The magic 5,500

For the first time in its history, the S&P 500 closed above 5,500 on Tueday to extend a blistering 2024 rally that’s left analysts scrambling to update their targets. It was the gauge’s 32nd record this year. Tesla surged 10% to lead gains in megacaps, though market darling Nvidia failed to gain traction. The Nasdaq 100 hit the 20,000 mark, also notching a record high. More than $16 trillion has been added to the S&P 500’s value from a closing low on October 2022. Equities keep defying doomsayers amid solid corporate earnings, artificial-intelligence mania and expectations interest rates will drop. And a lack of meaningful pullback has given bulls faith that the rally is here to stay. Here’s your markets wrap. —David E. Rovella

Thanks to the six justices who control the US Supreme Court, it’s possible that—with all three of his pending prosecutions effectively delayed (and possibly derailed) beyond the November election—Donald Trump’s sole criminal conviction could be overturned, too. That’s the hope of his lawyers, who quickly cited yesterday’s sweeping high court victory as reason to toss a New York jury’s guilty verdict. Trump was convicted of using hush money payments and accounting fraud as part of a scheme to deceive American voters during the 2016 presidential campaign. Even though he committed those crimes before taking office, the opinion by the court’s GOP-appointed supermajority granting the ex-president wide-ranging immunity includes a potential pathway to dismissal. In even more good news for Trump, he now has more campaign money on hand than President Joe Biden, whose poll numbers are said to have taken a dive after last week’s debate.

HSBC Holdings is slowing down hiring and asking investment bankers to rein in their travel and entertainment expenses as outgoing Chief Executive Officer Noel Quinn looks to curb costs. The bank in some cases is said to not be replacing staff who have left or resigned in recent months. HSBC’s belt-tightening is the latest sign that lenders are starting to prepare for central banks around the world to begin cutting interest rates in the coming months. That would end an era of stubbornly high rates that fueled the profits of large, global banks like HSBC.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s National Rally is attempting to outmaneuver rivals trying to keep the ascendant party out of power in the final round of legislative elections on Sunday. There are two scenarios: One would see her win an absolute majority that would allow the National Rally to easily pass legislation. The other would be a hung parliament where President Emmanuel Macron would still dictate foreign policy but need to compromise on a prime minister, who would call the shots on domestic policy.

Xi Jinping has sought to portray China as neutral in Russia’s war on Ukraine even as western officials say it’s provided components and other support for Vladimir Putin’s forces. Now it seems Chinese and Russian companies are developing an attack drone similar to an Iranian model Russia is using in Ukraine, a sign Beijing may be edging closer to providing the sort of lethal aid that western officials have warned against.

Worried by deepening China-Russia relations, India’s Narendra Modi is heading to Moscow next week for talks with Putin, his first visit to the country since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor. “The deepening of the strategic alignment between Russia and China is uncomfortable for New Delhi,” said Swasti Rao of the Manohar Parrikar Institute For Defence Studies and Analyses in New Delhi. “It makes sense for the prime minister to go there and talk to Putin.” But the meeting may also help Putin counter Western efforts to cast him as a pariah for his continuing aggression, the devastation he’s unleashed and the tens of thousands of Ukrainians his forces have killed.

In May, Microsoft and G42, the United Arab Emirates artificial intelligence firm, announced plans to spend $1 billion on projects in Kenya, including a massive geothermal-powered data center. The deal was negotiated with input from the US and UAE governments and coincided with a summit meeting in Washington between Biden and Kenyan President William Ruto. Proponents see it as a potential blueprint for similar government-business partnerships that could help the US expand its political and economic clout in the Global South. But now there’s growing concern in Washington that relying on Microsoft, G42 and the Emirati government could imperil national security.

Abu Dhabi’s quest to attract top hedge funds to its financial center is creating a shortage of office space in the oil-rich emirate. After struggling to attract tenants for years, the four sleek towers in Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) are nearly full. The government is working on expanding the free zone’s jurisdiction to neighboring Al Reem Island in a move that will give it ten times as much space and make it one of the largest financial districts on the planet, stretching 14.4 million square meters (3,558 acres). As part of that, officials are ordering existing tenants of Al Reem Island to obtain an ADGM license or vacate their offices by the end of the year.

Island-hopping in Greece this summer just got a little easier. Hoper, the first helicopter airline in Greece offering scheduled flights, is now selling tickets to 11 destinations, including harder-to-reach spots like Antiparos, Folegandros, Ios, Kea, Patmos, Sifnos and Spetses. All connect to either Athens, Santorini, or Mykonos, which serve as the carrier’s hubs. Fares start at €160 ($172) per one-way ticket.

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