Oil Finally Cracked Below $100, Nike Cratered, and SpaceX Filed for a Monster IPO

The peace rally is two days old, and the market is starting to look like it might actually believe in the end of this war.

Nike used its earnings call on Wednesday to remind investors that China remains a challenge, SpaceX filed for one of the largest IPOs ever on Wednesday, and Trump scheduled a primetime address to the nation for tonight.

Today's Closing Bell has every move and a few that will matter more tomorrow than they did today.

Operation Epic Fury’s 2,000 strikes in 96 hours revealed a hidden vulnerability: the U.S. relies on imported titanium for modern defense systems, while China controls most of the global supply.

Project Blue warns a Western supply crunch is approaching, with defense and aerospace at risk.

Enter North America’s “Radar” Project:

Power, shipping, and infrastructure are already in place. With a resource estimate expected in 2026, this is one to watch.

See the full report

Stocks rose for the second straight session as oil slipped below $100, and peace optimism around the Iran war continued to drive a broad-based recovery.

Energy was the one clear loser on the day, with Exxon suffering what analysts called its worst single-day market cap loss since 2008 as investors priced in an end to the supply disruption that made oil stocks the only winners in March.

Nike cratered on a brutal China outlook, and Eli Lilly cleared FDA approval for its GLP-1 pill in a session that managed to be both a relief rally and a very busy earnings day.

Trump is scheduled to address the nation tonight on the Iran war, and the market spent the afternoon holding its gains while it waits to find out exactly what two to three weeks actually means.

Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is spending $14.2 billion to buy back the stake it sold in its Ireland chip factory just two years ago.

At the time, that deal was about survival, bringing in cash when the company was under pressure and trying to fund its turnaround.

Now Intel wants full ownership again, and that shift says a lot more than the headline.

This Is What a Real Turnaround Looks Like

Selling part of a core asset is a move companies make when they need breathing room. Buying it back means that the breathing room worked.

Intel is now in a position to take full control of one of its most important manufacturing sites.

You do not reverse a move like this unless the strategy has changed. This is Intel moving from fixing problems to rebuilding strength, and doing it with assets it already knows how to run.

AI Demand Is Pulling Intel Back Into the Fight

Demand for chips tied to AI workloads is rising again, especially in data centers. Owning the factory outright means Intel keeps more of the upside and can move faster without partners involved.

For a while, Intel’s story was about catching up. This move starts to shift that narrative into something more aggressive. 

It also reframes how your view of the company evolves, because this is no longer just a recovery story. It is a company positioning itself to compete again at full scale.

Nike (NYSE: NKE) just posted another drop in China sales, marking seven straight quarters of decline in one of its most important regions.

This is not a one-quarter bad story; this is a trend that is getting harder to ignore.

China used to be Nike’s biggest growth engine. Now, it has become a problem that the company cannot fix quickly.

China Was Supposed to Power the Future

For years, Nike relied on China to drive global growth. The market is massive, younger consumers are brand-driven, and demand for sportswear has been exploding.

That is exactly why this matters so much.

When a region that once fueled growth starts shrinking, it does not just slow the company down; it forces a complete rethink of strategy.

You are watching Nike lose ground in a market it cannot afford to lose.

The Turnaround Will Take Time

Nike is still global. Local players are becoming personal. Nike is trying to reset its strategy, rebuild relationships, and push new products. But even the company admits this will take time.

That delay matters more than anything. It changes how your expectations of Nike’s comeback should look, because this is not a quick bounce-back story anymore.

You can see where this is going. Nike is still a giant, but in China, it is no longer leading the game, and that changes the entire future growth story.

A subsea-focused micro-cap company has submitted a formal proposal under a U.S. solicitation aimed at securing nickel supply.

The opportunity is notable: selected projects may receive non-dilutive funding, offering potential government-backed support without issuing new shares.

The company also brings offshore operating experience and a relatively tight public float, factors investors often watch at this stage.

Speculative and early, but the bid is a tangible milestone in an emerging story.

[Access the Full Report]

*This communication is a paid advertisement published by Capital Gain Media Incorporated and does not constitute a recommendation, offer, or solicitation to buy or sell securities. Capital Gain Media Incorporated has been compensated by Deep Sea Minerals Corp. with four hundred thousand dollars (USD 400,000) plus applicable taxes for an ongoing marketing campaign, which includes the publication of this communication. This compensation constitutes a significant conflict of interest with respect to our impartiality. This communication is for entertainment and informational purposes only. Never invest solely on the basis of our communications. The owner of Capital Gain Media may buy or sell securities of this issuer for its own profit. Resource exploration and development is highly speculative and involves significant inherent risks. There is no guarantee that Deep Sea Minerals Corp will generate a return on investment. All forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investors should conduct their own due diligence and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For complete risk factors, refer to Deep Sea Minerals Corp.'s continuous disclosure documents available at www.sedarplus.ca.

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is planning to invest $1 billion in South Africa by 2030, expanding production capacity and strengthening its presence in the region.

On the surface, it looks like another international expansion move. In reality, it says a lot about where the company sees its future growth coming from.

Growth Is No Longer Coming From Where It Used To

In mature markets like North America, growth is steady but limited.

Consumption patterns are stable, competition is high, and there is only so much room to expand. That is why markets like Africa matter more than ever.

Younger populations, rising incomes, and increasing urbanization create long-term demand that companies like Coca-Cola are positioning for early.

You are not looking at a short-term play here; this is Coca-Cola locking in relevance for the next decade.

Owning the Infrastructure Means Owning the Market

This investment is not just about selling more drinks. It is about building the systems that make distribution faster, cheaper, and more reliable.

Expanding into emerging markets comes with risks, including currency swings and economic instability. But the upside is the scale that mature markets no longer offer.

You can see the strategy clearly. Coca-Cola is not chasing quick wins; it is placing long-term bets where the next wave of global demand is still being built.

👉 Click here to get our closing report to your cell for free!

Cyclerion Therapeutics [CYCN] $6.38 (+311.61%)

Cyclerion announced a definitive merger agreement with Korsana Biosciences, a privately held biotech focused on Alzheimer's disease treatments that has raised $380 million in private funding from the likes of JP Morgan, Janus Henderson, and Sanofi Ventures.

The combined company will trade on Nasdaq under the new ticker KRSA, giving Cyclerion shareholders a path into a well-funded neurodegenerative disease platform with Phase 1 data expected in 2027.

When a small listed company gets folded into something backed by that kind of institutional money, the stock reprices fast, and volume running at over 7,600x average tells you exactly how fast that happened.

Axe Compute [AGPU] $3.56 (+117.07%)

Axe Compute is an enterprise GPU infrastructure company that pivoted hard into AI compute and showed up Wednesday with real receipts: $12 million in executed agreements signed in the last 30 days, 20-plus enterprise customers, and an estimated $835,000 in monthly income entering Q2.

For a company that reported essentially zero compute revenue in 2025, that kind of commercial traction landing on the same day as its annual earnings call gave the market a first real look at whether the AI pivot was working, and the more than doubling of the stock says investors liked what they saw.

Regencell Bioscience [RGC] $33.72 (+32.60%)

Regencell is a Hong Kong-based biotech focused on traditional Chinese medicine treatments for neurodevelopmental conditions, and what makes Wednesday's 39% move notable is the market cap behind it.

At $17.55 billion, this is not a micro-cap momentum trade finding a lucky day.

Volume ran at nearly 8x average, which tells you real money was moving here, and on a day when the broader market was running hot on peace optimism, a name this size moving this far on that kind of volume is worth paying attention to.

Oric Pharmaceuticals [ORIC] $7.48 (-41.00%)

Oric makes treatments for drug-resistant cancers, and the stock dropped nearly 40% after reporting Phase 2 data that failed to demonstrate meaningful clinical benefit at the doses being studied, which in oncology is the kind of result the market prices with no hesitation and no mercy.

At a $772 million market cap with a Strong Buy rating going into the readout, institutional ownership was significant, and volume running at 8x average tells you the exit happened fast and all at once.

When a biotech this size misses a binary catalyst, there is no orderly way out.

AXT Inc [AXTI] $47.14 (-17.27%)

AXT makes compound semiconductor substrates used in everything from 5G infrastructure to solar cells, and the stock fell hard on a day when the energy sector broadly sold off as peace hopes pushed oil lower and took the war-trade premium out of anything remotely energy-adjacent.

At a $2.62 billion market cap with a Buy rating, there was real institutional ownership on the line, and a 17% drop in a single session on 1.63x volume tells you this was a repricing of the geopolitical premium that had been baked into the stock rather than a fundamental deterioration in the business.

Nike [NKE] $44.64 (-15.49%)

Nike warned Wednesday that it expects China sales to fall 20% in the current quarter, which follows a 7% decline in the quarter it just reported, and the market sent the stock to its lowest price since 2014 in response.

The company is now down nearly 30% for the year and headed for its fifth straight negative annual performance, which, for one of the most recognized brands in the world, is a remarkable streak of difficulty.

On a day when everything else was rallying on peace hopes, Nike's 15% drop on nearly 6x average volume was impossible to miss and impossible to spin.

Rising geopolitical tensions have pushed oil sharply higher — and renewed focus on energy equities.

For investors, the key question is which companies could thrive if prices remain elevated.

Zacks’ latest report reviews three oil stocks worth attention in this environment.

[Access the report]

*The results listed above are not (or may not be) representative of the performance of all selections made by Zacks Investment Research's newsletter editors and may represent the partial close of a position. Access grants you a comprehensive list of all open and closed trades.
*This free resource is being sent by Zacks.com. We look for investment resources and inform you of these resources, which you may choose to use in making your own investment decisions. Zacks is providing information on this resource to you subject to the Zacks "Terms of Service".

That's it for today! Please, write us back, and let us know what you think of the Closing Bell Roundup. We're always eager to hear feedback!

Thanks for reading. I'll see you at the next open! 

Best Regards,
— Adam G.
Elite Trade Club

Click here to get our daily newsletter straight to your cell for free.

P.S. Just like this newsletter, it's 100% free*, and you can stop at any time by replying STOP.