S&P 500 and Nasdaq rally to record highs on optimism about trade deals
The White House's deal with the European Union would include a broad tariff of 15% on EU goods imported into the U.S., two diplomats said. The rate, which could also extend to cars, would mirror the framework agreement the U.S. has struck with Japan.
The benchmark S&P 500 has now climbed about 8% in 2025, while the Nasdaq has gained almost 9%.
"The key thing is the markets have confidence that the White House is going to continue to work through these trade deals," said Larry Tentarelli, chief technical strategist for Blue Chip Daily Trend Report.
Shares of GE Vernova (GEV.N), opens new tab surged to 14.6% an all-time high after the power equipment maker raised its revenue and free cash flow forecasts and beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit. GE Vernova has gained over 80% so far in 2025, with power consumption on track to hit due to growing demand from AI and cryptocurrency data centers.
Heavyweight AI chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab climbed 2.25% and fueled gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.
Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab edged up 0.14% ahead of its quarterly report due after the closing bell. Investors will focus on the electric vehicle maker's analyst conference call. They have braced for Tesla to report a steep drop in revenue related to mounting competition, a lack of new car models and a consumer backlash against CEO Elon Musk.
"What you will hear is an awful lot of discussion about the future and a broad acknowledgement that this was a terrible quarter," said Michael Green, chief strategist at Simplify Asset Management in Philadelphia.
Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab dipped 0.58%, with the Google parent also set to report results after the close of trading.
The S&P 500 climbed 0.78% to end the session at 6,358.91 points.
The Nasdaq gained 0.61% to 21,020.02 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.14% to 45,010.29 points, just short of its December 4 record high close.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively heavy, with 19.1 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 17.7 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
Wall Street's "fear gauge", the CBOE Volatility Index (.VIX), opens new tab, dipped to its lowest level in over five months.
Analysts on average expect S&P 500 companies to report a 7.5% increase in earnings for the second quarter, according to LSEG I/B/E/S. Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Nvidia and other technology heavyweights that have seen their valuations soar due to their leadership in AI are expected to drive much of that quarterly earnings growth.
Medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher (TMO.N), opens new tab surged over 9% after beating Wall Street's estimates for second-quarter profit and revenue.
Texas Instruments (TXN.O), opens new tab tumbled 13% after its quarterly profit forecast pointed to weaker-than-expected demand for its analog chips and underscored tariff-related uncertainty.
Texas Instruments' report weighed on other analog chipmakers, with NXP Semiconductors (NXPI.O), opens new tab, Analog Devices (ADI.O), opens new tab and ON Semiconductor (ON.O), opens new tab losing between 1% and 4.6%.
In economic data, U.S. existing home sales fell more than expected in June. Focus now shifts to Thursday's weekly jobless claims numbers and S&P Global's flash PMI data to gauge economic health in the wake of tariff uncertainties.
Following a mixed set of economic data last week, traders have ruled out an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week. Odds for a September reduction stand at about 58%, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Advancing issues outnumbered falling ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX), opens new tab by a 2.1-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 50 new highs and 2 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 96 new highs and 20 new lows.
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Phase three is transformation – where AI adoption potentially boosts productivity, creating new business models and industries.' However, Palmour believes the industry is still in 'phase one' with hyperscalers 'sticking with increased capital spending – and being rewarded for it' with bumper earnings and share price gains. He said: 'We still like the hardware makers and those sectors benefitting from the buildout. 'Utilities are key AI beneficiaries, with AI mentions in earnings calls far outpacing the S&P 500 average. 'We see this interest persisting as data centres drive soaring power demand and a greater need for flexible, reliable supply.' Goldman Sachs estimates the total addressable market for the broader software industry will expand by 'at least' 20% over the next four years Matt Ward, co-manager of the £1.2illion AXA Framlington Global Technology fund, said growing numbers of companies are starting to embrace AI to ensure their systems are prepared to handle and process 'an explosion of complexity' and growing volumes of data. However, the AI software solutions bought by firms remain largely 'niche and focused on solving specific problems at this stage', according to Ward, and there is little evidence of 'mature, horizontally applicable software that can be taken on board by large customers and deliver consistent return on investment'. He said: 'Frankly we haven't seen a singular product that is scalable in the billions of dollars of revenues. We're some way away from that.' AXA Framlington Global Technology currently allocates 32.44 per cent of its assets to semiconductor and semiconductor equipment, while software makes up 25.23 per cent, according to FE Fundinfo data. US-based cloud companies Snowflake and Datadog, and supply chain platform JFrog are among the firm's software holdings. Ward added: 'If you look at Salesforce, for example, pure AI revenues are a drop in the ocean in terms of their overall business. 'But you look at Microsoft, it's a material number now - it's not a drop in the ocean. 'It isn't a concern for us - we just think we're very early here. 'We see the money coming through and being spent, and the forecast only going up.' Gerrit Smit, head of global equity management at Stonehage Fleming Investment Management UK, says it is difficult to have 'full confidence' in much of the sector, which remains volatile and often unprofitable. His firm's focus has been on physical infrastructure names like Amphenol, which cables and connectors for data centres, as well as more established software names like Amsterdam-listed Tencent shareholder Prosus. Smit said: 'The benefits of AI are starting to be realised in different forms. Corporate AI uptake is very strong, so there's no reservation about that. 'We see it in many company presentations now, they will make a point of the difference that AI is going to make for them.'
