BY THE NUMBERS
U.S. stocks were poised for further upside this morning, after the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq on Tuesday had their largest one-session gains since Jan. 4. Investors were encouraged by signals from Fed Chairman Jerome Powell that central bankers were open to possibly cutting interest rates to save the U.S. economy and signs of easing trade tensions. (CNBC)
If the S&P 500 and Nasdaq can finish higher today, they would have their first back-to-back advances in nearly three weeks. The Dow has been up for two straight days and three of the past four. Tuesday's big rally also ended the Nasdaq's very brief stay in correction territory. (CNBC)
Mexican officials are set to meet with Vice President Mike Pence today in an effort to persuade Washington that their government has done enough to stem immigration concerns in a last-ditch effort to avoid tariffs. (Reuters)
* Trump reaffirms during UK news conference that Mexico tariffs 'will take effect next week' (CNBC)
* GOP senators hope Trump is bluffing on Mexico tariffs so they don't have to block them (CNBC)
* Democratic-controlled House votes to give 'Dreamers' a path to citizenship (NY Times)
Heightened trade tensions with the U.S. are beginning to hit China's growth. The International Monetary Fund lowered its 2019 growth forecast for the world's second-largest economy to 6.2% from 6.3% today. (CNBC)
* US denies GM request for tariff relief for Chinese-made Buick SUV (Reuters)
U.S. semiconductor stocks, including Skyworks Solutions (SWKS), have been hit hard in the past month following Trump's blacklisting of Huawei, which has raised the specter of wider restrictions to Chinese firms' access to American technology. (CNBC)
On today's economic calendar, the May ADP employment report is out at 8:15 a.m. ET. The ISM nonmanufacturing index for May is released at 10 a.m. ET. Meanwhile, American Eagle (AEO) is out with earnings this morning. Five Below (FIVE) and Stitch Fix (SFI) issue quarterly results after the closing bell. (CNBC)
* Lowest mortgage rates in a year and a half don't impress homebuyers (CNBC)
GameStop (GME) shares were tanking more than 25% in the premarket, after the videogame retailer missed estimates on quarterly revenue and same-store sales. GameStop also eliminated its dividend. However, earnings did beat. (CNBC)
Shares of Salesforce (CRM) were up about 5% in premarket trading, after the enterprise software giant reported adjusted quarterly earnings of 93 cents per share, which blew away estimates by 32 cents. Revenue also beat. Salesforce also gave a better-than-expected full-year outlook. (CNBC)
* Salesforce's Benioff: 'Massive' digital transformation is driving our growth (CNBC)
IN THE NEWS TODAY
President Donald Trump, before heading to Ireland, concluded his three-day state visit to the U.K. with a ceremony honoring the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. He was joined by Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and World War II veterans. (CNBC)
The Trump administration has ended the most popular forms of U.S. travel to Cuba, banning cruise ships and a heavily used category of educational travel starting today, in an attempt to cut off cash to the island's Communist government. (USA Today)
Trump said, in an interview, that there is "always a chance" the U.S. could take military action against Iran, but he would much rather hold talks with President Hassan Rouhani. The two countries have been drawn into starker confrontation in recent weeks, stoking concerns about a potential conflict. (CNBC)
Chinese President Xi Jinping heads to Russia today for top-level talks and a three-day state visit. A number of trade and investment deals are expected to be signed, although the Kremlin was unable to give CNBC any more details.
* China has enough support for steady economic development, Xi says (CNBC)
* Four charts show how much China's economy has changed in 30 years (CNBC)
Apple (AAPL) will reportedly ask developers to put its new "sign on with Apple" button in apps above rival buttons from Alphabet's Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB). Separately, CEO Tim Cook told CBS News that China has not targeted Apple as a result of the U.S.-China trade dispute. (Reuters and CNBC)
* Apple is shutting down iTunes—here's what will happen to your music (CNBC)
Carole Ghosn, the wife of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, accused Nissan of having her husband arrested in a conspiracy by the company's board to avoid a merger with French automaker Renault. (CNBC)
Meanwhile, the Renault board wants more time to weigh a potential merger with Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), which would create the world's third-largest auto maker by production. The board is meeting again today. (WSJ)
Beauty giant Sephora is closing more than 400 stores today to host inclusion workshops for its employees after singer SZA said she was racially profiled at a Sephora in California. The move follows similar steps by Nike (NKE), Starbucks (SBUX), and Papa John's (PZZA) after past incidents. (Reuters)
STOCKS TO WATCH
LabCorp (LH) said 7.7 million of its customers may have been impacted by the same data breach that affected rival medical lab operator Quest Diagnostics (DGX). The breach involved an outside vendor and may have exposed bank or credit card information.
Pivotal Software (PVTL) reported an adjusted loss of 3 cents per share, 2 cents smaller than expected. The applications software provider's revenue also beat estimates. However, Pivotal gave a lower-than-expected sales forecast for the full year.
Ambarella (AMBA) earned an adjusted 1 cent per share for its latest quarter, compared to forecasts of a 5 cents per share loss. The chipmaker's revenue also beat estimates. Ambarella issued stronger than expected current quarter revenue guidance despite falling orders from China.
TiVo (TIVO) said an International Trade Commission judge had ruled that NBCUniversal parent Comcast (CMCSA) had violated some of its patents. Comcast, however, pointed out that the judge found no violations in two of the three patents involved in the case and that it looks forward to the full commission's review of that remaining patent.
WATERCOOLER
The Golden State Warriors are up against the Toronto Raptors for Game 3 of the NBA finals tonight, without MVP Kevin Duran. He's still out in the best-of-seven series with a strained calf. (AP)