Wall Street ended Thursday on a sour note, with all three major indexes sliding ahead of key events including President Trump’s looming tariff decision and the upcoming US jobs report. Despite the dip, markets still locked in solid monthly gains, fueled by Big Tech’s strong earnings.
The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) slipped slightly below break-even, wiping out earlier gains of over 1%. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) lost around 0.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) lagged further, dropping by about 0.7%.
Even with Thursday’s pullback, July proved profitable for investors. The S&P 500 advanced by approximately 2.3% over the month, while the Nasdaq posted a strong gain of around 3.7%, extending its winning streak to four consecutive months. In contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the month with minimal movement, showing little overall change.
The declines came as traders adjusted their positions at the close of a packed week featuring crucial economic data and earnings updates. Attention now turns to Friday’s jobs report and the deadline for new tariffs introduced by President Trump. The president announced an extension of current tariff rates on Mexico for another 90 days, allowing time for a broader trade agreement to take shape.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index the Fed’s favored inflation measure showed price growth picking up in June, with inflation still hovering above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. This data followed the Fed’s Wednesday decision to hold interest rates steady, although two officials dissented. Fed Chair Jerome Powell clarified that no choices had been made regarding a potential rate cut in September. Expectations for a September cut dropped to under 40%, down from 60% earlier in the week.
Amid these macro developments, Big Tech earnings stole the spotlight. Meta Platforms (META) shares soared over 11% after the company reported robust earnings and strong forward guidance, despite accelerating investments in artificial intelligence. Microsoft (MSFT) also posted impressive results, initially boosting its stock as much as 8% and briefly pushing its market value above $4 trillion.
Now, investors are awaiting results from other tech titans namely Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) set to report earnings after the bell.
