Good afternoon and welcome to Markets Desk.
Equities took a step back Thursday as soft consumer data interrupted the recent run higher. The S&P five hundred slipped roughly two-tenths of a percent, the Nasdaq gave back a similar amount, and the Dow followed suit. Broadcom was a notable drag, falling six percent, reminding investors that even the AI trade carries real downside risk.
Shifting to Omaha, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway made some significant portfolio moves in the second quarter. The firm elevated Alphabet to a top-three holding, now sitting on roughly one hundred six million shares worth nearly thirty-eight billion dollars. Berkshire also added to Delta Air Lines and deepened its exposure to U.S. housing, signaling continued confidence in domestic consumer fundamentals.
And in the world of crypto and regulation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has conditionally approved a national trust bank charter for World Liberty Trust Company, the Trump family-backed crypto firm. The approval would allow the firm to issue stablecoins, marking one of the more consequential intersections of political enterprise and federal financial oversight seen in some time.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
