Stocks Rattled Ahead of Big Options Test | Bloomberg Open Interest

Market Trends & Investment Opportunities - Investors are preparing for a potentially volatile triple witching event, with $65 trillion of US options set to expire [1][43] - Used car sales are up 9% year-over-year, indicating a shift towards the secondary market due to rising new car prices [3][6][52] - Home Depot is potentially entering a bidding war for GMS, a building materials giant, with QXO already making a $5 billion offer [3][17][51] - SoftBank is planning a $1 trillion AI industrial complex in Arizona, partnering with TSMC and potentially Samsung [2][32][119] Company Performance & Financial Activities - Darden Restaurants, owner of Olive Garden and Texas Steakhouse, raised forecasts and authorized a $1 billion share buyback program [11][57] - Kroger's sales surpassed expectations, leading to raised full-year sales guidance, reflecting stable consumer spending on groceries [26][117] - CarMax used car sales jumped 9% year-over-year, with gross profits for the used vehicle business up 12%, suggesting better pricing on used vehicles [3][6] - Broadcom is being considered as a potential addition to the "Magnificent 7" tech stocks, with analysts expecting sales to jump 22% this year and 21% next year [2][72] Economic Factors & Policy Impacts - Potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve as early as July are influencing market acceleration [24][49] - Tariffs are starting to affect new car prices, driving consumers to the used car market [4][5] - The American College of Cardiology recommends GLP-1s as a first-line defense against heart disease, potentially impacting pharmaceutical stocks like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk [92][119][158]