US close: Stocks erase gains amid data, earnings barrage
By Benjamin Chiou
Date: Thursday 31 Jul 2025
(Sharecast News) - US stocks finished mostly lower on Thursday as yet more tariff uncertainty weighed on risk appetite, while investors digested another flurry of economic data and corporate earnings.
After an initial stint in the green, markets erased gains by the close of play following the news that US inflation had registered its biggest rise in four months. Traders were also still reacting to an announcement by the Federal Reserve which voted to keep its benchmark overnight interest rates unchanged.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump announced a 90-day extension to Mexico's tariff deadline, though existing duties on fentanyl, cars, steel, aluminium and copper would stay in place.
Despite the positive development, other countries that haven't yet struck a trade deal with the US had essentially run out of time ahead of the midnight deadline to avoid reciprocal tariffs. As such, markets were waiting on a final verdict from the president on what new rates would be imposed on those countries from Friday onwards.
"Whilst most people knew that 90 deals in 90 days was just a snazzy catch phrase, there will still be trepidation as Donald Trump's deadline enters the eleventh hour with some big deals unlikely to get over the line," said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
The Dow finished 0.7% lower at 44,130.98, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% to 6,339.39, while the Nasdaq finished flat at 21,122.45.
Stocks mostly fell on Wednesday after the Fed held interest rates steady at an effective rate of 4.3%, with just governors Michelle Bowman and Christopher Waller dissenting. Chairman Jerome Powell indicated that the central bank wasn't ready to cut interest rates just yet, despite pressure from Trump, as the Fed head seemingly wanted to take a little longer to assess the full impact of the president's higher tariffs on US inflation.
Economic data in focus
Inflation was again in focus on Thursday after the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a 0.3% monthly increase in its personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation measure.
On a year-on-year basis, headline PCE inflation reached 2.6%, while core inflation stood at a slightly firmer 2.8% clip, suggesting that inflation remains sticky despite the central bank's prolonged rate pause. Core PCE, which excludes volatile food and energy components, also rose 0.3% month-on-month. Analysts had expected core PCE to rise 2.7% year-on-year, while headline PCE also came in ahead estimates of 2.5%.
Elsewhere on the macro front, Challenger, Gray and Christmas said US employers had announced 62,075 job cuts in July, up 29% month-on-month and 140% year-on-year, well above post-Covid averages for July. Year to date, US firms have announced 806,383 job cuts, the highest rate seen since 2020.
Initial jobless claims increased by 1,000 to 218,000 last week, while continuing claims were unchanged from the previous week's downwardly revised 1.94m print. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average, which aims to strip out week-to-week volatility, decreased by 3,500 to 221,000.
Lastly, the MNI Chicago business barometer rose 6.7 points from June to 47.1 in July. This was the largest increase in thirteen months, taking the index to the highest since March 2025 and beating expectations for a reading of 42.
Market movers
Meta Platforms crushed Q2 earnings expectations overnight despite heightened AI investment, while Microsoft said quarterly profits had soared by nearly a quarter on the back of improved cloud computing revenues.
Comcast beat on the top and bottom lines as wireless and Peacock growth offset broadband losses, Bristol-Myers Squibb raised FY revenue guidance after a strong growth portfolio performance, CVS Health surged past expectations and hiked guidance again, Shake Shack topped estimates with margin expansion and unit growth, and Mastercard beat estimates with 17% revenue growth and $4.15 EPS, powered by strong cross-border and purchase volumes.
Tech giants Amazon and Apple were also in focus ahead of their latest quarterly figures after the close.
Dow Jones - Risers
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $533.50 3.95%
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA) $11.64 0.09%
Walmart Inc. (WMT) $97.59 0.00%
International Business Machines Corporation (CDI) (IBM) $260.26 0.00%
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) $42.60 0.00%
JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $299.63 0.00%
Boeing Co. (BA) $225.84 0.00%
3M Co. (MMM) $146.62 0.00%
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) $68.75 0.00%
Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $152.88 0.00%
Dow Jones - Fallers
Intel Corp. (INTC) $19.80 -2.65%
Amgen Inc. (AMGN) $295.10 -2.08%
Apple Inc. (AAPL) $207.57 -0.71%
Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO) $68.08 -0.29%
Dowdupont Inc. (DWDP) $0.00 0.00%
Nike Inc. (NKE) $76.68 0.00%
Salesforce.Com Inc. (CRM) $264.81 0.00%
Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) $434.12 0.00%
Walt Disney Co. (DIS) $119.54 0.00%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) $167.26 0.00%
S&P 500 - Risers
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $91.75 18.30%
CH Robinson Worldwide Inc (CHRW) $115.31 18.08%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $773.44 11.25%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $78.69 10.16%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $157.01 6.51%
F5 Inc. (FFIV) $313.42 4.83%
Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (WTW) $315.81 4.63%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $533.50 3.95%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $66.82 2.83%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $33.23 2.25%
S&P 500 - Fallers
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $129.01 -36.63%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $146.76 -7.73%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $14.31 -7.50%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $534.31 -6.60%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $879.03 -4.97%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $180.06 -4.93%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $109.14 -4.88%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $181.06 -4.46%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $94.84 -4.29%
Skyworks Solutions Inc. (SWKS) $68.54 -3.91%
Nasdaq 100 - Risers
eBay Inc. (EBAY) $91.75 18.30%
Meta Platforms Inc. (META) $773.44 11.25%
Western Digital Corp. (WDC) $78.69 10.16%
Seagate Technology Plc (STX) $157.01 6.51%
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $533.50 3.95%
Hologic Inc. (HOLX) $66.82 2.83%
Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $33.23 2.25%
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) $87.87 2.25%
Amazon.Com Inc. (AMZN) $234.11 1.70%
Liberty Global plc Series A (LBTYA) $10.02 1.62%
Nasdaq 100 - Fallers
Align Technology Inc. (ALGN) $129.01 -36.63%
Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI) $21.12 -7.89%
QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) $146.76 -7.73%
DENTSPLY Sirona Inc. (XRAY) $14.31 -7.50%
Idexx Laboratories Inc. (IDXX) $534.31 -6.60%
KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) $879.03 -4.97%
Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) $180.06 -4.93%
Micron Technology Inc. (MU) $109.14 -4.88%
Texas Instruments Inc (TXN) $181.06 -4.46%
Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) $94.84 -4.29%
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