Stocks Retreat from Records as Trump Threatens Additional Tariffs; Bitcoin Hits New High Above $118,000

Levi Strauss Jumps After Strong Earnings, Boosted Outlook

4 minutes ago

Shares of Levi Strauss (LEVI) soared Friday, a day after the denim retailer reported fiscal second-quarter results that topped analysis expectations and lifted its full-year outlook.

Analysts t JP Morgan noted that Levi’s management said it has seen “no signs of moderation in business momentum to date including June or 3Q-to-date,” as they lifted their price target to $23 from $18. The new target puts JPMorgan above the average price target of $20.63 held by the eight analysts tracked by Visible Alpha, split between six “buy” and two “hold” ratings.

Levi Strauss saw sales increase across all of its regions and in both of its men’s and women’s segments in Q2. The analysts noted executives said that the brand became the No. 1 women’s denim brand in the last 12 months.

Last quarter, Levi’s management said that it was considering price changes to mitigate the impact of tariffs, but said they planned to be “surgical” if they had to raise them at all rather than hiking prices across the board. JPMorgan analysts upgraded Levi stock to “overweight” from “neutral” following the Q1 report, but cut their price target on concerns that tariffs could hamper full-year profit.

Levi shares were up 11% at around $22 recently, trading at their highest level in more than a year.

–Aaron McDade

Bitcoin Surges to Near $119K as Record Run Continues

1 hr 3 min ago

Bitcoin (BTCUSD) topped $118,000 for the first time, surpassing Thursday’s record as it continued to gain from companies adding it to their corporate treasuries and lawmakers passing pro-crypto legislation.

Bitcoin was trading at $118,000 recent, after rising to about $118,900 earlier Friday.

Bitcoin has now gained more than 25% so far this year, outpacing the S&P 500’s rise of 7% and surpassing the surge by AI darling Nvidia (NVDA), which this week became this first company ever to surpass the $4 trillion market capitalization milestone.

Bitcoin surged earlier this year on retail investors buying into ETFs but took a hit, along with the broader stock market, after President Donald Trump imposed his “Liberation Day” tariffs in April. Since then, the cryptocurrency has gained from a wave of companies joining Strategy (MSTR) in loading up on bitcoin. 

Crypto has also gained increased legitimacy with President Trump establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve and the Senate passing the GENIUS Act, a bill that would enable private companies to issue stablecoins. These are cryptocurrencies with their value tied directly to a state-issued currency, often the U.S. dollar.

–Nisha Gopalan

Airline Stock Price Levels to Watch After Thursday’s Big Rally

2 hr 16 min ago

Airlines stocks were under pressure early Friday giving back some of the huge gains posted yesterday after Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported better-than-expected earnings and reinstated its full-year guidance.

Delta shares soared 12% on the results, while United Airlines (UAL) climbed 14% to lead S&P 500 advancers on Thursday and American Airlines (AAL) surged 13%.

Airline stocks had faced headwinds in the first half of the year due to soft travel spending as President Donald Trump’s trade policies dented consumer and business confidence, prompting carriers to lower their outlooks, or in the case of Delta, remove it. Delta CEO Ed Bastian said Thursday that the decision to restore full-year guidance reflected “our confidence in the business.”

Delta

Delta shares have broken out from a symmetrical triangle. Key overhead areas on the chart to watch sit at $59 and $70, while an important support level lies at $50. Delta shares were down 2% at $55.50 in the opening minutes of Friday’s session.

United

United’s stock oscillated within an ascending triangle before breaking out above the pattern and the 200-day moving average on Thursday. Crucial overhead areas sit at $104 and $116, while retracements may find support around $83. United shares fell about 2% to around $90 in early trading Friday.

American

American Airlines shares have broken out from a key horizontal line that stretches back to last September, which also marks the neckline of a double bottom pattern. Notable overhead areas to watch sit at $15 and $17.50, while the $12 level may provide support. American shares fell 2.5% to $12.60 recently.

–Timothy Smith

Major Stock Index Futures Move Lower

3 hr 24 min ago

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.6%.

S&P 500 futures also declined 0.6%.

Nasdaq 100 futures were off 0.5%.