Surprise victory for the French left, Boeing pleads guilty

This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our global markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open keeps investors informed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

Far-right march blocked in France
The New Popular Front (Nouveau Front populaire) unexpectedly blocked the advance of the far right in the second round of the legislative elections, winning the most seats but falling short of an absolute majority. The coalition could win 182 seats, according to results released by the Interior Ministry, while President Macron’s Ensemble party and its allies are expected to win 168 seats and the far-right National Rally 143 seats.. French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced Monday that he would resign. No party won the 289 seats needed for an absolute majority, suggesting a hung parliament in Europe’s third-largest economy. Here’s what a hung parliament could mean for markets.

Boeing pleads guilty
Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to the 737 Max crashes, following a near-disaster in January that led the Justice Department to reconsider an earlier agreement shielding Boeing from prosecution. The plea deal, pending court approval, requires Boeing to pay a $243.6 million fine, equal to the amount paid under the 2021 settlement. The development marks a significant legal and financial setback for the aerospace giant as it continues to grapple with the fallout from the deadly crashes.

Skydance and Paramount Merger
Skydance Media and Paramount Global have agreed to merge, ending the Redstone family’s control of the iconic Hollywood studio. The deal combines Paramount’s film library with Skydance’s recent hits like “Top Gun: Maverick.” Skydance founder David Ellison will emerge as a new Hollywood powerhouse, inheriting a media giant facing challenges in the streaming age.

Records
The S&P 500 Index hit its 34th record closing high of the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite joined the broader S&P in setting session highs and closing records. All three major indexes had a positive week, with the Nasdaq climbing 3.5%, the S&P rising nearly 2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lagging, adding 0.7%. Year-to-date gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are 16.7% and 22.3%, respectively. The 10-year Treasury yield fell after the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose. U.S. oil prices posted a fourth straight weekly gain.

Asia down, Euro down
Asia-Pacific markets were mostly lower, with mainland China’s CSI 300 index falling 0.43%, marking its fifth straight day of declines. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also fell 1.34%. Japan’s export-heavy Nikkei 225 was relatively flat, while the Topix fell 0.2% as real wages fell for the 26th straight month. South Korea’s Kospi hovered near breakeven and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 declined. The euro weakened against the U.S. dollar amid projections of a left-wing victory in France’s snap elections.

(PRO) Neutral Nvidia
Nvidia’s stock, fueled by the artificial intelligence boom, has soared 154% this year, sparking investor excitement. But recent profit-taking and valuation concerns have led to a pullback and a rare downgrade by a Wall Street analyst.

Your final choice is only as good as your final decision. Marko Kolanovic may have accurately predicted a stock market rebound during the Covid-19 pandemic; however, he has remained bearish on the S&P 500 despite the index’s rise of nearly 17% this year.

Kolanovic, who joins JPMorgan as chief global strategist, has stood firm in his prediction that the S&P 500 will end the year at 4,200. It currently stands at 5,567.19, its 34th highest closing high of the year.

Kolanovic isn’t the only Wall Street strategist caught off guard by the price rally, but rival banks have been gradually raising their forecasts. Lori Calvasina, head of global equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, raised her target for the S&P 500 to 5,700 from 5,300. Calvasina called the rally “nervous.”

“We recently described ourselves as a ‘tired’ and ‘neutral’ bull. Today, we would modify that description slightly and characterize ourselves as a ‘nervous and jumpy’ bull,” Calvasina wrote in a research note published Tuesday.

Who could argue against a bull or bear market? As Tesla erased its loss for the year, rising 27% on the week to close Friday at $251.52, RBC analyst Tom Narayan joined “Squawk on the Street” to explain his $227 prediction.

Narayan said, “I doubt many investors who are pushing this price higher have done the rigorous math I have.” The conversation is worth listening to in its entirety, as Narayan goes into detail about how he arrives at his price target.

The influx of retail investors since the pandemic has further complicated the landscape. These investors are increasingly looking outside Wall Street for advice and turning to figures like “Roaring Kitty,” a popular meme stock trader.

Tom Sosnoff, CEO of Tastytrade, believes that Roaring Kitty’s influence marks a significant shift in retail investing. He argues that this disruption should be respected and studied, as it represents a new era in financial markets.

“Is this different from what Bill Ackman tells you about what he’s buying? Is this different from what Warren Buffett says about what he’s buying?” Sosnoff asked. “Disruption has many different faces.”

— CNBC’s Pia Singh, Alex Harring, Holly Ellyatt, Ruxandra Iordache, Ryan Browne, Samantha Subin, Lim Hui Jie and Leslie Josephs contributed to this report.