MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: U.S. stocks finished mixed as markets stabilized to close a wild week.

TREASURYS: Treasury yields fell for the day but ended the week higher ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision next week.

FOREX: The WSJ Dollar Index finished slightly lower.

COMMODITIES: Oil futures pulled back from Thursday's highs after a report of possible renewed talks between the U.S. and Iran.

HEADLINES

Paramount Agrees to Pause Its Warner Bros. Merger

Paramount said Friday it will not move forward with its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery until legal challenges to the deal are resolved or June 1, 2027, whichever comes first.

The $81 billion merger between entertainment giants Paramount and Warner is being challenged on antitrust grounds by 12 states and the Writers Guild of America, who argue the deal is anticompetitive.

Paramount's decision came after a California federal court had granted a temporary restraining order stopping the deal from closing. A hearing on preliminary injunction that would have barred Paramount from closing the merger while the states' antitrust lawsuit proceeds as scheduled for next week.

Trump Threatens New Tariffs on EU Over Tech Fines

The U.S. will consider applying additional tariffs to goods from the European Union in response to fines the 27-nation bloc has levied against U.S. tech firms.

The EU this week announced it would fine Alphabet's Google $1 billion for breaching digital competition rules-the latest in a series of penalties for American tech firms in recent years. In response, President Trump said on Friday that he would direct his government to open a tariff investigation that could result in new levies on the EU.

"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that we will immediately initiate a 301 Investigation into the practice of 'ROBBING' American Companies and, in turn, the American Taxpayer," Trump posted on Truth Social. He added that the EU would "pay a very big price for this illegal and highly unethical conduct," and that he anticipates "a substantial TARIFF to be placed on them at the earliest possible moment."

American Express Sales, Profit Rise on Higher Card Member Spending

American Express posted higher sales and profit in the second quarter, thanks to higher spending among its credit-card members.

The credit-card company's sales rose 10% to $19.64 billion, but came in below Wall Street estimates of $19.7 billion. Shares fell 6% Friday morning, as investors were disappointed by the slight miss.

Card members spent 9% more in the second quarter, the highest growth rate in three years, Amex said. Spending on restaurants, the company's biggest category, rose 10% and travel bookings jumped 22%.

Verizon Seeks Opportunities From AI Boom as Turnaround Continues

Verizon Communications beat Wall Street expectations on a closely watched metric that gauges new lucrative customers and said it is pursuing new revenue opportunities, including from the AI infrastructure boom, as its turnaround effort continues.

The carrier gained a net 184,000 postpaid phone connections in the second quarter, beating Wall Street's expectations. It also topped analyst estimates for mobility and broadband service revenue.

Companywide revenue ticked down 0.7% year over year to $34.25 billion, slightly below analyst estimates of $35.16 billion. Verizon attributed the decrease to a nearly 20% decline in equipment revenue as customers hold on to their mobile devices longer before upgrading. It also pointed to its decision to cut back on new device subsidies.

Novo Nordisk Seeks Injunction Against Eli Lilly in Dispute Over Weight-Loss Ads

Novo Nordisk said it is asking a U.S. court to preliminarily halt rival Eli Lilly from advertising weight-loss drugs, days after accusing the Indianapolis drugmaker of using deceptive ads to mislead consumers in a lawsuit.

Friday's preliminary injunction request escalates legal proceedings initiated earlier this week by Novo Nordisk that accuse Eli Lilly of using outdated studies to promote its branded GLP-1 drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound. Novo Nordisk said the motion, to be filed on Aug. 17 in New Jersey, would ask the court to stop Eli Lilly from advertising the drugs while the lawsuit proceeds.

Eli Lilly on Friday defended its advertising, saying head-to-head clinical trials are the strongest evidence for comparing medicines. "We stand behind the science and our advertising, and we will oppose this motion vigorously," a company spokesperson said.

Canadian National Railway Raises 2026 Volume Outlook

Canadian National Railway boosted its full-year outlook, citing firmer freight demand and shifting economic conditions, as the railroad posted higher profit and revenue in the second quarter.

The Canadian railroad on Friday upgraded its forecasts for the year, noting shifts in freight expectations and broader economic conditions. CN Rail now expects low-single-digit growth in revenue ton miles, the rail industry's measure of freight volume, due to higher demand. That's up from a previous projection for flat volumes.

CN Rail also revised its currency outlook, assuming the Canadian dollar will average about 71 U.S. cents in 2026, weaker than the 73 U.S. cents it projected in April.

Charter Revenue Declines Again as Subscriber Slide Continues

Charter Communications logged its fourth consecutive decline in quarter revenue as its count of internet and video subscribers continued to drop.

Shares fell as much as 13% in early morning trading but rebounded when the market opened.

Second-quarter revenue edged down by 1.7% to $13.53 billion, roughly in line with estimates from analysts polled by FactSet. Charter posted a profit of $1.29 billion, or $10.66 a share. Analysts had been expecting $9.98 a share.

TALKING POINT AI Has Completely Rewritten the Rules of the Stock Market

Forget risk on/risk off. AI on/AI off is now driving the stock market.

Once upon a time, the market was guided by whether investors wanted to take risk or not. The idea was that on some days, traders would become more optimistic about the economy and earnings and buy all kinds of stocks and sell their stodgy bonds. On others, they'd guiltily sell the speculative stuff and return to the homey comforts of bonds, gold, and the like. Risk on. Risk off.

You don't hear that phrase much anymore, because markets no longer work that way. Rocky Fishman at Asym Research points out that of the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500, five have a zero or negative correlation with the index over the past five months, including healthcare and real estate. Think about that for a second. If I told you the State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund is up 1.2% this week-it is-you wouldn't be any closer to knowing that the S&P 500 is falling 0.2%, which it is. (The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which often follows its own course, is also down 0.2% this week.)

It's the same story at the single-stock level. Jonathan Krinsky of BTIG observes that the average stock in the S&P 500 moved in a different direction than the index on 52 of the 135 days so far this year. By comparison, more stocks rose on index-down days or fell on index-up days only 24 times in the first 135 trading days of 2025. The comparable stat never got above 15 in the 2010s.

This trend of more dispersion within the equity market has plenty of interesting implications for the options wonks among us. (In fact, simultaneously buying options on individual stocks and selling options on the index has become a favorite hedge fund trade.) It also explains why the S&P 500 can move so little on days that feel head-spinningly volatile: When half the crew is rowing in the wrong direction, your boat goes nowhere.

And it means risk on/risk off, which once seemed to explain everything, now explains almost nothing. It doesn't take Hercule Poirot to figure out what killed it.

Today, calling artificial intelligence a market theme would be like calling the economy a market theme. Five AI heavyweights-Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Alphabet, and Meta Platforms-make up about a quarter of the S&P 500. It's not just a U.S. story, either-just look at the Korean or Taiwanese markets.

--Alex Rosenberg, Barron's

Expected Major Events for Monday

05:00/JPN: May Indexes of Business Conditions - Revision

08:00/GER: Jul ifo Business Climate Index

08:30/UK: Jun Capital issuance statistics

10:00/UK: Jul CBI Distributive Trades Survey

12:30/US: Jun Advance Report on Durable Goods

14:30/US: Jul Texas Manufacturing Outlook Survey

23:01/UK: Jul Shop Price Monitor

All times in GMT. Powered by Onclusive and Dow Jones.

Expected Earnings for Monday

Agilysys Inc $(AGYS)$ is expected to report $0.18 for 1Q.

Alliance Resource Partners LP (ARLP) is expected to report $0.62 for 2Q.

Amkor Technology Inc $(AMKR)$ is expected to report $0.48 for 2Q.

Bank of Hawaii Corp $(BOH)$ is expected to report $1.45 for 2Q.

Bank of Marin Bancorp $(BMRC)$ is expected to report $0.52 for 2Q.

Brixmor Property Group Inc (BRX) is expected to report $0.24 for 2Q.

Brown & Brown Inc $(BRO)$ is expected to report $0.76 for 2Q.

CB Financial Services Inc $(CBFV)$ is expected to report $0.70 for 2Q.

COPT Defense Properties $(CDP)$ is expected to report $0.33 for 2Q.

Cadence Design Systems Inc $(CDNS)$ is expected to report $1.12 for 2Q.

Celestica Inc (CLS,CLS.T) is expected to report for 2Q.

Champions Oncology Inc (CSBR) is expected to report $0.03 for 4Q.

Cincinnati Financial Corp $(CINF)$ is expected to report $1.78 for 2Q.

Citizens Community Bancorp Inc (CZWI) is expected to report $0.41 for 2Q.

Citizens Holding Co (CIZN) is expected to report for 2Q.

FVCBankcorp Inc $(FVCB)$ is expected to report $0.36 for 2Q.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc $(FMAO)$ is expected to report $0.67 for 2Q.

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July 24, 2026 16:47 ET (20:47 GMT)

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