U.S. stock markets ended Friday on a high note, capping a strong week fueled by upbeat corporate earnings and encouraging trade news.
The S&P 500 gained 0.40% to close at a new record high of 6,388.64, marking its 14th all-time peak this year. The Nasdaq Composite also reached fresh heights, adding 0.24% to finish at 21,108.32. Both indexes hit new intraday records during the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 208.01 points, or 0.47%, ending at 44,901.92—just 0.25% shy of its all-time closing high from early December.
For the week, all three major indexes posted solid gains: the Dow rose roughly 1.3%, the Nasdaq increased by 1%, and the S&P 500 advanced 1.5%.
Looking forward, investors face a busy week that could test market confidence. A critical focus is the looming August 1 deadline set by President Donald Trump, when increased tariffs could take effect on many U.S. trading partners unless new trade agreements are reached. This threat of escalating trade tensions may add volatility to what has otherwise been a steady market rally.
Also on the agenda are the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision, the July employment report, and a wave of earnings releases from major corporations—all likely to influence investor sentiment in the coming days.
“August 1 could mean higher tariffs on nearly 60 U.S. trading partners including the EU, as a bloc, the biggest. A rise from the current ~16% US weighted average tariff to perhaps as much as ~21% is a risk,”
noted economists at UBS in a market briefing.
Regarding the employment figures, UBS expects a “soggy” report but believes the details will likely not worsen June’s numbers. The bank projects a rise of 95,000 nonfarm payroll jobs for July, with unemployment inching up to 4.2%.
“Unexpected strength in the data could upend September rate cut calls,”
the UBS team added.
Four of the “Magnificent Seven” to Report This Week
Investors are bracing for a packed earnings calendar with tech giants Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)—four of the so-called “Magnificent Seven”—set to release results. Given their enormous market capitalization, these companies have a major influence on the overall indexes.
Just as tariff-related fears could rattle markets, disappointing earnings from these tech leaders could also trigger volatility.
“Everything can go right for this astoundingly resilient market,”
said strategists at Evercore ISI,
“but as our Investor poll last Friday showed a likelihood that punitive tariffs on at least one country could rattle investors, as could an adverse price reaction from Mag 7 reporters.”
So far, about 30% of S&P 500 companies have reported second-quarter earnings, with profits expected to rise 7.7% year-over-year, according to LSEG IBES—an improvement over the 5.8% growth forecast at the start of July.
Alongside the tech heavyweights, companies like Boeing (NYSE:BA), Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), Booking (NASDAQ:BKNG), Visa (NYSE:V), ARM Holdings (LSE:ARM), and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) are also scheduled to report this week.
What Analysts Are Saying About the Market
Morgan Stanley commented:
“The rolling recovery is underway, and we lean more toward our 12-month bull case (7200). Drivers are positive operating leverage, AI adoption, dollar weakness, cash tax savings, easy growth comparisons, pent-up demand and Fed cuts. Industrials remains our top sector pick.”
RBC Capital Markets noted:
“Even though the S&P 500 has crept higher over the past week, the ability to manage through tariffs has not been uniform. Additionally, discussion of 2026 has been fairly light so far. That makes sense to us given that we are only midway through 2025, but it also poses a risk to the path of stock prices if company outlooks for 2026 don’t end up being as rosy as investors have been anticipating. We continue to be ready for choppy conditions in the stock market in the back half of 2025.”
Evercore ISI added:
“FOMO and Speculation does not mean that stocks move in a straight line higher, even as it does increase the probability that the long term destination is higher. A market trading at nearly 25x and where complacency is reflected by plunging index volatility faces a barrage of events in the week ahead.”
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