloud Venture Targeting 500MW TPU Capacity by 2027

Google (GOOGL) and Blackstone (BX) are launching a U.S.-based AI cloud joint venture backed by an initial $5B equity commitment, aiming to deliver data center capacity and TPU-powered compute-as-a-service. Led by longtime Google exec Benjamin Treynor Sloss, the venture targets 500 MW of capacity by 2027 and offers customers an alternative path to access Google’s AI infrastructure, similar to the CoreWeave (CRWV) model.

Cava Q1 Beats on Strong Comparable Sales, Traffic Growth, and Margin Expansion

Cava (CAVA) delivered a strong Q1, with same sales at restaurants rising 9.7%—well above estimates—driven by 6.8% traffic growth Revenue of $438.3M and EPS of $0.20 also beat expectations compared to LSEG estimates. Restaurant-level margins reached 25.1%, and the company opened 20 net new locations. For the full year, Cava guided adjusted EBITDA to $181M–$191M and reaffirmed same-store sales growth of 4.5%–6.5%, in line with estimates.

Economic Events for Tomorrow (ET)

9:15am: FOMC Member Barr Speaks

10:30am: Crude Oil Inventories

2:00pm: FOMC Meeting Minutes

Earnings Calendar

Before Market Open: ADI, TJX, LOW, TGT, HAS, VFC

After Market Close: NVDA, INTU, NDSN, URBN, ELF

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