Nasdaq, S&P 500 hit fresh records after strong Alphabet earnings: Live updates

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite eked out record closes on Thursday after Alphabet’s latest quarterly results came in better than expected.

The broad market index added 0.07% to end at 6,363.35, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.18% to close at 21,057.96. Both indexes sharply curtailed their gains as the session ended. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 316.38 points, or 0.70%, to settle at 44,693.91. The 30-stock Dow was bogged down by shares of IBM slipping more than 7% after its second-quarter software revenue missed expectations.

Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq had scored new intraday all-time highs earlier in the session, bolstered by a 1% move higher in Alphabet shares after the Google parent posted a second-quarter earnings and revenue beat.

“Given the size and influence of big tech and [artificial intelligence], I think the Alphabet results were a nice little tailwind for a market that’s constantly asking the question of whether all the AI spend is going to have have solid [return on investment] or whether this can continue,” Ross Mayfield, investment strategist at Baird, said to CNBC. “At least at the beginning of earnings season here, Alphabet provided a nice data point that the answer is positive.”

Along with IBM, gains were kept in check by declines in Tesla, which dipped 8% after auto revenue fell for a second straight quarter.

Investors also turned their attention to the ongoing feud between President Donald Trump and the Federal Reserve. The White House said that Trump will visit the Fed on Thursday, escalating his pressure campaign against Chairman Jerome Powell.

This is the first time in nearly two decades that an American president will make an official trip to the central bank.

The market is coming off a strong performance Wednesday, fueled by progress on trade talks, as the S&P 500 hit its 12th record close of the year and the Nasdaq Composite settled above 21,000 for the first time.

Stocks were also helped by a Financial Times report that the U.S. was inching closer to a trade deal with the European Union. Bloomberg confirmed the progress, citing diplomats briefed on the talks. This trade deal would raise tariffs to 15% on imports from the EU.

“If the administration feels emboldened to come out on Aug. 1 and raise tariffs on any country we don’t have a deal with, that’s going to be a risk-off event,” Mayfield also said. “The market is expecting this to be resolved in a way that’s not ultra anti-growth.”

S&P 500, Nasdaq close higher Thursday

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite ended Thursday’s session with fresh record closes after scoring new all-time intraday highs earlier in the trading day.

The broad market index closed 0.07% higher to end at 6,363.35, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 0.18% to finish at 21,057.96.

However, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back 316.38 points, or 0.7%, to settle at 44,693.91.

— Sean Conlon

Apple results should beat on top and bottom lines, says Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs is expecting Apple to show strong revenue trends and a beat on gross margins when the company reports earnings next week.

The firm said Thursday it expects a beat on both earnings and revenue, driven by double-digit growth in services, strength across products including iPhones, computers, tablets and wearables, as well as better-than-expected gross margins reflecting better tariff-related costs and forex headwinds.

That said, trade policy & tariff uncertainty, as well as risks to the company’s advertising revenue are near-term overhangs, analyst Michael Ng said in a note.

Apple is scheduled to report earnings next Thursday after the bell.

— Tanaya Macheel

Where stocks stand heading into market close

Here’s where the major averages stand heading into Thursday’s market close:

• The S&P 500 is up 0.22%
• The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.50%
• The Nasdaq Composite is up 0.33%
• The Russell 2000 is down 1.12%

— Lisa Kailai Han

Analysts remain optimistic on 2H recovery for Chipotle even after lackluster earnings

Wall Street analysts are sticking by Chipotle Mexican Grill even after the fast-food burrito chain reported second-quarter results that failed to impress.

Chipotle shares sank more than 13% in early afternoon trading Thursday after the company cut its 2025 forecast for same-store sales growth as traffic declined for a second straight quarter. The stock’s now down roughly 24% year to date.

Still, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo both reiterated their overweight ratings on shares, and UBS kept its buy rating. Analysts largely believe in a stronger set-up for Chipotle heading into the back half of the year.

Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Harbour, who has a $65 price target on the stock, said he maintains his rating “on the view that nothing is broken here, and growth should pick up, but patience may be needed” for the bull case to play out. In the mean time, he said he would be a buyer of material stock weakness.

Wells Fargo analyst Zachary Fadem said the recovery story for the second half of 2025 is still intact, and noted that the introductions of Adobo menu item and loyalty program Summer of Extras spurred June improvement. “We expect CMG shares lower post a Q2 comp shortfall, choppy July start & lower FY outlook amid consumer variability. While improvement is playing out slower vs hoped, we’d defend shares w/ initiatives showing promise & 2H/FY26 levers still in play,” he said in a note to clients.

— Pia Singh

Wolfe Research upgrades General Dynamics to outperform

Wolfe Research came away from General Dynamics second-quarter earnings report feeling like the defense company is “back on the right track.” Analyst Myles Walton upgraded shares to outperform from peer perform, and set a year-end 2025 price target of $360 — that’s about 14% above Wednesday’s close.

Walton said he now sees the stock as a “solid play on topline growth and margin recovery in the bizjet unit and downside protection & growth within defense.” What’s more, the company is improving its free cash flow generation and there’s a chance it could make “meaningful” stock buybacks once its leverage improves.

General Dynamics shares are up more than 6% over the past week and 21% year to date.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

38 stocks in the S&P 500 trade at new 52-week highs

During Thursday’s trading session, 38 stocks in the S&P 500 traded at new 52-week highs.

Tickers that hit this milestone included:

• Citigroup trading at levels not seen since November 2008
• JPMorgan trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in 1983
• Blackrock trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in December 1999
• Ulta Beauty trading at levels not seen since April 2024
• Dollar Tree trading at levels not seen since June 2024
• Broadcom trading at all-time high levels back through Avago’s IPO on the NASDAQ in August 2009
• Ebay trading at all-time high levels back to its IPO in September 1998
• Caterpillar trading at all-time high levels back to when it first began trading on the NYSE in 1929
• Northrop Grumman trading at all-time highs back to the merger between Northrop Aircraft and Grumman Aerospace in 1994
• General Dynamics trading at all-time high levels back to 1952 when it was incorporated and listed on the NYSE
• Warner Bros. Discovery trading at levels not seen since August 2023

Three stocks in the index traded at new 52-week lows: CarMax, LKQ and Molina Healthcare.

— Gina Francolla, Lisa Kailai Han

Chipotle shares on pace for worst day since 2017

Shares of Chipotle dropped more than 14% in early afternoon trading Thursday after the company scaled down its 2025 same-store sales outlook and posted weaker-than-expected second-quarter revenue.

The decline put the stock on track for its biggest percentage decline in a single day since Oct. 25, 2017, when it fell 14.58%

Thursday’s losses are just the latest blow for the stock’s underperformance in 2025. Year to date, it’s seen a decline of almost 25%, lagging the S&P 500’s gain of 8% in the same period.

— Sean Conlon

Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern, CSX, IBM among the stocks making moves midday

Check out the stocks making midday moves on Thursday:

• Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern — Union Pacific said it was in advanced talks about a potential combination with Norfolk Southern, which would create the largest U.S. railroad. Union Pacific shares fell almost 3%, while Norfolk Southern slipped less than 1%.
• CSX — Shares rose less than 1% after talks between rival railroad operators stoked deal speculation. The company’s CEO Joseph Hinrichs said in an interview that he was open to “all possibilities.”
• IBM — The tech stock fell 7% after the company reported disappointing revenue at its software business. While IBM raised its forecast for full-year free cash flow, it held to its revenue forecast.

Read here for the full list of names.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

New home sales fall short; PMIs offer split economic views

More data Thursday showed sales still moving at a slow pace in the housing market.

New single-family sales in June rose just 0.6% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 627,000, the Commerce Department reported. That was below the 645,000 estimate from Dow Jones and off 6.6% from the same month a year ago.

In other economic news, the S&P Global flash services PMI posted a reading of 55.2, a seven-month high and better than the forecast for 53.2. However, the manufacturing PMI came in at just 49.5, a seven-month low and below the 52.7 estimate. A reading above 50 represents expansion for the diffusion indexes.

— Jeff Cox

S&P 500 experiencing longest quiet streak in months

The S&P 500 is on pace for its 21st consecutive trading day without a move of 1% or more in either direction.

That matches the broad market index’s streak that was last seen in December.

— Adrian van Hauwermeiren, Sean Conlon

Trump says he wants Elon Musk’s companies to ‘THRIVE’

President Donald Trump said he wanted billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk to see his businesses succeed after Tesla’s earnings report came in weaker than analysts expected.

“Everyone is stating that I will destroy Elon’s companies by taking away some, if not all, of the large scale subsidies he receives from the U.S. Government,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post published Thursday morning. “This is not so! I want Elon, and all businesses within our Country, to THRIVE, in fact, THRIVE like never before!”

“The better they do, the better the USA does, and that’s good for all of us,” he added. “We are setting records every day, and I want to keep it that way!”

Trump’s statement follows recent clashes with Musk, who supported the president’s reelection bid and ran his controversial government efficiency initiative. Despite the comment, Tesla stock traded down more than 8% in morning trading.

— Alex Harring

Unitedhealth shares fall after it reveals DOJ Medicare billing probe

UnitedHealth Group shares tumbled almost 2% in morning trading after the company said it has reached out to the Department of Justice about an investigation of its Medicare billing practices.

The stock has been under pressure all year, with shares down 43% so far in 2025. In May, the Wall Street Journal reported the possibility of the Justice Department probe. Then, the paper reported in July that doctors told the Journal they felt pressure to submit claims in a way that would boost Medicare Advantage payments to the company.

UnitedHealth said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it’s complying with both criminal and civil requests and has full confidence in its practices.

— Christina Cheddar Berk

S&P 500, Nasdaq open higher

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite traded up on Thursday morning, rising to fresh records.

The broad market index gained 0.2% shortly after 9:30 a.m. ET, and the Nasdaq climbed 0.4%.

Conversely, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 302 points, or 0.7%.

— Sean Conlon

Opendoor, Dow, Alphabet among the names making moves before the bell

Some stocks are making big moves in the premarket on Thursday:

• Meme stocks — These stocks once again are making attention-grabbing moves. Opendoor Technologies jumped 7%, while GoPro and Krispy Kreme each fell around 4%.
• Dow Inc. — The chemical company’s stock slid more than 10% after disappointing second-quarter results. Dow posted a loss of 42 cents per share, excluding items, on $10.1 billion in revenue, while analysts penciled in a loss of 17 cents a share and $10.23 billion, respectively, according to LSEG.
• Alphabet — Shares of the Google parent rose almost 4% on a stronger-than-anticipated earnings report. Alphabet earned $2.31 per share on $96.43 billion in revenue for the second quarter, surpassing respective expectations of $2.18 a share and $94 billion from analysts, according to LSEG.

Read the complete list of stocks here.

— Alex Harring

Jobless claims total 217,000, below forecast

Layoffs at U.S. companies remained low last week as initial filings for unemployment insurance edged down, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

Jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 217,000 for the week ending July 19, down 4,000 from the prior period and short of the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 227,000.

Continuing claims, which run a week behind, also showed little change, up 4,000 to 1.955 million.

— Jeff Cox

Opendoor up again in meme rally, American Eagle getting love

Shares of Opendoor jumped about 8% in premarket trading Thursday after two days of retreat. The real estate startup gained sudden fandom among retail traders, pushing the stock up more than 300% this month.

Other meme names that had been active were relatively tame. Wearable camera firm GoPro, doughnut maker Krispy Kreme and Kohl’s all traded slightly lower in premarket.

American Eagle Outfitters seems to be catching the meme wave, with shares skyrocketing 18% after the company unveiled a campaign with Sydney Sweeney.

— Yun Li

American Airlines falls on weak guidance

Shares of American Airlines dropped more than 6% in premarket trading on Thursday on the heels of the airline posting disappointing guidance.

For the third quarter, American forecasts an adjusted loss of between 10 cents and 60 cents per share. That’s compared to the consensus estimate of a loss of 7 cents per share, according to LSEG.

Additionally, the airline also reinstated its full-year outlook after withdrawing it back in April. The airline expects to post between an adjusted loss of as much as 20 cents per share to earnings of as much as 80 cents per share for 2025. That’s down from its adjusted earnings of $1.70 to $2.70 per share that it made in January.

However, earnings and revenue for the second quarter topped analyst expectations.

— Leslie Josephs, Sean Conlon

Dow shares plummet after earnings miss

Dow shares fell more than 7% in the premarket Thursday after the company’s second-quarter results missed analyst estimates on the top and bottom lines.

Dow reported a loss of 42 cents per share, below the loss of 17 cents per share that analysts surveyed by LSEG were expecting. The company’s revenue of $10.10 billion for the quarter also came up short, as analysts were looking for $10.23 billion.

— Sean Conlon

Thursday earnings calendar preview

Thursday will be another big day for the second-quarter earnings season.

Here are some of the ciompanies reporting earnings before Thursday’s opening bell:

Here are some of the names reporting earnings after Thursday’s closing bell:

— Lisa Kailai Han

Stocks making the biggest moves after the bell: ServiceNow, IBM and more

These are the stocks moving the most in extended-hours trading:

Read the full list of stocks moving here.

— Lisa Kailai Han

Health-care sector posts best day since mid-May

Nine out of 11 S&P 500 sectors ended Wednesday’s trading in positive territory, led by health care.

Health care rose 2% in Wednesday’s trading for its best day since May 12. Thermo Fisher Scientific led the advance in the sector. The biotechnology stock jumped 9.1% after Thermo Fisher posted second-quarter results that topped Wall Street’s expectations.

Moderna and Centene also posted solid gains in the session, with both up nearly 6%.

—Darla Mercado

S&P 500 futures are little changed on Wednesday night

Futures tied to the S&P 500 were little changed shortly after 6 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.

S&P 500 futures ticked 0.1% higher, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.4%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 110 points, or 0.2%.

— Lisa Kailai Han