NEWS
Bulls Need A Powell Put

Foreign stocks continued outperforming, with U.S. stocks failing to hold their initial bid into the afternoon. Nvidia’s GTC event failed to deliver any groundbreaking catalyst for the bulls, so now all eyes turn to Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve. We’ll be hosting tomorrow’s press conference live on Stocktwits to see whether his commentary and updated projections embolden the bears or offer bulls hope. 👀 

Today's issue covers a prelude to tomorrow’s Fed meeting, Michael Saylor’s new-new strategy, an exclusive interview with Affirm’s CFO, and more. 📰

Here’s the S&P 500 heatmap. 1 of 11 sectors closed green, with healthcare (+0.05%) leading and consumer discretionary (-1.78%) lagging.

And here are the closing prices: 

POLICY
The Market’s Fate Rests With Jerome Powell 😬 

With the bulk of earnings season behind us and the geopolitical headlines quieting down, all eyes are turning back to the economy and Fed policy. 🍿 

The CME FedWatch Tool indicates a 100% chance the Fed keeps interest rates unchanged tomorrow and is pricing in a 76% chance of a 25 bp rate cut during its June meeting. That adjustment came after inflation readings backed off, and the economy showed additional signs of slowing in response to tariffs and other news.

With consumer, investor, and business sentiment all falling materially over the last few months, investors now want to hear what the Federal Open Market Committee and its Chairman Jerome Powell think. 👂️ 

While the actual rate decision is unlikely to be a surprise, as 60% of Stocktwits poll voters expect rates to stay steady, the committee will also release its new quarterly projections. Investors will be watching closely to see whether or not growth and inflation expectations, which were ratcheted up marginally in the fourth quarter, are adjusted to reflect recent economic data and geopolitics. 🤔 

Plus, we’ll be hosting Jerome Powell’s press conference live on Stocktwits at 2:30 pm ET, live on the $SPY symbol page. Tune in to chat about it live! 💻️ 

Also, Nvidia’s GTC Keynote took place today, and the market was seemingly underwhelmed as shares fell nearly 4% on the day. This comes despite a host of updates from the company, but just like its past three earnings reports, expectations may have been far too high for the company to deliver.

We’ll see how the stock reacts in the coming days, but the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and other large-cap indexes need Nvidia’s leadership to regain their footing. 🙏 

PRESENTED BY STOCKTWITS
Exclusive Interview: Affirm CFO Rob O’Hare 🧑‍💼 💳️ 

Buy now, pay later stocks are all over the news as Klarna looks to come to market, inking an exclusive deal with Walmart in the process. Plus, the health of the U.S. economy remains at center stage, raising concerns about consumer-linked companies.

So, how is Fintech giant Affirm navigating the current environment? We sat down with CFO Rob O’Hare to answer questions directly from retail investors. You don’t want to miss this. 🤩