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📈 Rocket's $9.4B Mortgage Deal
Google DeepMind's drug discovery labs raises $900M, Newsmax spikes 700% in first day trading, CoreWeave IPO falls 8% on 2nd day, OpenAI finalizes $40B funding, Rocket's $9.4B Cooper Deal Creates Housing Powerhouse
Evelio Silvera
April 01, 2025
Good morning.
⚡ The Fast Five → Google DeepMind's drug discovery labs raises $900M, Newsmax spikes 700% in first day trading, CoreWeave IPO falls 8% on 2nd day, OpenAI finalizes $40B funding, Rocket's $9.4B Cooper Deal Creates Housing Powerhouse
🔎 Market Trends → S&P, Dow finish higher at the end of March madness; US Futures Decline Ahead of ‘Liberation Day’
And now…
⏱️ Your 5-minute briefing for Tuesday, April 1, 2025:
MARKET BRIEF
Before the Open
As of market close 03/31/2025.
Pre-Market
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Fear & Greed
Markets in Review
Equities Rebound as Markets Brace for New Tariffs
The Dow Jones climbed 1% to 42,001.8, while the S&P 500 gained 0.6% to 5,611.9 after a sharp intraday drop. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.1% to 17,299.3, as healthcare stocks weighed on the index.
The Big Picture:
Markets found their footing Monday as investors digested looming tariff announcements from President Trump, expected to target “all countries” with reciprocal duties. Despite tariff concerns, consumer staples led sector gains, while consumer discretionary was the lone laggard.
Oil prices surged as West Texas Intermediate crude climbed 3% to $71.44 a barrel, driven by heightened geopolitical uncertainty. Gold rallied 1.4% to $3,157.2 per troy ounce, reflecting rising safe-haven demand as recession fears lingered.
Market Movers:
Moderna (MRNA) plunged 8.9%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the FDA’s top vaccine official resigned, citing disputes with senior health officials.
Novavax (NVAX) fell 8.4%, while BioNTech (BNTX) dropped 4.1%.
Mr. Cooper Group (COOP) surged 15% after agreeing to a $9.4 billion all-stock acquisition by Rocket Companies (RKT), which fell 7.4% as analysts weighed the impact on its mortgage business.
Tesla (TSLA) slipped 1.7% as RBC Capital Markets warned that the EV maker’s first-quarter delivery numbers, due later this week, may miss Wall Street’s estimates.
What They’re Saying:
“Tariff uncertainty may fade as details emerge, but retaliation risks could fan inflation fears and trigger market volatility,” D.A. Davidson said in a note.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Events
Today: Institute for Supply Management - Manufacturing ISM Report On Business - 10:00am
Why You Should Care: It's a leading indicator of economic health - businesses react quickly to market conditions, and their purchasing managers hold perhaps the most current and relevant insight into the company's view of the economy.
Today: Bureau of Labor Statistics - JOLTS Job Openings - 10:00am
Why You Should Care: Job creation is an important leading indicator of consumer spending, which accounts for a majority of overall economic activity.
Earnings Reports
Today: Movado Group, Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, nCino, Kenon Holdings, Gencor Industries, Zenas BioPharma
Tomorrow: BlackBerry, RH (Restoration Hardware), Franklin Covey, Bassett Furniture, Novagold Resources, Resources Connection
MARKET BRIEF
Leading News
Mortgage Giants Unite: Rocket's $9.4B Cooper Deal Creates Housing Powerhouse
Photo Credit: DJ Johnson
Why it matters:
This consolidation creates a mortgage colossus handling one in six U.S. mortgages at a pivotal moment when housing inventory is finally expanding and mortgage rates are easing.
Zoom Out:
The housing market's long hibernation appears to be ending, with existing home sales rising 4.2% in February. Against this backdrop, Rocket's acquisitive strategy signals a well-timed bet on housing's recovery.
This move follows Rocket's recent $1.75 billion Redfin acquisition, revealing CEO Varun Krishna's vision for a comprehensive homebuying ecosystem that reduces friction in a historically fragmented process.
Key Insights:
The all-stock transaction values Mr. Cooper at $9.4 billion and gives Rocket access to nearly 7 million additional clients, creating tremendous cross-selling opportunities while meaningfully reducing customer acquisition costs
The combined entity addresses the entire homeownership journey – from search to financing to servicing – which positions it to capture a larger share of wallet from the millennial generation now entering prime homebuying years
Cooper CEO Jay Bray becoming Rocket Mortgage's CEO suggests the deal recognizes Cooper's operational excellence in loan servicing, potentially improving Rocket's retention metrics
Market Pulse:
"This consolidation arrives just as housing inventory is finally loosening and the Fed appears poised to cut rates – perfect timing rarely seen in mortgage industry M&A," notes housing economist Susan Reynolds.
Bull’s Take:
Smart investors should watch for Rocket's platform to potentially revolutionize housing transactions the way fintech transformed banking. With scale advantages and margin expansion opportunities, this new mortgage behemoth could deliver outsized returns as the housing market's long winter thaws.
Headlines
Google DeepMind’s drug discovery spin-off Isomorphic Labs raises $600mn (link)
Tesla plunges 36% in first quarter, worst performance for any period since 2022 (link)
Nvidia To Invest Billions In U.S. Supply Chain As Tech Companies Commit To Trump's Onshoring Pledge (link)
Conservative cable channel Newsmax spikes more than 700% in first trading day on NYSE (link)
CoreWeave IPO falls 8% on second day, despite NVIDIA lifeline (link)
OpenAI Finalizes $40 Billion Funding at $300 Billion Valuation (link)
CRYPTO
Fear & Greed
Headlines
DAILY SHARE
On the Socials
*Hat-tip to dougboneparth