Stocks set more records as Verizon begins a big week for profit reports with a beat

Los Angeles Times

5 days ago

U.S. stock indexes inched their way to more records on Monday to kick off a week full of profit updates from big U.S. companies.
The S&P 500 rose 0.1% and squeaked past its prior all-time high set on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down by 19 points, or less than 0.1%, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.4% to its own record.
Verizon Communications helped lead the way and rose 4%. The telecom giant reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected, along with higher revenue than forecast. Following the better-than-expected performance, Verizon raised its forecasts for profit and other financial measures for the full year.
That helped offset a 5.4% drop for Sarepta Therapeutics, which continued to fall after the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday that it asked the company to voluntarily stop all shipments of Elevidys, its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, due to safety concerns.
Block, Jack Dorsey's company behind Square, Cash App and other tech brands climbed 7.6% in its first trading after learning it will join the widely followed and imitated S&P 500 index. It will take the place of Hess, which Chevron bought, before trading begins on Wednesday.
Cleveland-Cliffs rallied 12.4% after the steel producer reported a smaller loss for the spring than analysts expected. It shipped a record 4.3 million net tons of steel during the quarter, and CEO Lourenco Goncalves said the company has begun to see 'the positive impact that tariffs have on domestic manufacturing' and other things.
It's a major supplier to the auto industry, and President Donald Trump's tariffs steer companies hoping to sell cars in the United States toward steel made in the country.
Other U.S. companies, though, are navigating the downsides and complications of tariffs, which raise prices on all kinds of things imported to the United States. That includes General Motors, which will report its latest profit results later this week, along with such market heavyweights as Alphabet, Coca-Cola and Tesla.
Many of Trump's stiff proposed tariffs are currently on pause after Trump extended the deadline for talks with other countries in order to give more time to reach potential trade deals that could lower the tax rates. The next big deadline, at least for now, is Aug. 1.
It's still early days in this earnings reporting season, but most big U.S. companies have been topping analysts' expectations, as is usually the case.
Some encouraging undertones may already be emerging. An upward inflection in demand for travel that United Airlines said it's seen recently, combined with better-than-expected data on U.S. retail sales, may indicate that U.S. consumers remain in decent health, Bank of America strategist Savita Subramanian said in a BofA Global Research report. That could offer a strong source of support for the economy.
Companies will need to keep delivering solid profit growth to tamp down criticism that the U.S. stock market may be looking expensive again after prices reached records despite potential worries about tariffs and the economy.
All told, the S&P 500 rose 8.81 points to 6,305.60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 19.12 to 44,323.07, and the Nasdaq composite rose 78.52 to 20,974.17.
In the bond market, Treasury yields eased. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.38% from 4.44% late Friday.
In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed in Europe after finishing modestly higher in much of Asia.
Markets were closed for a holiday in Japan, where the ruling Liberal Democrats lost their coalition majorities in both houses of parliament for the first time since 1955 following Sunday's upper house election and the loss of their lower house majority in October.
A grim Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to stay on after the drubbing by voters frustrated over rising prices and political instability. Analysts said they expect his weakened government to crank up spending, adding to Japan's huge debt burden.
Choe writes for the Associated Press.