By David Uberti and Chelsey Dulaney
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite ground to new highs this week after corporate earnings reports and economic data signaled that the U.S. is still powering through President Trump's trade wars.
Bumper bank profits showed that businesses and consumers kept opening their wallets last quarter. Record earnings for the world's largest chip maker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, propelled potentially tariff-sensitive semiconductor stocks higher. A University of Michigan survey suggested consumer sentiment is rebounding slightly in July, while inflation expectations are declining.
The promising data at a moment of economic uncertainty helped the S&P 500 gain 0.6% this week. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.5%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged 0.1% lower.
Still, there are warning signs ahead as investors enter the meat of earnings season next week. Economists fear that the trade-war boost to prices in June's inflation report is set to continue. At the same time, Trump's threat to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell holds the potential to wreak havoc across global markets.
Reports this week of Trump's shake-up threat sparked a momentary sprint by investors to snap up gold futures -- seen as a haven in times of financial stress -- as well as a selloff in the U.S. dollar and long-dated Treasurys. Those moves quickly moderated after the president denied such a plan.
The 10-year Treasury yield finished the week slightly higher, settling at 4.432%. The WSJ Dollar Index, which weighs the greenback against a basket of foreign currencies, edged higher.
U.S. oil prices fell, with benchmark crude futures closing the week at $67.34 a barrel, dinging energy companies.
On Friday, U.S. stocks wavered despite another round of strong earnings reports. The S&P 500 pulled back slightly from Thursday's record, while the Nasdaq eked out a minute gain for its fifth-straight all-time high. The Dow lost 0.3%, or 142 points.
Netflix, which lifted its annual forecasts late Thursday, dropped 5.1% Friday. American Express slid 2.3% and Post-it Note maker 3M fell 3.7%, even after posting better-than-expected results. The companies were the two worst-performing stocks in the Dow.
Utilities were among the standouts in Friday's subdued trading. Shares of Talen Energy soared 24% after the company said it is purchasing two natural-gas-fired plants. Constellation Energy and Vistra, which are also independent power producers, both rose 4% or more.
As trade-war uncertainty rattled markets in recent months, the resulting volatility has been a boon to banks and brokerage firms. Shares of Interactive Brokers rose 7.8% Friday after it reported double-digit trading volume growth last quarter, while surging trading activity boosted Charles Schwab profits and pushed its stock 2.9% higher.
Next week, earnings season will continue to ramp up. Results from the Magnificent Seven tech giants will kick off Wednesday with reports from Alphabet and Tesla.
Write to David Uberti at david.uberti@wsj.com and Chelsey Dulaney at chelsey.dulaney@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 18, 2025 16:46 ET (20:46 GMT)
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