WSJ What’s News - What’s News in Markets: Occidental Petroleum Wobbles, Tesla Gains, Bumble Soars

Episode Date: June 28, 2025

How did the Middle East conflict affect Occidental Petroleum stock? And what did Tesla’s robotaxi launch mean for its shares? Plus, why investors cheered Bumble’s cost-cutting. Host Francesca Fontana discusses the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Sign up for the WSJ's free Markets A.M. newsletter.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Find an agent today at Desjardins.com slash business coverage. Hey, listeners. It's Saturday, June 28th. I'm Francesca Fontana for the Wall Street Journal and this is What's News in Markets, our look at the biggest stock moves of the week and the news that drove them. Let's get to it. Well, the stock market sure ended this week on a high note. Stocks were on the rise in recent sessions after the ceasefire between Israel and Iran seemed to stick, sending oil prices lower and easing fears of escalating conflict that

could seriously disrupt the global energy market. And late on Thursday, President Trump announced that a trade deal had been signed with China, and the White House signaled that more deals were coming. So as investors were fueling the optimism, the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ composite both hit new intraday records early in Friday's session. And then later in the afternoon, stocks pulled back,

pairing the day's gains. Why? Because Trump said he was cutting off all trade talks to Canada over what he called an egregious digital services tax on American tech companies. But stocks were bouncing back before the end of the session, and the S&P 500 and NASDAQ still notched record closes on Friday. And all three major indexes posted weekly gains, with the Dow gaining 3.8%, the S&P 500 gaining 3.4%, and the NASDAQ gaining more than 4%. First, let's talk about some oil stocks that were front and center this week. Let's start with Occidental Petroleum, which is a good proxy for how energy stocks have dealt with developments in the Middle East.

Occidental shares lost 3.7% on Monday, following oil prices down after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. And they kept moving lower on Tuesday, following 3.3% as traders digested Trump's announcement of Israel and Iran's ceasefire deal. And the continued fire between the two countries that came shortly after the deal had gone into effect. But as the ceasefire held, the stock made smaller moves the rest of the week,

ending with a weekly loss of 6.6%. Now let's turn to Shell, which made headlines this week not because of oil prices and global conflict but because of M&A. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that, per people familiar with the matter, Shell was holding early-stage talks to acquire its rival BP in what would be the largest oil deal in a generation. Shell then denied the talks are taking place, calling it further market speculation. And a BP spokesman declined to comment on the Journal's report.

U.S. traded shares of Shell declined 1% on Wednesday, rising 2.2% the next day and ending down 2% on the week. Meanwhile, U.S. traded shares of BP lost 1.6% on Wednesday, edged slightly lower on Thursday, and fell 2.9% for the week. Next up, Tesla has officially stepped into the robo-taxi ring. Last weekend, Elon Musk's electric car maker launched its long-awaited driverless taxi service in Austin, Texas. But while there won't be anyone behind the wheel, since the Model Ys will be piloted

by an advanced version of the company's full self-driving software, Tesla said a safety monitor would sit in the passenger seat. So by entering this growing, autonomous, ride-hailing arena, Tesla will now face off with Alphabets Waymo and other companies testing out their own services. Who will be the victor? We'll have to wait and see. Tesla shares rose 8.2% Monday but fell the rest of the week, including on falling sales in Europe, and the stock ended the week up just half a percent.

Finally, Bumble is trying to get its buzz back. The online dating company said it will lay off about 30% of its employees, or roughly 240 workers. Bumble expects the cuts to generate up to $40 million in annual savings. The company and the industry at large are trying to bounce back from years of sluggish growth as younger people retreat from online dating. In May, rival Match, which operates Match.com and Tinder, said it would cut 13% of its workers or about 325 people as it reduced management layers.

Bumble investors seemed to really cheer the news because its shares jumped 25% on Wednesday and held on to those gains, ending the week up 24%. And now you know what's news in markets this week. You can read about more stocks that moved on the week's news in The Score, my column in the Wall Street Journal's Exchange section. Today's show was produced by Zoe Kolkin with supervising producer Tali Arbel. I'm Francesca Fontana. Have a great weekend!