Stock Market News for Aug 4, 2025
How Did The Benchmarks Perform?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) slid 1,2% or 542.40 points, to finish at 43,588.58 points.
The S&P 500 declined 1.6%, or 101.38 points, to end at 6,238.01 points, posting its worst day since May 21. Consumer discretionary, tech and financial stocks were the worst performers.
The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) declined 2.4%. The Financials Select Sector SPDR (XLF) and the Technology Select Sector SPDR (XLK) slid 2.2 and 1.9%, respectively. Eight of the 11 sectors of the benchmark index ended in negative territory.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2.2%, or 472.32 points, to close at 20,650.13 points, recording its biggest single-day decline since April 21.
The fear gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 21.89% to 20.38. Decliners outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by a 2.17-to-1 ratio. On the Nasdaq, a 2.69-to-1 ratio favored declining issues. A total of 19.51 billion shares were traded on Friday, higher than the last 20-session average of 18.44 billion.
Trump's New Tariffs, Weak Jobs Data Dent Investors' Confidence
Trump signed an executive order hours before the Aug. 1 tariff deadline and slapped hefty duties on several trading partners of the United States, including Brazil, Canada, India and Taiwan, as these countries scrambled to work out fairer trade deals.
Investors grew concerned once again as they believe that hefty tariffs could weigh on an already weakening economy and push inflation further up.
Investors' confidence took a further hit after fresh data showed that jobs growth unexpectedly slowed in July, while June's numbers were downwardly revised, suggesting that the labor market is likely shrinking.
Bank stocks took a hit on concerns that a slowing economy could impact loan growth. Shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (
JPM
) fell 2.3%, while Bank of America Corporation (
BAC
) and Wells Fargo & Company (
WFC
) declined 3.4% and 3.5%, respectively.
This, however, raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in its September policy meeting.
The weak jobs data raised market expectations of a 25-basis-point rate cut in September to 86.5%, according to the CME's FedWatch Tool, up from 37.7% in Thursday's session.
Amazon Weighs on Broader Market
E-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. (
AMZN
) was the biggest drag on all three major indexes. Amazon topped both earnings and revenue estimates. The company reported second-quarter earnings of $1.68 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.33 per share.
The e-commerce giant posted revenues of $167.7 billion for the quarter, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.32% However, the company's shares declined 8.3% after it failed to meet the expectations for its Amazon Web Services.
Amazon Web Services revenues grew 18% in the second quarter, but its growth rate lagged Microsoft Corporation's (
MSFT
) Azure's 39% and Alphabet, Inc.'s (
GOOGL
) Google Cloud's 32% growth rate. Amazon has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Economic Data
The Labor Department reported on Friday that nonfarm payrolls increased by just 73,000 in July, sharply lower than analysts' expectations of a rise of 100,000. June's jobs growth was downwardly revised to just 14,000, from 147,000, while May's numbers totaled just 19,000 after being cut down from the initially reported 125,000.
The unemployment rate jumped to 4.2% in July as household employment declined.
Weekly Roundup
All three indexes ended lower for the week. The Dow lost 2.9% for the week. The S&P 500 was down 2.4% for the week, while the Nasdaq lost 2.2%.
Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor Stock
This under-the-radar company specializes in semiconductor products that titans like NVIDIA don't build. It's uniquely positioned to take advantage of the next growth stage of this market. And it's just beginning to enter the spotlight, which is exactly where you want to be.
With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $971 billion by 2028.
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Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
In rejecting the jobs report, Trump follows his own playbook of discrediting unfavorable data
WASHINGTON (AP) — When the coronavirus surged during President Donald Trump's first term, he called for a simple fix: Limit the amount of testing so the deadly outbreak looked less severe. When he lost the 2020 election, he had a ready-made reason: The vote count was fraudulent. And on Friday, when the July jobs report revisions showed a distressed economy, Trump had an answer: He fired the official in charge of the data and called the report of a sharp slowdown in hiring 'phony.' Trump has a go-to playbook if the numbers reveal uncomfortable realities, and that's to discredit or conceal the figures and to attack the messenger — all of which can hurt the president's efforts to convince the world that America is getting stronger. 'Our democratic system and the strength of our private economy depend on the honest flow of information about our economy, our government and our society,' said Douglas Elmendorf, a Harvard University professor who was formerly director of the Congressional Budget Office. 'The Trump administration is trying to suppress honest analysis.' The president's strategy carries significant risks for his own administration and a broader economy that depends on politics-free data. His denouncements threaten to lower trust in government and erode public accountability, and any manipulation of federal data could result in policy choices made on faulty numbers, causing larger problems for both the president and the country. The White House disputes any claims that Trump wants to hide numbers that undermine his preferred narratives. It emphasized that Goldman Sachs found that the two-month revisions on the jobs report were the largest since 1968, outside of a recession, and that should be a source of concern regarding the integrity of the data. Trump's aides say their fundamental focus is ensuring that any data gives an accurate view of reality. Not the first time Trump has sought to play with numbers Trump has a long history of dismissing data when it reflects poorly on him and extolling or even fabricating more favorable numbers, a pattern that includes his net worth, his family business, election results and government figures: — Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in a lawsuit brought by the state of New York that Trump and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing loans. — Trump has claimed that the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections were each rigged. Trump won the 2016 presidential election by clinching the Electoral College, but he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, a sore spot that led him to falsely claim that millions of immigrants living in the country illegally had cast ballots. He lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden but falsely claimed he had won it, despite multiple lawsuits failing to prove his case. — In 2019, as Hurricane Dorian neared the East Coast, Trump warned Alabama that the storm was coming its way. Forecasters pushed back, saying Alabama was not at risk. Trump later displayed a map in the Oval Office that had been altered with a black Sharpie — his signature pen — to include Alabama in the potential path of the storm. — Trump's administration has stopped posting reports on climate change, canceled studies on vaccine access and removed data on gender identity from government sites. — As pandemic deaths mounted, Trump suggested that there should be less testing. 'When you do testing to that extent, you're going to find more people,' Trump said at a June 2020 rally in Oklahoma. 'You're going to find more cases. So I said to my people, 'Slow the testing down, please.'' While Trump's actions have drawn outcry from economists, scientists and public interest groups, Elmendorf noted that Trump's actions regarding economic data could be tempered by Congress, which could put limits on Trump by whom he chooses to lead federal agencies, for example. 'Outside observers can only do so much,' Elmendorf said. 'The power to push back against the president rests with the Congress. They have not exercised that power, but they could.' White House says having its own people in place will make data 'more reliable' Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, took aim at the size of the downward revisions in the jobs report (a combined 258,000 reduction in May and June) to suggest that the report had credibility issues. He said Trump is focused on getting dependable numbers, despite the president linking the issue to politics by claiming the revisions were meant to make Republicans look bad. 'The president wants his own people there so that when we see the numbers, they're more transparent and more reliable,' Hassett said Sunday on NBC News. Jed Kolko, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics who oversaw the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis during the Biden administration, stressed that revisions to the jobs data are standard. That's because the numbers are published monthly, but not all surveys used are returned quickly enough to be in the initial publishing of the jobs report. 'Revisions solve the tension between timeliness and accuracy,' Kolko said. 'We want timely data because policymakers and businesses and investors need to make decisions with the best data that's available, but we also want accuracy.' Kolko stressed the importance in ensuring that federal statistics are trustworthy not just for government policymakers but for the companies trying to gauge the overall direction of the economy when making hiring and investment choices. 'Businesses are less likely to make investments if they can't trust data about how the economy is doing,' he said. Not every part of the jobs report was deemed suspect by the Trump administration. Before Trump ordered the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, Erika McEntarfer, the White House rapid response social media account reposted a statement by Vice President JD Vance noting that native-born citizens were getting jobs and immigrants were not, drawing from data in the household tables in the jobs report. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer also trumpeted the findings on native-born citizens, noting on Fox Business Network's 'Varney & Co.' that they are accounting 'for all of the job growth, and that's key.' During his first run for the presidency, Trump criticized the economic data as being fake only to fully embrace the positive numbers shortly after he first entered the White House in 2017. White House says transparency is a value The challenge of reliable data goes beyond economic figures to basic information on climate change and scientific research. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. In July, taxpayer-funded reports on the problems climate change is creating for America and its population disappeared from government websites. The White House initially said NASA would post the reports in compliance with a 1990 law, but the agency later said it would not because any legal obligations were already met by having reports submitted to Congress. The White House maintains that it has operated with complete openness, posting a picture of Trump on Monday on social media with the caption, 'The Most Transparent President in History.' In the picture, Trump had his back to the camera and was covered in shadows, visibly blocking out most of the light in front of him. ___ Associated Press writer Michelle Price in Washington contributed to this report.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
CVRx (CVRX) Q2 Revenue Jumps 15%
Key Points Revenue (GAAP) rose 15% to $13.6 million, surpassing both company expectations and analyst estimates. Net loss narrowed on a per-share basis to $(0.57) (GAAP), primarily due to a higher share count despite a slight increase in overall losses. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › CVRx (NASDAQ:CVRX), a medical device innovator focused on heart failure therapy, released its second quarter 2025 earnings on August 4, 2025. The most important news was a Revenue (GAAP) increased to $13.6 million, up 15% year-over-year and above analyst expectations of $13.29 million (GAAP). The company also reported a net loss of $14.7 million, or $(0.57) per share (GAAP). While that loss widened slightly, the per-share figure (GAAP) improved due to an increased share count. The quarter reflected strong commercial progress for its Barostim neuromodulation device despite heavy investment in sales and marketing. Results slightly exceeded internal and external expectations, and management narrowed its revenue guidance to a range of $55.0 million to $57.0 million. Metric Q2 2025 Q2 2025 Estimate Q2 2024 Y/Y Change EPS (GAAP) $(0.57) $(0.52) $(0.65) 12.3% Revenue (GAAP) $13.6 million $13.29 million $11.8 million 15.1% Gross Profit $11.5 million N/A N/A Gross Margin 84% 84% 0% Net Loss $14.7 million $14.0 million -5.0% Source: Analyst estimates provided by FactSet. Management expectations based on management's guidance, as provided in Q1 2025 earnings report. About CVRx and Its Core Business CVRx (NASDAQ:CVRX) specializes in developing implantable medical devices for treating heart failure. Its leading product, Barostim, is a neuromodulation device—meaning it delivers targeted electrical pulses to nerves in the carotid artery to improve function of the autonomic nervous system. This system regulates key bodily functions, including blood pressure and heart rate. Barostim is designed to treat patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), providing an option that avoids direct implantation in the heart. The company's commercial priorities are building deep adoption in centers with strong heart failure programs and expanding reimbursement pathways to improve access. Solid clinical evidence and reliable regulatory support have been the company's main success factors, along with educating physicians and patients on Barostim's benefits. Quarter Highlights and Key Developments During the period, total revenue (GAAP) reached $13.6 million, outpacing both the company's guides and Wall Street expectations by over 2%. U.S. heart failure revenue remained the largest contributor, climbing to $12.1 million, with units up to 387 from 339 in the prior year. U.S. sales overall were $12.2 million, also up 15% (GAAP). Across the Atlantic, European revenue grew 19% to $1.3 million (GAAP), but the number of European implant units declined from 63 to 61, signaling some softness in procedural volume despite improved pricing or product mix. Active implanting centers in the U.S. grew to 240, reflecting 13 new centers added in the U.S. during the quarter. U.S. sales territories also grew to 47, up from 45, while European territories held steady at five. U.S. revenue accounted for approximately 89.8% of total sales (GAAP), indicating the company's primary growth engine remains domestic. The company attributes revenue gains to both new account additions and greater utilization per center, while the slightly lower European volumes point to variability in adoption across geographies. Gross profit (GAAP) grew 16% from the prior year, maintaining a gross margin of 84%. On the expense side, research and development (R&D) spending declined 11% to $2.5 million, reflecting lower compensation as resources shifted toward commercial growth. Selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) costs (GAAP) increased 11% to $23.4 million, driven mainly by higher employee compensation, travel, and non-cash stock-based grants, with some relief from lower advertising costs. The higher SG&A, while outpaced by revenue growth, resulted in operating and net losses that remain substantial—operating loss (GAAP) at $14.4 million and net loss (GAAP) at $14.7 million. Multiple reimbursement milestones provided stability for Barostim's future. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed to retain Barostim as a covered outpatient procedure at the $45,000 payment level, removing some uncertainty for hospitals and ensuring continued access. In addition, CMS proposed favorable physician payment levels of about $550 for new procedure coding effective in 2026. On the clinical front, highlighted real-world data presented at major cardiology conferences showed large reductions in heart failure hospital visits—down 85% for heart failure, 84% for cardiovascular causes, and 86% for all causes—after Barostim implantation, based on comparisons of hospital visits for 306 Barostim patients in the 12 months prior to implant and an average of almost two years post-implant. These real-world results have been well received by physicians and payers, which it views as an important driver of payer support and future uptake. Furthermore, the company is preparing a large pragmatic randomized controlled trial (RCT), potentially enrolling up to 2,000 patients, to further establish Barostim's efficacy, as discussed in recent management commentary. Although the timing and costs of that effort depend on regulatory approval and payer support, management sees it as a long-term enabler of broader use. The company finished the quarter with $95.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, down from $105.9 million at year end 2024. Net cash used for operations and investing was $8.0 million, showing some improvement from $10.2 million a year ago, but still indicating ongoing cash burn. Long-term debt remained steady at $49.4 million. Looking Ahead: Guidance and Watch Items For fiscal 2025, management narrowed its revenue guidance to $55.0–$57.0 million, tightening the prior range and signaling increased confidence from better visibility into commercial results. The company expects gross margin to remain high at 83–84%. Operating expenses are now projected at $96.0–$98.0 million, a slight increase at the midpoint, reflecting ongoing investments in sales and account growth. Revenue is expected in the range of $13.7–$14.7 million for the next quarter, suggesting continued double-digit revenue growth ahead, as evidenced by a 15% year-over-year increase. Areas to watch in the coming quarters include progress in adding new implanting centers, the effectiveness and productivity of the enlarged sales force, and movement toward scaling revenues faster than expenses. Investors will also monitor any shift in European procedure volumes, cash usage trends, and the company's progress on the planned large RCT, as this trial could both validate Barostim's utility and expand the addressable market if successful. CVRX does not currently pay a dividend. Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,019%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 178% for the S&P 500. They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of August 4, 2025
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Canadian delegation heads to Mexico to build trade opportunities
With trade negotiations with the U.S. seemingly at a standstill, a delegation of Canadian ministers has headed to Mexico to establish a more direct trade relationship.
