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SpaceX blocked from early US benchmark index entry as S&P reaffirms existing rules

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SpaceX blocked from early US benchmark index entry as S&P reaffirms existing rules


By Pritam Biswas and Noel Randewich

June 4 (Reuters) – S&P Global said on Thursday it was not changing the requirements for entry into its major indices, dealing a setback to Elon Musk’s SpaceX by effectively ruling out ‌a swift entry for the world’s biggest-ever IPO into the benchmark S&P 500 index.

Musk has rewritten the IPO ‌playbook for SpaceX in many ways from planning to give retail investors a bigger role in allocations to pushing for early index inclusion, and structuring governance ​to preserve strong founder control.

The company is raising $75 billion and targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation that would place it among the top 10 most valuable U.S.-listed firms, even as only a fraction of its shares are available for trading.

But S&P said “exceptions to the financial viability, seasoning, and IWF (investable weight factor) requirements should not be granted solely based on market capitalization”.

To be included in the S&P 500, a ‌company must be profitable under Generally Accepted Accounting ⁠Principles in its most recent quarter as well as for the sum of its most recent four quarters, according to one of the rules S&P left unchanged.

SpaceX posted a net loss of $4.94 billion ⁠in 2025, even as revenue rose 33% to $18.67 billion.

INVESTOR CONSULTATIONS

S&P had consulted with investors about shortening the time a megacap company must be publicly listed before joining its indexes, waiving minimum float requirements and removing its profitability requirement.

The S&P 500 is Wall Street’s most widely followed ​benchmark. ​Passive S&P 500 index funds with trillions of dollars in assets would ​have been forced to buy up SpaceX shares ‌had rules been changed to admit it to the index.

“It speaks highly of the credibility of S&P Dow Jones Indices to be rules-based and make sure there’s profitability before entrance to the index,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth.

“Making exceptions because companies are so large and have been private so long yet are still not profitable, didn’t make a great deal of sense.”

Nasdaq has already made changes that will make it easier for SpaceX, Anthropic and other newly listed megacaps to ‌join its Nasdaq 100 index.

Nasdaq 100 index funds will be forced to ​buy a sizeable portion of publicly available SpaceX shares when the company joins ​that index.

Exchange operators have ramped up efforts to boost ​initial public listings as richly valued technology firms such as SpaceX and AI giants Anthropic and ‌OpenAI edge closer to public offerings, amid growing concerns ​over a steady decline in the ​number of U.S.-listed companies.



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Lighter crashes 20% after $1.80 rejection: Is LIT’s correction over?

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Lighter crashes 20% after $1.80 rejection: Is LIT's correction over?


Lighter [LIT] suffered a sharp correction after rejecting the $1.80 resistance level, with the token falling more than 20% within 24 hours as selling activity intensified across the market. 

The decline pushed LIT to around $1.38, erasing a large portion of the rally that had carried the asset to multi-month highs only days earlier. Trading activity also weakened during the sell-off, with volume dropping 17.58% to $128.6 million. 

This decline in both price and volume suggested that traders had reduced participation after the rejection. 

However, LIT continued holding above a key breakout region, keeping attention focused on whether buyers could stabilize the market before another wave of selling emerged.

Why are Binance traders still bullish?

Despite the severe correction, Binance’s top traders maintained a notably bullish stance. 

CoinGlass analytics showed that 68.75% of top trader accounts remained long, while only 31.25% held short positions. The Long/Short Ratio stood at 2.20, highlighting a significant imbalance in favor of bullish bets. 

Such positioning suggested that experienced traders had viewed the recent decline as a correction rather than the beginning of a prolonged downtrend. 

However, the concentration of long exposure also increased risk. If LIT failed to hold key support levels, additional downside pressure could emerge from long liquidations. 

Nevertheless, the persistence of bullish positioning indicated that a large segment of traders continued expecting a recovery despite the aggressive sell-off.

Source: CoinGlass

Can LIT defend its breakout structure?

Following its rejection near $1.80, LIT retraced toward the $1.38 region, which aligned with a key breakout area from the recent rally. This zone now represented the first major support level that buyers needed to defend. 

A sustained hold above $1.38 would keep the broader recovery structure intact and could encourage fresh buying interest. 

However, a breakdown below this area would expose the market to a deeper retracement toward the $1.12 support level highlighted on the chart. 

Looking at the indicator structure, MACD remained in bullish territory despite the pullback. The MACD line stayed above the signal line, while both indicators remained above the zero line. 

Although the histogram had begun shrinking, bullish conditions had not completely disappeared. Therefore, buyers still retained an opportunity to regain control if support continued holding.

LIT price actionLIT price action
Source: TradingView

Liquidity wall sits above the current price

Liquidation data revealed a dense concentration of liquidity between $1.55 and $1.60. Several large liquidation clusters had formed within this range, making it one of the most attractive short-term targets if buyers regained strength. 

Markets frequently gravitate toward areas containing substantial leverage because those zones provide liquidity for larger participants. As a result, any sustained recovery from current levels could pull LIT toward this region. 

On the downside, liquidity appeared comparatively thinner below current prices, reducing the immediate attraction of lower levels. 

However, failure to defend the $1.38 support area could still trigger another wave of selling pressure before buyers attempted to re-enter the market.

Source: CoinGlass

Is LIT preparing for a rebound toward $1.60?

Current conditions suggested that a recovery remained possible despite the sharp decline. Binance traders had continued favoring long positions, MACD had remained bullish, and LIT had still traded above a critical breakout zone. 

If buyers successfully defended the $1.38 support area, price could rebound toward the $1.55–$1.60 liquidity cluster. 

However, losing that support would weaken the bullish case and could shift attention toward lower support levels instead.


Final Summary

  • Binance traders remain heavily bullish despite LIT’s sharp market correction.
  • LIT continues holding breakout support, keeping recovery hopes toward $1.60 alive.



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Alsobrooks says Clarity Act needs ethics deal before Senate vote

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Alsobrooks says Clarity Act needs ethics deal before Senate vote

Latest developments: Sen. Angela Alsobrooks said she will not support the Clarity Act on the Senate floor unless negotiators reach agreement on ethics provisions and other outstanding issues.

  • Alsobrooks said ethics concerns remain a major sticking point, alongside illicit finance provisions and work still needed in the Agriculture Committee.
  • She characterized her committee vote advancing the bill as support for continued bipartisan negotiations, not unconditional support for final passage.
  • “We’re almost there, but not quite there yet,” Alsobrooks said of the negotiations.
  • Alsobrooks joined Rebecca Rettig and Renato Mariotti on CoinDesk’s The Policy Protocol.

The compromise: Alsobrooks defended the stablecoin yield language that drew criticism from JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and parts of the banking industry.

  • She said she was among the first senators to raise concerns that allowing interest-bearing stablecoins could trigger deposit flight from community banks.
  • According to Alsobrooks, negotiators spent roughly nine months crafting language that bars crypto firms from paying yield solely on stablecoin balances and prevents firms from offering products that mimic bank accounts without bank-like protections.
  • She argued the final compromise balances industry innovation with consumer and banking-sector protections, even if neither side is fully satisfied.

Why it matters: Alsobrooks framed crypto regulation as a response to growing consumer adoption rather than a speculative future policy debate.

  • She noted that tens of millions of Americans already own cryptocurrency and said lawmakers have a responsibility to establish consumer protections.
  • The senator argued that digital assets represent an economic opportunity many younger Americans believe they need as traditional paths to wealth become less attainable.
  • She said the goal is to ensure the U.S. remains a leader in digital asset innovation while protecting consumers from harm.

Reading between the lines: Alsobrooks suggested Democratic skepticism toward crypto legislation is driven less by the technology itself than by concerns about corruption, ethics and fraud.

  • She pointed to concerns involving President Trump’s business interests and broader questions about ethics in the digital asset space.
  • She said many lawmakers remain focused on preventing scams and strengthening protections for consumers who have already suffered losses.
  • Alsobrooks argued that remaining engaged in negotiations is the best way to ensure constituents have a voice in shaping the final rules.

What comes next: The senator outlined a short list of priorities needed to move the legislation across the finish line.

  • Negotiators must finalize ethics provisions acceptable to both parties.
  • Lawmakers are still working through illicit finance language championed by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.
  • The Agriculture Committee must also reach a bipartisan agreement before final Senate consideration can proceed.



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Wall Street ends mixed as Broadcom drags tech, European stocks gain; oil dips

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Wall Street ends mixed as Broadcom drags tech, European stocks gain; oil dips


By Chibuike Oguh

NEW YORK, June 4 (Reuters) – Global stocks inched higher in choppy trading on Thursday, with European gains followed by a mixed session on Wall Street as investors weighed a snag in AI momentum, ‌while oil prices fell, dragged by a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

In the U.S., the benchmark S&P 500 ‌reversed early losses to finish higher, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit a record closing high while the Nasdaq edged lower, as technology shares ​drove losses and healthcare and financial stocks led gains.

The Dow rose 1.73%, the S&P 500 rose 0.41%, and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.09%.

Shares in Broadcom tumbled more than 12%, pulling semiconductor stocks broadly lower, after the chipmaker’s results disappointed investors who had bet on surging demand for its custom AI chips. The Philadelphia semiconductor index lost 2.2%.

Europe’s bourses rose 0.52%. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the ‌globe rose 0.09%.

“We saw a little pocket of ⁠weakness in the chip stocks with the disappointing news from Broadcom last night,” said James St. Aubin, chief investment officer at Ocean Park Asset Management.

“Today’s action in tech specifically is emblematic of ⁠how fragile sentiment can be for a group of stocks that experience massive gains in a short period of time.”

CRUDE OIL DIPS

U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to halt fighting in Lebanon were undermined after the pro-Iran Hezbollah movement rejected the new ceasefire and Israel said ​it ​would not withdraw troops from the country.

The Republican-led U.S. House of ​Representatives also approved a war powers resolution on Wednesday ‌to block Trump from continuing the conflict against Iran.

The measure is largely symbolic, however, as it must still pass the Senate and would need a two-thirds majority in both chambers to override an almost certain presidential veto.

“Those headlines are probably net positive on the geopolitical front and the market is embracing that for now. We’ve seen a lot of volatility around geopolitical headlines in both directions and I would say at the margins, it’s positive with the ceasefire agreement,” St. Aubin said.

Brent crude ‌prices dropped nearly 3% to settle at $95.03 a barrel.

YEN HOVERS AROUND ​160

In currency markets, investors were watching out for possible official intervention as the ​Japanese yen hovered near the key 160 level.

Chief Cabinet ​Secretary Minoru Kihara had said in Tokyo he expects the central bank to coordinate its moves with the ‌government after BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda had given ​fresh hints that an interest rate hike ​is in the cards this month.

The Japanese yen strengthened 0.02% against the greenback to 160.02 per dollar.

The euro was up 0.12% at $1.1609. Against the Swiss franc, the dollar weakened 0.3% to 0.789.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against ​a basket of currencies including the yen ‌and the euro, was flat at 99.46.

U.S. Treasury yields were lower across the board. The yield on ​benchmark U.S. 10-year notes fell 1.4 basis points to 4.477%.

Spot gold rose 1.03% to $4,477.51 an ounce. Bitcoin fell 2.53% to $63,265.22.

(Reporting by Chibuike Oguh in New ​York; Editing by Nia Williams, Chris Reese and David Gregorio)



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U.S. House tax committee weighs crypto bills, including relief for small transactions

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U.S. House tax committee weighs crypto bills, including relief for small transactions

A set of seven crypto tax bills are being circulated in advance of a hearing of the U.S. House Ways and Means committee next week, with each of the legislative drafts tackling its own narrow aspect of digital assets tax treatment, including relaxing demands for taxes on small transactions and the assets gains in mining and staking.

The committee that oversees tax issues is set to discuss the ideas on June 9, and the legislative text indicates that the panel is targeting a number of areas with focused bills. The various proposals include eliminating tax demands on certain small ( or “de minimis”) transactions, stablecoin activity and network fees; governing the taxation of assets acquired through crypto mining; melding digital assets with existing tax treatment of securities; applying so-called wash sale rules to crypto; and cutting out an appraisal requirement in digital asset donations to charity.

Reducing the mining and staking tax burden is a major component of the industry’s tax-policy strategy, focused on eliminating double taxation in which the assets are taxed both at the time of acquisition and at the point of sale. One of the draft bills seeks to address that issue by allowing taxpayers to choose between paying at receipt or when they sell the assets.

“Getting the tax treatment of digital assets right is essential to compliance, to everyday use, and to keeping this activity and its revenue in the United States,” said Alison Mangiero, policy head for the Crypto Council for Innovation, in a statement. She said that this particular approach with seven individual bills and a full committee hearing “is significant on procedural grounds alone” and hasn’t been used in the committee for years.

“Several provisions in this package reflect priorities we have long advanced.” she said, including letting GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoins function as a payment tool and the break on network transaction fees the CCI has “long advocated for.”

Cody Carbone, the CEO of the Digital Chamber, said in a statement he welcomes the coming hearing as a chance “to refine these proposals and keep the bipartisan tax effort moving forward.” He added that his organization will work with the committee “to strengthen the drafts and deliver the tax clarity and fairness digital assets deserve.”

Though the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act has been the top U.S. policy focus of the crypto industry, Washington lobbyists have routinely said that crypto tax policy was next in line. There have been a number of previous efforts to tackle the lack of clarity on what should constitute a taxable gain in the digital assets space, including an initiative pushed by Senator Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican who leads a digital assets subcommittee in the Senate Banking Committee.

Lummis has sought and failed to get traction on the ideas several times, including an unsuccessful attempt to get them attached last year to the Republican’s One Big Beautiful Bill spending package.

The arrival of bipartisan crypto tax efforts in the House comes fairly late in the congressional session, though there will be a number of must-pass bills this year that could have items attached to them.

UPDATE (June 5, 2026, 20:07 UTC): Adds comment from CCI.



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TotalEnergies SE (TTE) Files for Authorization to Build 1.5 GW Offshore Wind Farm in France

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TotalEnergies SE (TTE) Files for Authorization to Build 1.5 GW Offshore Wind Farm in France


TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is one of the Best Low Cost Stocks to Buy According to Hedge Funds. On May 28, TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) reported that the company has officially filed for authorization to build a 1.5 GW offshore wind farm off the coast of Normandy, France. This update comes eight months after the French State awarded the project to the company’s subsidiary, Centre Manche Énergies.

​Management noted that the filing includes technical and environmental surveys, a preliminary design, and an installation program. Moreover, management also highlighted that the environmental impact assessment was shaped by stakeholder consultations and ongoing discussions with government departments. As a result of this submission, the project has now entered a formal review phase, where authorities will examine the submitted dossier.

​The company highlighted that once operational, the wind farm is expected to generate around 6 TWh of electricity annually, enough to power over one million French homes. The project is located almost 40 km offshore and is recognized as one of the largest renewables projects ever built in France. Lastly, management noted that the total investment for the project is around €4.5 billion and is expected to employ up to 2,500 workers during the three-year construction phase.

​TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets oil, biofuels, natural‍ gas, renewables, and electricity.

While we acknowledge the potential of TTE as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 Best Stocks to Buy While the Market Is Down and 14 Stocks That Will Double in the Next 5 Years. 

Disclosure: None. Follow Insider Monkey on Google News.



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Markets have worst day since October as tech stocks lead the way down, traders lose hope of rate cut

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Markets have worst day since October as tech stocks lead the way down, traders lose hope of rate cut

The U.S. stock market had its worst day since October Friday as a sell-off in big technology companies weighed down the broader market and a strong jobs report boosted expectations that the Federal Reserve will be forced to hike interest rates at some point this year.

The S&P 500 sank 2.6%, its biggest one-day drop since October 10, when the Trump administration threatened to impose a 100% tariff on imported goods from China. The losses helped push the benchmark index to its first losing week in the last 10.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.4%, while the Nasdaq composite slumped 4.2%.

Tech stocks dragged the broader market lower as companies that had powered the S&P 500 to a series of records the past two months saw losses. Nvidia fell 6.2%, Broadcom dropped 7.9% and Micron Technology slid 13.3% for the biggest loss among stocks in the S&P 500.

Shares in Meta fell 5.5% following a published report that the social media giant may seek to do a new stock offering to raise funds for spending on AI infrastructure.

Stocks within the S&P 500 were not far from being evenly split between gainers and losers. But, many of the bigger tech stocks have pricey values that tend to give them outsized influence on the broader market.

Meanwhile, bond yields jumped after a report showed the U.S. added a surprising 172,000 jobs in May, according to the Labor Department. It is the latest report showing that employment remains solid, despite the squeeze inflation is putting on businesses and consumers.

The latest reading on employment comes two weeks before Kevin Warsh heads his first policy meeting as chair of the Fed. Policymakers are widely expected to keep rates steady at the June 16-17 meeting despite pressure from President Donald Trump to lower borrowing costs. Longer-term, the market sees a better than 60% chance the Fed will push rates higher by the end of the year, according to CME FedWatch, and little to no chance of a cut.

“Any hopes of a Fed rate cut have effectively been eliminated with this morning’s strong jobs report,” said Ronald Temple, chief market strategist at Lazard, in a research note.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.54% from 4.50% just before the report was released. The yield on the 2-year Treasury, which more closely tracks the Fed’s actions, jumped to 4.16% from 4.04% just prior to the report.

The Fed has been holding interest rates steady as it tries to gauge the ongoing impact from rising inflation. Prices were already ticking higher from the impact of tariffs. The U.S. war with Iran has essentially blocked crude oil shipments from moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

The price of Brent crude, the international standard, fell 2% to settle at $93.09. It was about $70 per barrel before the war. The surge in oil prices prompted a jump in fuel prices. That has fueled a broader rise in inflation as prices for anything being shipped move higher and threaten to slow economic growth.

A measure of inflation preferred by the Fed showed that prices rose 3.8% overall in April. That marked the biggest increase in two years.

Wall Street has been anticipating that negotiations to end the war will eventually be successful. American and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative deal last week to extend their ceasefire, but the agreement has not been finalized.

The latest round of corporate earnings is coming to a close. Lululemon slumped 8.6% after trimming its revenue and profit forecasts.

Most reports from companies have been surprisingly good and helped Wall Street on its record run. Encouraging profits and forecasts helped overshadow lingering worries about the direction of the economy amid tariffs and high energy costs because of the U.S. war with Iran.

With earnings now in the background, analysts have been warning that the tech companies benefiting from interest in artificial intelligence may have become too expensive. That could result in a slowdown for a market that has posted a solid gain in 2026, with the S&P 500 up 7.9% for the year.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 200.57 points to 7,383.74 on Friday. The Dow dropped 695.15 points to 50,866.78, and the Nasdaq lost 1,121.53 points to close at 25,709.43.

Markets were mixed in Europe after markets in Asia fell.

___

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed to this report.



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