US stocks open mostly up. With Fed chair looking safe, eyes turn to earnings for direction
- - US stocks open mostly up. With Fed chair looking safe, eyes turn to earnings for direction
Medora Lee, USA TODAY July 25, 2025 at 7:24 PM
U.S. stocks opened mostly higher after President Donald Trump's visit to Federal Reserve headquarters was largely uneventful, leaving investors to digest more earnings reports.
"Markets still fully expect (Fed Chair Jerome) Powell to finish his term," said Tom Essaye, founder and president of Sevens Report Research. For many investors, that would be a relief.
Meanwhile, slightly more than 20% of S&P 500 companies have reported earnings, said Thomas Shipp, Head of Equity Research for LPL Financial. "So far, it appears that results are good enough. The rate of results outpacing earnings expectations is near 90%, with average upside surprises around the historical average of approximately 7% on earnings per share, while about 2% upside on sales is coming in ahead of historical averages of roughly 1.2%."
However, investors also are scrutinizing guidance. So far, Shipp said companies seem to be managing tariffs well, feel Trump's mega tax bill will help companies, and are still planning to spend on artificial intelligence.
At 9:40 a.m. ET, the blue chip Dow rose 0.22%, or 97.19 points, to 44,791.10; the broad S&P 500 added 0.14%, or 8.83 points, to 6,372.18, and the tech-laden Nasdaq dipped 0.03%, or 5.79 points, to 21,052.17. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4.41%.
Before the market opened, Phillips 66's second-quarter profits beat analysts' expectations, Charter Communications missed second-quarter earnings-per-share estimates, and Centene reported a surprise loss per share.
Economic data also continued to show a resilient economy. Orders for so-called durable goods that are made to last at least three years fell 9.3% in June, mostly reflecting lower aircraft orders, from May. That was better than the average forecast of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal for an 11.1% decline.
Also, "that still only reversed just over half of the 16.5% month-over-month jump in orders in May," noted Thomas Ryan, North America economist for Capital Economics. There are "signs of resilience underneath the headline weakness." Excluding transportation, orders rose 0.2% in June from an upwardly revised 0.6% gain in May.
FILE PHOTO: A street sign for Wall Street is seen in the financial district in New York, U.S., November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File PhotoTrade deals
India expects preferential treatment, or a better tariff rate, in a U.S. trade deal compared with its economic rivals, according to CNBC, citing India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.
Talks with South Korea are also ongoing with next week's August 1 tariff deadline due for many countries.
Corporate news -
Intel's second-quarter results topped analyts' forecasts but the semiconductor company said it's slashing its workforce by 15% and scrapping plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on new chip facilities in Europe. Shares dropped nearly 8%.
Charter Communications missed second-quarter earnings per share estimates but sales were in line. The company lost a more-than-expected 111,000 residential high-speed internet customers in the period ended June 30. Shares tumbled 13%.
Centene unexpectedly reported a second-quarter adjusted loss per share and reported higher medical costs than Wall Street expected. The stock added 4.04%.
AutoNation beat estimates with its second-quarter results, but the stock fell 1.65%.
Sarepta Therapeutics shares plunged nearly 10% after Roche Holding AG’s gene therapy Elevidys failed to win European regulatory approval. Sarepta Therapeutics, which developed Elevidys and sells it in the U.S., announced a temporary halt on shipments there this week.
Phillips 66 topped analysts' expectations for second-quarter profits and margins improved. Shares inched up.
Deckers Outdoor results topped Wall Street's expectations in the first three months of its fiscal year with help from strong international sales. Its current quarter guidance is mostly in line with the Street's views. Shares soared almost 17%.
Newmont Mining topped second-quarter profit forecasts. Shares jumped 7%.
Boston Beer reported better-than-expected second-quarter results and said it now expects tariffs to have a more moderate effect on its earnings this year. Shares rallied 13.36%.
Paramount Global's $8 billion merger with Skydance received approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Pararmount shares gained 2.3%.
Boyd Gaming topped second-quarter estimates. Shares rose less than 1%.
Cryptocurrency
Trump's Working Group on Digital Assets has finished its 180-day study and will release it publicly on July 30, said Bo Hines, executive director of president's Council of Advisers on Digital Assets of the White House, in a social media post.
Separately, a large Bitcoin investor, also called a whale, reportedly has transferred more than $1.1 billion worth of Bitcoin to centralized exchanges. The whale is said to be one of the original Bitcoin investors, holding its stash since 2011.
Bitcoin was last down 1.71% at $116,327.30.
(This story was with new information.)
Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US stocks open mostly up on earnings momentum, safe Fed chair
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