Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange on June 4, 2025. <\/p>\n
NYSE<\/p>\n
Here are two statements that, on the surface, may appear contradictory:<\/p>\n
Why do those premises sit together uneasily?<\/p>\n
Well, a slowdown in jobs growth implies a faltering economy, which has generally been bad for stocks. When people lose their jobs \u2014 or simply feel like they can’t afford to buy goods and services \u2014 corporate revenue falls. And those numbers are what, fundamentally, stock prices are based on.<\/p>\n
But major indexes closed higher Monday, despite news of a weaker-than-expected jobs market in August. Of course, the prospect of rate cuts boosted investor sentiment.<\/p>\n
A closer look at the individual movements of stocks, however, might provide another explanation for that. Technology firms \u2014 and artificial intelligence companies such as Broadcom<\/a> and Nvidia<\/a>, in particular \u2014 led the rise.<\/p>\n Investors, then, might have also shrugged off the August jobs report because they could be aware that the advent of AI will bring with it not just job losses<\/a>, but also the end of the career ladder<\/a>. Salesforce last week revealed it had cut 4,000 jobs because of AI<\/a>, while Klarna in May said AI helped the company shrink its workforce by about 40%<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, the implication \u2014 but a highly speculative and far-fetched one! \u2014 is that job losses could, in some ways, indicate that AI is working as intended \u2014 good for the companies, not so much for job seekers.<\/p>\n What you need to know today<\/p>\n The Nasdaq Composite closes at a record high. <\/strong>On Monday, the tech-heavy index rose 0.45%, alongside gains<\/a> in the S&P 500<\/a> and Dow Jones Industrial Average<\/a>. <\/strong>Japan’s Nikkei 225<\/a> also hit a fresh high Tuesday, breaking the 44,000 level<\/a>, but gave up gains later in the session.<\/p>\n Refunds could hit $1 trillion if tariffs deemed illegal. <\/strong>That figure, provided by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, included projections until June 2026, which is the typical time frame for a decision by the Supreme Court<\/a>.<\/p>\n India urges BRIC partners to address trade deficits. <\/strong>The country’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar made those comments at a virtual summit Monday. At the same event, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on BRICS members to cooperate in the face of the U.S.’ tariffs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mistral AI is valued at 11.7 billion euro ($13.8 billion). <\/strong>In a recently concluded funding round<\/a>, Dutch chipmaker ASML<\/a> pumped 1.3 billion euro in the French AI firm as lead investor. The round more than doubled Mistral AI’s valuation from the previous year<\/a>.<\/p>\n [PRO] Morgan Stanley thinks this stock has nearly 70% upside. <\/strong>The Wall Street bank on Monday initiated research coverage on a financial exchange which launched an initial public offering last year \u2014 and assigned it an “outperform” rating<\/a>.<\/p>\n