that fund the rewards programs. you heard airlines say if this passes some of the reward programs may not be able to keep going or may not be as generous. we will keep an eye out to see which amendments will get a vote. it's yet to be determined what that out look will be, guys. >> appreciate that. meantime, a busy afternoon for you today and tomorrow. >> i will be joined by citigroup's jane fraser, and we will see you there. let's get to the judge and the half. welcome to the "halftime report." i am scott wapner. the question raised again, do the bulls have the upper hand. let's check the markets. s&p coming off its best day

since late january, and we are extending the gains today. if you talk about what the catalysts are for the next leg of the rally, we ask the question whether the bulls have the upper hand once again. we know powell was not as hawkish as feared and yields calmed down, right, the bond market volatility dissipated for the moment and earnings are enough. is all that good enough -- >> well, the quantitative tightening provides a nice liquidity backdrop to a rally. i think it can continue for a little bit. i think that short-run focus, though, i think the momentum is here with us for now. the intermediate term, what you want to focus on is gdp revisions and can they continue to head higher? can earnings deliver in the back half of the year? if i think those two things prove to be true, we could see

more upside and this continue for a while. if there's a challenge to that, which at the moment doesn't look like there will be, but if there's a challenge to that i think you could see volatility. in the short run, i think we are in a good spot. >> bryn, we have gotten off the m mat, so to speak, for the april lows. nasdaq almost 7%, and the russell almost an equal amount as well. did we clear a lot of, you know, smog out of the air last week and now the sun has come out again? >> i think so scott. we have had 80% of companies report. so far 77 are actually beating estimates and analysts are now starting to increase, you know, overall estimates for the rest of the year. i think that especially as it relates to big cap tech, it's like these companies have earnings power, they have cash flow, they have buybacks now,

dividends. i think these big companies are laying the groundwork and are in the back half of the year for the rest of the s&p companies, and the comps will be easier, and as it relates to earnings and over a one-year period, earnings don't really matter. long-term earnings drive returns. i think that the big cap tech trade, the qs, those types of investments are intact and should still have tailwinds for the rest of the year. >> joe, the fed put plus solid earnings means more upside ahead, and bank of america talking about macro uncertainty being removed and that could be the fuel to add to the rebound. do you buy that? >> the 15-day moving average, and we bottomed and we expected earnings would be the near term catalyst. that's what they were. last week the federal reserve delivered exactly what those who believe that accommodative monetary policy was the next

move, the federal reserve delivered spot on. >> they delivered what was not expected? >> spot on. take your rate hike and stagflation and throw it in the garbage, and that's not happening in 2024. look at what the two-year has done. it backed off 20 basis points in the last three days, and that's an incredible tell in the market. i think the real question for the market is what happens in terms of leadership? that's something that is top of mind for me since apple's earnings. where does the leadership come if we extend the rally? >> the leadership has been back to mega cap. if you look, jimmy, at month to date gains for stocks that stand out the most, it's the mega caps. this month apple and amazon are

each up 7%. the gains from meta down to alphabet are nothing to cry about at all. that trade has come back. is that the place you want to rely on yet again? or do i look and say, you know what, russell 2000 is up, and the two-year and ten-year have come back by 20 basis points a piece. >> scott, something you have heard me say the last couple of weeks, when we talk about higher interest rates when it applies to small caps in particular, and the issue is not that these companies will have higher interest expense if rates stay higher for longer, and that's not the issue, because the interest expense is a percentage of sales and for small caps that's about 4%. the issue for it higher longer is it to affect the top line, via a recession. what you got from chairman powell last week, that pushes off the idea of a recession.

rate hikes are off thetable, and not just chairman powell but the jobs reports on friday brings forward rate cuts from where they were just on wednesday. what this means is that the economy is intact. the economy is intact so top line sales for small caps should be fine. interest expense is not the issue there. it's that the top line comes down. small caps is where i think you will see the biggest bang for the buck going forward. not taking away anything from large cap tech. you can't do that. the results you are getting are fabulous, and relatively speaking, small caps is where i like it. >> the story was questioned from the beginning -- to the beginning of last week, whether, you know, now higher for longer was going to mean even higher for longer and if earnings would be able to deliver, and the story is back intact, is it not?

>> of course. >> earnings, good enough. the fed want to go cut, all but telling you as much. >> that's been the trend since fall. i disagree with jimmy. i don't think there has been enough evidence in the earnings of small caps to suggest that you move away from large cap exposure right now. small cap earnings are disappointing. yes, they are positive, but they are only slightly positive. i think you stay high up in quality and look at large caps -- look, you cited month to date, you have outperformance from some of the financial names, and that's the conflict now for portfolio managers. where do you want to place your capital in the next earnings?

>> i don't know. if you look at where the earnings growth is coming from, it's almost exclusively from the large cap -- >> wait, wait. >> that's where the earnings growth is coming from. >> bryn talked about this. 81% of the s&p 500 companies are beating earnings this quarter and that tells you it's not just -- >> no, no, don't look at that number. look where the real growth is coming. it's not coming from that -- it's coming from mega cap growth. >> with what he's saying -- i will be the first to acknowledge -- >> joe, it's joe. >> what? >> it's joe. >> i know who you are, i love you, man. to the top line growth being intact and what the future earnings should be, and by the way, not just for small caps, but for more indebted cyclical companies as well. i think what we are talking about here is earnings matter, they always matter, and nobody will deny that. prices relative to those earnings also matter, and i will

continue to make that point time and time again, and the opportunity for the small caps and cyclicals are quite attractive. >> but the large expansion is coming from the mega caps? >> no question. it's how long do you want to wait. the small cap performance has been directly linked to interest rates because of their exposure to rates, right? >> i just debunked that. interest expense is 4% in small caps. >> in unprofitable companies it does not make a difference. 60% of those indices don't make money, jim. small caps earnings are down 16% this year. why are they down? because of margin pressures, part of what is driven by rates. fact. >> okay. >> let me get bryn in. >> yeah, i think that -- i think that for small caps to work

longer term, you have to have so many things work out. where i think that there's an opportunity actually is in the third and fourth quarter, we're going to start getting better earnings out of a broader subset of sectors and that's where the s&p equal weight, instead of jumping down to small caps, so many things have to go right, and jumping to the equal weight, that's a good place to be, and i think that's like the way to go is go rsp and all the way down to small caps. if you buy the small cap value, it's heavily regional banks which i think have structural issues, and small cap growth, to rob's point, have the nonprofitability. i feel like you are stuck in the mud between those two classes, and i think equal weight larger

cap has legs later on in the year. >> i have to tell you, when you think about the large cap, the question that i have is the indices -- the beauty is, the in indices, the cap driven indices have the highest profitability. it's early to make a big bet claim. the hope is efficiency delivers. i am not negative by any means, but the biggest concern out there is can margins improve to record levels? i think there's a lot of enthusiasm around ai and hoping that impacts margins positively. but right now to have an expectation that you get the growth in the back end of the year for the rest of the index predicated on record -- record profitability. >> jimmy, now you go. >> look, what is in my

disclosures is the ijr, it's a small cap 600 -- >> maybe your most recent -- >> no, december of last year. recent in terms of -- >> you bought small caps recently? >> i started in december of last year. >> you added to it recently? >> i did, thank you very much, as a way of stepping in and saying i believe in this. >> that's my point. >> i didn't understand your point. thank you. i didn't want to have an inane conversation, which is what people throw at me every time i try -- >> it's my first time. >> it's not an inane conversation, because every time you argued that small caps are the place to be, it's proven out that it's not necessarily been the case for longer than a very short period of time, because as rates backed up, that trade unravelled. it gets a few days worth of

boosts, and then doesn't work anymore. >> i acknowledge that, and i think it's fair and, i just want to make this clear, i will not say it's a trade, investment, and as it becomes clearer the economy is hanging in there just fine. again, the use of interest rates as the reason not to own small caps only works if you think there will be a recession. that's not in my base -- >> there have been many reasons, those who don't like that play, would suggest are far beyond just rising interest rates, some of which, rob articulated here, and why there are those that stay large and stay quality in this kind of market. >> i have a question for you, jim. >> sure. >> quick question. the accelerating gdp, anytime it

looks like it will accelerate, it drives cyclicals, and small caps being the beneficiary more than anything. can economic growth continue to deliver from a gdp perspective -- not just deliver, but accelerate on the back end of the year. >> that's my point. >> that's a big call. >> that does have to happen, if you think a recession is coming, and i don't, folks, then that's not the place to be. i think going forward it will come from small caps and that has to do with the prices. go ahead and buy microsoft at 30 times. >> year to date, the s&p 500 is underperforming the russell -- >> that's not news. no kidding. >> why should that be? if we are prioritizing quality, that should be outperforming the

russell. the problem with small caps, they don't have the exposure to artificial intelligence. the large cap universe has the exposure to artificial intelligence. the large cap universe has the sp exposure to semicaps -- >> could be. artificial intelligence has been talked about now for 18 months. that could be long in the tooth at this point. >> jim, some of the things you are selling have not worked lately. >> cvs has not worked, and this company is a mess and you can see at united health care and they are doing fine in the medicare advantage program, and cvs is not. i will not say it's cheap and got a dividend and blah, blah, blah, because it's not going anywhere. it will take years to get back to the expected level of

profitability, so that one clearly did not work. nxp has been a darling. i will not get that labeled as something that did not work, and it has outperformed four years that i have owned it. we know the auto industry is going strong outside of electric vehicles. i am not sure what more i could be hoping for for nxp, but it has been doing fabulously since i have owned it. >> the exposures to automotive, sky works, other semiconductors, we maintained the position there in the most recent rebalance. i think that relative outperformance was the signal for it. >> rob, you have several moves as well. you trimmed lilly. you trimmed broadcom and wells. you sold comcast, our parent. you can hang up your mic and head out to the back alley. somebody will be meeting you out

there. the trims of lilly, broadcom and wells? >> all performance based. two of these stocks are stocks up well north of 100% for us. in a very short order, we are still overweight in the stocks and it's right sizing the positions. wells is a little different. i am net interest margin pressures, and, you know, they are investing deeply in the wealth management business, which we think could pressure profitability so we reduced it a bit. >> do you not like the banks here? >> we like jp and wells. wells is one of our holdings, but just a trim. it has performed remarkably since we added it. comcast, the parent of this network actually -- this is a tax loss simply to offset -- >> for you, i bet you have a lemon in your throat right now. >> it's more like a cantaloupe that i have in my throat right

now. anyway, we are taking tax losses for all the gains we are taking in the portfolio. >> you bought ibm and 3 m and deckers, all those, right? >> yeah, we made some real purchases here. deckers, uggs, not cheap, and trades at 27 times but it's two times the profitability of anybody else. ibm, attractive valuation. healthy dividend yield. diversified revenue mix. we like the focus on ai and consulting services in the business segment. when you look at 3m, this is a turn around. this is a company that trades at 11 times pe. we believe in it. the cut of the dividend to 3% was a prudent move. they'

they're leveraged, so that's great. and abbvie, good margins and a robust pipeline of drugs targeting seriousdiseases. there are things to do in the market that are not as expensive that have tremendous turn around and growth opportunity and we are repositioning the portfolio as such. >> i want to circle back because of what came out this weekend, where they trimmed apple, and suggested it was for tax reasons, and mr. buffett saying it was extremely likely that apple will remain their largest holding at the end of the year, and gives you an idea of the conviction he has in this name. he raved about it and tim cook was at the meeting, too.

you don't take anything from this. you take it at face value about the tax idea, but also this turn around, if you want to call it such, in apple, really, that it had last week and that it's a turning point for those shares, giving a little back today but not very much. >> first of all, always take warren buffett at face value. we will leave that to the side. what i think is interesting about apple and we talked about it on "closing bell" last week, and i thought sentiment was negative, and below earnings it was below the 150 moving average, and today it's above all three. so you have had an extreme shift not only in sentiment but in technicals. you say brighter days are ahead from apple, and from a revenue growth respective, actually, if

you go back ten years, the revenue growth doubled. to me what is interesting is their margins, their operating margins are up about 4% points from a few years ago. i think the market is going to continue to value apple at the premium it trades at today. >> i also want to talk about uber. speaking of annual meetings, theirs is today. deirdre bosa, this stock doesn't get talked about as much as the mega caps do, but it'son fire. it's up 50%. >> dare i say, scott, it has become a little boring, right? the company has been firing off all cylinders, and the stock has come up but it's not like the disruptive company over the last decade or so and it is

profitable and has a buyback, and the annual meeting just wrapped up. there was the s&p inclusion as well and cash flow positive. a lot of things happened that the street liked. looking ahead, that's the issue. there's a little of where does it go next overhang that is hanging on the stock more recently. in the last three months it underperformed. other gig names like instacart and lyft, even on a 12-month basis, it underperformed lyft. the eve multiple has increased around 10% since preanalyst day. the company trades below lyft and cart on a free cash flow on a growth adjusted basis as well. i don't know if you guys were tracking this, but even elon musk's comments last week

talking about robo taxis, and that hit uber and lyft on those days raising a question of where does it go in a robo taxi world. these companies were the ones that were developing and building the autonomous driving technology, but they scaled back on the businesses. also, scott, once they win one regulatory battle, it feels like another pops up. currently that's in london where black cabs are suing uber, but for investors to look to disagree with the multiple compression because it's an industry leader and is producing more cash flow than ever and consistently profitable. the question is where does it go from here? >> appreciate that. up 4% as they wrap the meeting. joe, you own it. one of the definitions of quality and momentum. >> this is a name that i will own for an extended period of time and anytime it pulls back, i will buy it, scott.

deirdre is right. it's about the re-creation of the company's balance sheet. last year they had 3.3 billion, and now it's 5 billion. at alternative is there for the consumer. they are gaining market share. this is a company that i urge all of the viewers to look at as a staple. it's literally a consumer staple. the challenges as you move forward is on margin deterioration and not seeing the cash flow. we will debate the strategy, and we have new bullish calls on citi and royal caribbean. we're back after this.

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things on the move today, paramount, again, berkshire is selling off of it. buffett saying we lost quite a bit of money. it was obviously a dud for them. for you, misery loves company. >> misery loves company. >> but at least they sold it. >> relentless. >> what did you want me to say? >> i think -- stop trying to make me laugh. this is the truth. the exclusive period where skydance ended on friday, i am not a fan of the deal. we don't know the details so it's hard to say what the b shares would get. looks like something, 17 to $21 a share. they are considering it. look, there's an x factor i can't quantify. it's the controlling

shareholder, sherri redstone. let's talk grayscale bitcoin trust. up since january. bryn, you own it, right? >> yeah. for a little bit longer. i mean, i think ultimately with grayscale, it's existential. i would have expected them to bring it down so much more than the original 2%. i think that investors going forward for our clients that joined gbtc, we moved them to i-bit. i will be doing the same thing, and we have to say 150 is too expensive when blackhawk is at 25. there's a reason we don't have 10 gld gold, you only need one or two and i think the same will hold for bitcoin. >> vistra, you own that?

>> it's the only utility name we own and it's up 150% since september. >> yeah, up 113% year to date. >> really remarkable. it's a beneficial of secular tailwinds, though. this ai datacenter demand, it's growing 15% year on year, and arguably that's understated. they are huge beneficiaries of it. we bought it at ten times earning and it's up to 15. it still has 25% free cash flow margins, and best balance sheet in the industry, and, you know, earns 12% return on invest to capital. >> utilities are the one sector that are actually positive so far quarter to date. think about that in a rate environment is that higher.

>> that's to rob's point -- >> that's where i am going with it. >> it's ai related power. >> absolutely. and >> david solomon this morning talked about it, milliken, too. specifically that. >> a couple names, energy, southern corp, those are two names that are beneficiaries, and personally i will increase my utility this week. >> and jimmy, you love this stock and for good reasons, citi. >> yeah, it has had a long road to get where it's at now. i think mike is right on this. it put the stock at $87 a share, and i don't see why the stock trades at a tangible book value. maybe somewhere along the line they will have a write-off at

some point, but with all the international operations they spun off, i can't just see where the large write-offs are going to come from. it should trade at value. >> and royal caribbean, bullish on earnings estimates. what do you think? you own it. >> it's the restoration of the cruise lines with china, and we are seeing a recovery in china. i know some people on the network have been talking about it recently, and it looks like it's gaining momentum and you see outperformance in terms of equities there. the ceo talked about strategically how the return of china benefits this company. the analyst community coming off the most recent earnings report. they raised estimates 7%, and the analyst community coming around and surprising out performance from the company. >> anything on the ism services that makes you nervous about the consumer? >> the ism services and the

consumer, look -- >> confidence was down, too. >> yeah. >> if you are going to place your bets on discretionary spending on those surveys, you have been wrong because they have hung in there well, wouldn't you say? >> yeah, but it's a pivot from where it was, right? they hung in but now are in contraction -- >> for a month. you started the show by being all bulled up. >> see how it feels? >> i will layoff. >> you're ganging up on me. >> poor baby. pippa stevens has the headlines. >> and the trump hush-money trial continues this afternoon, and the payments included money

to cover taxes on hush-money paid to stormy daniels, which she testified were paid from a trust and trump's personal account. for months, bernie sanders announced today he will run for re-election for what would be his fourth senate term. the independent congressman was previously a democratic member for 16 years and continues to caucus with them. at 82 years old sanders is the second oldest senator, behind grassley sz, who is 90. and as the houston area continues to face the rains, and forecasters are warning 10 million americans in the midwest are at risk today for powerful storms for tornadoes and baseball-sized hail. >> thank you, pippa. up next, bob pisani is

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bob pisani has today's eft edge. >> despite persistent worries about higher inflation, the big money continues to pour into

technology stocks, all of the biggest tech funds have seen significant inflows this year with one exception from a former tech darling. why are investors continuing to put their faith into tech. nate, what is the reasoning of investors here? every broad tech fund from qqq, vanguard tech have seen big inflows. >> i think simply when interest rates are high and the prevailing assumption is they could remain higher for longer, that causes investors to take a harder look of what they are paying for and what they are getting when buying stocks. the bottom line, if you look at the mega cap tech companies which are prominent in the tech etfs, while their valuations are elevated overall, they are producing tangible earnings. they have a treasure trove of cash sitting on their balance

sheets. i think investors feel more comfortable with those types of companies right now. that's what we are seeing reflected in the eft flows. it's almost as if big tech etfs became a place to hide out because investors know what they are going to get out and they are viewed as quality plays. >> there's one exception here, kathy woods art fund is continuing to see outflows like in 2023, and space exploration, internet, robotics, they are all seeing out floors. why are investors pouring money into broader tech funds but not into wood? >> well, simply put, i think this goes back to investors preferring to own the types of companies producing earnings and cash flow now. the lottery type of companies that arc owns, why place bets on

companies where the future is much murkier, and instead you can sit back and own mega cap tech companies and that's what investors are doing. >> sounds like the emphasis is not just on technology but caught technology, quality being high return on equity, and you get that in the companies, not necessarily the ones kathy owns. it is a quality play essentially? >> i do think it is. when the rate environment is uncertain and the future economic outlook is a bit cloudy, because we don't know if the fed will be able to land softly enough, i think investors look to quality, and it's proven earnings and its cash on the balance sheet. that's what is resonating in this environment. >> we will have an update on the

attempts to capitalize on the inflation plays. jim who runs the ilaonnfti benefici coming up next on eft edge. we have disney, palantir and more, coming up two minutes after the break. amelia, unlock the door. i'm afraid i can't do that, jen. ♪ (suspenseful music) ♪ why not? did you forget something? ♪ (suspenseful music) ♪ my protein shake. the future isn't scary. not investing in it is. you're so dramatic amelia. bye jen. nasdaq-100 innovators. one etf. before investing, carefully read and consider fund investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses and more in prospectus at invesco.com.

it's time to set you up for earnings coming this week. after the bell today, vertex pharmaceuticals. why is this the name all three

own it. why do you own it? >> excellent science. it's that simple. pain medicine that is going to come out that is not addictive that has comparable effects to opioids, and it's the pipeline of science. >> why is it the underperformer? >> diabetes treatments is another reason to own it. 5% on earnings growth, and we like the matrix and we will continue. i don't care that it's an underperformer. >> it's underperforming because of the potential $5 billion deal with alpine, and the street is concerned about their usage of capital, and they have a wonderful cystic fibrosis medication that works well. >> captain cantaloupe over there won't answer my question. stocks down year to date?

>> that's a redirecting. >> great stock. >> yeah, year to date it's down. if you held this for any period of time other than year to date, it's been a monster -- >> i am saying over one year it's up 16%. is that a home run? >> well, that seemingly lackluster performance -- >> it's a little league home run. >> look, if you look at the six months before year to date, it's up massively. the stock has been a home run. the science of the company is fabulous. >> palantir. you own palantir, and that's for today after the bell, bryn? >> yeah, it was 5 cents this time last year, so nice earnings. this is a software ai company, and alex carp told us last year,

where the ai boot camps, you bring your corporations and database and they help you become optimized and efficient, and they are saying boot camps are like rock concerts, so we want to see continued excitement around the boot camps. they got big conacrotrts fm tighten and oracle, and it's a sleeper stock in the software ai space. okay. we will take a break. or, let curiosity light the way. at t. rowe price, we're asking smart questions about opportunities like clean water. and how clean water advances can help transform our tomorrows. better questions. better outcomes. t. rowe price

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celebrate the people you love. ♪ we have some breaking news. fresh commentary from the richmond fed president. steve leashman has that for us. >> yeah. tom barkin among those that think the current rate of the tightening that's out there will eventually slow the economy. he's joining with fed share powell saying he thinks it's sufficient.

the full impact is yet to come and will take the edge off demand to eventually bring down inflation. he has somebody that's watching the kind of culture of price hikes. he says businesses have more courage than they used to use prices of libra and will only back down when customers resist. companies are reporting that. he said the fed can respond if the economy overheats or slows significantly. and the recent volatility we had been reporting an upgrade to the economy in march and then we had that lousy not-so-great april data. he said the fed has time to gain confidence that inflation will be towards 2% because the job market is doing reasonably well. he called the 2024 data disappointing. we came to the inflation data so far this year. but the demand remains robust. scott, i guess you divide your folks into three categories. you have your current rate

believer believers. nobody is skeptical yet, but that's where we are right now. and powell and now barkin and several others think the current rate is significant. just needs more time. >> yes. they believe in long and variable lags. still will have a little bit of it. thank you. >> steve, thank you. mike santoly is at the desk. back from omaha. >> yeah. >> what is your great take-away from the weekend and put that into perspective for us. >> yes. i guess if you want to put it in macro terms, it is a pretty consistent message that buffet himself does not see a target rich environment in public equities. it's fully valued to him. he's happy to have a load of cash piling up and earn 5% in team bills on it. that being said, aside from the japanese trading companies, which has been an absolute huge win for him a few years ago when he initiated that and adding to

his stake, it's all the way up. the fact he's not seeing the market as compelling valued, it doesn't say a lot to me except how high his risk is. the apple thing, i guess it's somewhat emb blematic of how mu do you let it run. and you don't know if you're hitting a shock. he talked about expect capital gain taxes to go up. that will probably gather a lot more chatter over the next couple months. >> it does speak to the market environment that we've been in for the last at least year of when you think you are going to get an opportunity to do something and the water starts to look a little bit good for you, the market snatches that opportunity right away from you. >> right. >> it's been resilient to a point where people who are sitting on mountains of cash like buffet can't find anything

cheap enough to buy. >> i would also say, though, who's penalizing him for that. berkshire hathaway is at the upper end of the range. the point is, he's fine to just sit there and have people allow him to be opportunistic only on his schedule. >> they're not that far from a trillion dollar market cap. >> it's above 850 at this point. so without a doubt, that is true. so you can't be too demanding in terms of statistical cheapness, especially when buying things. i do think he's also trying to get this balance sheet in such a place for when he hands off the company in one way or another, it is just impenetrable, they can maneuver as much as they want, take opportunities wherever they want, as opposed to necessarily handing off, you know, some kind of new, big issue. >> buying something at the top and then doing the handoff. >> yeah. that's something he doesn't want. he also wants to buy a big business, honestly. that's always first choice.

>> all right. i will see you on "closing bell." finals coming up next. can help you open those doors. they can help you create a retirement-income plan designed to balance growth and guaranteed income. and provide access to specialists who help with estate planning to look out for future generations so you're not just growing and protecting your wealth. you're sharing it. because doors were meant to be opened. great job, everybody!

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welcome back. we want to get you ahead to disney reporting. tomorrow before the bell stocks up 12% above that report. jimmy, you still own it. >> i do. >> the post phelps play book, that's really what it would be, right? >> yes. and there is a lot of execution. now we will tell you this is taking too long. there was a process in place. investment bankers are involved. look, pencils should be down at some point soon. let's get the price and move on. the other thing is expecting them to reaffirm profitability and streaming by september 30th. that better not change. >> succession. >> it's not on my mind. still a couple of years to go. the other thing, there is too much in the near field of vision to deal with.

>> i have some breaking news to get to. >> hamas says it is ready to accept a cease-fire proposal that has been presented by egypt at this hour. this is a cease-fire proposal to halt what has been war of seven months. issued a statement monday saying its supreme leader issued a statement in a phone call. those two nations, of course, have been negotiating for the cease-fire over the past few months. we have not yet heard from israel on this point, but it appears that this may come just in time, as israel had ordered an evacuation from rafah, from the southern gaza town, ordered palestinians to evacuate ahead of an attack there to say that was hamas' last stronghold. we don't have any details about whether this would bring an end to the war, but just a cease-fire. in exchange, we are expecting there would be a release of hostages. as we get more details, we will bring them to you.

for now, that is the news that it does appear hamas has accepted that proposal presented by e kwipt and qatar. >> okay. we appreciate that headline. thank you. we will watch for market reaction to it as well for the remainder of the day. i will see you on "closing bell". >> goldman sachs. >> igr. >> uranium. >> all right, guys. i'll see you in a little bit. ♪ quickest final trades ever. thanks, scott. welcome to the exchange. i'm tyler mathisen in for the last time for kelly evans because she's coming back tomorrow. the annual berkshire hathaway meeting is in the books now. berkshire is sitting on and whether it is time to return some of that cash to shareholders, and if so how? we will talk about all of it ahead. he's back. former starbucks ceo, he's