S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit records, lifted by Alphabet
Alphabet (GOOGL.O), opens new tab rose 1.6% as the Google parent's results boosted confidence that heavy investment in a race to dominate AI technology is paying off.
Shares of Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, Nvidia (NVDA.O), opens new tab and Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab climbed over 1%.
The U.S.-Japan trade deal and recent signs of progress in talks with the European Union also fueled Wall Street's gains.
"Investors are feeling optimistic about trade negotiations, about the economy, the trend in inflation, as well as the better-than-expected Q2 earnings reports," said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab tumbled almost 9% after CEO Elon Musk warned of a "few rough quarters" as the U.S. government cuts support for electric vehicle makers. The stock has fallen about 25% so far in 2025.
UnitedHealth lost 3.7% after the insurer revealed it was cooperating with a Department of Justice probe into its Medicare practices, following reports of both criminal and civil investigations.
IBM dropped 8% after its second-quarter results fell flat with investors, hampered by disappointing sales in its core software division.
Honeywell fell 4.6% despite topping Wall Street's expectations and raising its annual outlook.
The S&P 500 was up 0.32% at 6,379.21 points.
The Nasdaq gained 0.41% to 21,106.64 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.34% at 44,855.18 points, and it remained near its December 4 record high.
Seven of the 11 S&P 500 sector indexes rose, led by information technology (.SPLRCT), opens new tab, up 0.87%, followed by a 0.86% gain in communication services (.SPLRCL), opens new tab.
American Airlines (AAL.O), opens new tab tumbled almost 8% after the carrier forecast a big third-quarter loss, hurt by sluggish domestic travel demand.
U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war has created the biggest uncertainty for the airline industry since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Markets were also monitoring Trump's planned visit to the Federal Reserve's headquarters later in the day, which follows months of the president criticizing Fed Chair Jerome Powell for interest rates the president views as too high.
With the Fed widely expected to hold rates steady at next week's meeting, traders see a 60% chance of a September rate cut, according to CME's FedWatch tool.
A fresh Labor Department report showed jobless claims last week fell to 217,000 - well below estimates - signaling continued resilience in the U.S. job market.
U.S. business activity gained momentum in July, but companies hiked prices on goods and services, fueling economists' predictions of faster inflation in the months ahead, largely driven by rising import tariffs.
Declining stocks outnumbered rising ones within the S&P 500 (.AD.SPX), opens new tab by a 1.0-to-one ratio.
The S&P 500 posted 44 new highs and 6 new lows; the Nasdaq recorded 72 new highs and 37 new lows.
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Asian shares are mostly higher after China-US talks end without a trade deal
Shares in Asia were mostly higher on Wednesday after the U.S. and China ended their latest round of trade talks without a deal. U.S, futures edged higher while oil prices slipped. Beijing's top trade official said China and the United States agreed during two days of talks in Stockholm, Sweden, to work on extending an Aug. 12 deadline for imposing higher tariffs on each other. The U.S. side said an extension was discussed, but not decided on. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says the American team would head back to Washington and 'talk to the president about whether that's something that he wants to do.' A Friday deadline is looming for many of Trump's proposed tariffs on other countries. Several highly anticipated economic reports are also on the way, including the latest monthly update on the job market. 'Markets had been floating on a cloud of trade optimism — first Japan, then the EU — but the sugar high is wearing off. Now, with U.S.-China talks dragging on in Stockholm, there's a growing sense that the momentum is stalling,' Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shed 0.3% to 25,441.64 while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.5% to 3,628.53. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index edged less than 0.1% higher to 40,687.17. Gains for electronics companies were offset by losses for major exporters like Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.6% to 8,759.20 and in South Korea, the Kospi gained 0.9% to 3,259.00. Taiwan's Taiex rose 0.9% while the Sensex in India edged 0.1% higher. On Tuesday, U.S. stock indexes edged back from their record levels as a busy week for Wall Street picked up momentum. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% to 6,370.86, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.5% to 44,632.99. The Nasdaq composite was down 0.4% at 21,098.29. SoFi Technologies jumped 7.4%, but Merck dropped 2.2% and UPS sank 9.2% following a torrent of profit reports from big U.S. companies. They're among the hundreds of companies telling investors this week how much they made during the spring, including nearly a third of the stocks in the S&P 500 index. UnitedHealth Group dropped 5.8% after reporting a profit for the spring that fell short of analysts' expectations. It also gave a forecast for profit over all of 2025 that investors found disappointing. The health care giant said it expected to earn at least $16 per share, when analysts were looking for something close to $20, according to FactSet. Shares of Novo Nordisk that trade in the United States tumbled 21.3% after the Danish company cut its forecast for sales growth this year, in part because of lower expectations for its Wegovy weight-loss drug amid high competition. Treasury yields sank as the Federal Reserve began a two-day meeting on interest rates. Despite pressure from President Donald Trump for lower rates, which would give the economy a boost, the widespread expectation is that the Fed will wait for more data about how Trump's tariffs are affecting inflation and the economy before making its next move. The U.S. economy appears to be slowing. One report on Tuesday said that U.S. employers were advertising fewer job openings at the end of June than a month before, though still more than economists expected. A separate report said confidence rose among U.S. consumers, but a measure of their expectations about the near term remains below the level that typically signals a recession ahead. In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil picked up 7 cents to $69.28 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international standard, was up 13 cents at $71.82 per barrel. The dollar fell to 148.13 Japanese yen from 148.48 yen. The euro rose to $1.1554 from $1.1546. ___ AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Stan Choe contributed.
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Tesla signs $4.3 billion LGES battery deal, source says, reducing China reliance
SEOUL, July 30 (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) ( opens new tab has signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab with energy storage system batteries, said a person familiar with the matter, as the U.S. company looks to reduce reliance on Chinese imports due to tariffs. The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries will be supplied from LGES's U.S. factory in Michigan, the person said on condition of anonymity because the details were not public. LGES announced earlier on Wednesday that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP batteries over three years globally, without identifying the customer or saying if they would be used in vehicles or energy storage systems. The South Korean company said last week it would try to offset sluggish electric vehicle demand by increasing sales of storage batteries thanks to a global surge in demand for power driven by data centres to train artificial intelligence. "In accordance with our agreement, we are unable to disclose the customer's identity due to confidentiality obligations," LGES told Reuters. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said in April that U.S. tariffs had an "outsized" impact on its energy business, since it sources LFP batteries from China. "We will also be working on securing additional supply chain from non-China-based suppliers, but it will take time," he said. Tesla this week also announced a $16.5 billion deal to buy chips from Samsung Electronics' ( opens new tab factory in Texas as South Korean companies expand their U.S. presence to meet local demand. Three South Korean cabinet-level officials met U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington in a push to close a trade deal ahead of an August 1 deadline for 25% tariffs on U.S. imports from South Korea to kick in, Seoul said on Wednesday. LGES is one of the few U.S. producers of LFP batteries, a battery chemistry long dominated by Chinese rivals that have little presence in the U.S. market. It started production of LFP batteries at its Michigan factory in May. The company said it was considering converting some electric vehicle battery production lines in the United States to cater to energy storage systems in response to slowing EV demand. LGES said the contract would last from August 2027 to July 2030 and included an option to extend the deal period by up to seven years and to increase supply volumes depending on discussions with its customer. "Other players, including South Korean firms like Samsung SDI and SK On, have yet to enter the U.S. LFP market, allowing LGES to enjoy a first-mover advantage," said Cho Hyun-ryul, a senior analyst at Samsung Securities. "While rivals have announced plans, LGES remains the only one actively producing at scale." Tesla's energy storage and generation business accounts for just over 10% of its revenue but it has been a bright spot for the company as it struggles with slowing car sales and upcoming cuts to U.S. government support for EVs. "Energy is growing really well despite headwinds from tariffs and various supply chain challenges," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on an earnings call last week. "I think not that many people appreciate just how gigantic the scale of battery demand is." Tesla has said its first LFP cell manufacturing facility will be online by the end of the year, but the in-house factory in Nevada will likely account for a small portion of its demand.
Reuters
3 hours ago
- Reuters
Exclusive: Tesla signs $4.3 billion battery deal with LGES, source says, reducing China reliance
SEOUL, July 30 (Reuters) - South Korea's LG Energy Solution (LGES) ( opens new tab has signed a $4.3 billion deal to supply Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab with energy storage system batteries, said a person familiar with the matter, as the U.S. company looks to reduce reliance on Chinese imports due to tariffs. The lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries will be supplied from LGES's U.S. factory in Michigan, the person said on condition of anonymity because the details were not public. LGES said earlier on Wednesday that it had signed a $4.3 billion contract to supply LFP batteries over three years globally, without identifying the customer. The announcement by the company, whose major customers include Tesla and General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab, did not say whether the LFP batteries would be used in vehicles or energy storage systems. "In accordance with our agreement, we are unable to disclose the customer's identity due to confidentiality obligations," LGES told Reuters. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Tesla currently imports LFP batteries from China, "but higher tariffs have made it increasingly difficult for U.S. companies to import LFP batteries from China," said Cho Hyun-ryul, a senior analyst at Samsung Securities. Tesla Chief Financial Officer Vaibhav Taneja said in April that the company was looking to secure non-Chinese battery suppliers for its energy storage business due to tariffs but it would take time. The LFP deal comes amid a scramble by countries and companies globally to strike tariff agreements with Washington and after South Korea's Samsung Electronics ( opens new tab and Tesla (TSLA.O), opens new tab this week announced a $16.5 billion chip supply deal. LGES is one of the few U.S. producers of LFP batteries, a battery chemistry long dominated by Chinese rivals that have little presence in the U.S. market. It started production of LFP batteries at its Michigan factory in May. The company said it was considering converting some electric vehicle battery production lines in the United States to cater to energy storage systems in response to slowing EV demand. LGES said the contract would last from August 2027 to July 2030 and included an option to extend the deal period by up to seven years and to increase supply volumes depending on discussions with its customer. The South Korean company warned this month of a further slowdown in EV battery demand by early next year due to U.S. tariffs and policy uncertainties as it posted a quarterly profit jump.
