Market Snapshot for Monday 7-21-2025
Dow Jones – 44,323.07 (-0.043%)
NASDAQ – 20,974.17 (+0.38%)
S&P 500 – 6,305.60 (+0.14%)
Market Performance
U.S. stock futures hovered near the flatline as investors looked ahead to a ramp-up in earnings season, with major tech companies set to report. On Monday, both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached new record highs, even as the European Union braced for a potential no-deal outcome with the U.S. ahead of President Trump’s August 1 trade deadline.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 40 points, or nearly 0.1%. S&P 500 futures added 0.05%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.01%.
Asian share markets hovered near four-year highs on Tuesday, supported by Wall Street’s latest record close and optimism ahead of a busy earnings season, as investors monitored ongoing tariff talks between the U.S. and key trade partners.
Economic Takeaways –
- The U.S. dollar index (.DXY), opens new tab was down 0.6%, making dollar-denominated gold more affordable for buyers.
- So far, more than 60 S&P 500 companies have reported, with more than 85% of those topping analysts’ estimates, according to FactSet data.
- Over the weekend, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reaffirmed the White House’s August deadline for new tariffs, calling it a “hard stop” for compliance.
- The Trump administration recently suggested it might ease export restrictions, potentially allowing companies like NVIDIA to resume selling certain AI chips to China.
- Early Monday, the CME FedWatch Tool showed less than a 5% chance of a Fed rate cut next week, with odds of at least one cut by September around 63%.
Gold –
- Gold hits five-week high as dollar and yields ease.
- Gold prices gained over 1% to hit a five-week high on Monday as the dollar and U.S. bond yields weakened amid uncertainty ahead of a U.S. trade deadline of August 1.
- Spot gold was up 1.3% at $3,394.23 per ounce at 02:34 p.m. ET (1834 GMT), hitting its highest since June 17. U.S. gold futures settled 1.4% higher at $3,406.40.
Oil –
- Oil prices dipped slightly on Tuesday as growing concerns over a potential trade war between the U.S. and the European Union dampened investor sentiment. Fears that escalating tensions between the two major crude consumers could slow economic activity and weaken fuel demand growth pressured prices.
- Brent crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.35%, to $68.97 a barrel by 0055 GMT after settling 0.1% lower on Monday.
- S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $66.99 a barrel, down 21 cents, or 0.31%, following a 0.2% loss in the previous session.
Crypto –
- Bitcoin has been stuck under $120,000 as profit taking hits a 7-month high. The coin hovered around $117,000.
- Solana (SOL-USD) surged on Monday after a Florida-based real estate data firm revealed it had purchased nearly 1 million units of the world’s sixth-largest cryptocurrency.
- Trump Media (DJT) shares rose more than 5% Monday following the company’s announcement that it acquired $2 billion worth of bitcoin (BTC-USD) and related securities.
EU Threatens Retaliation as Trump Escalates Tariff Pressure Ahead of August Deadline
The European Union still hopes to reach a trade agreement with the U.S., but officials are preparing to strike back as President Trump raises the stakes, making a no-deal scenario increasingly likely.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, EU member states are drafting tough new measures to retaliate against U.S. companies. Bloomberg noted that European officials are meeting this week to formalize their plans. “If they want war, they will get war,” one German official told the WSJ, while emphasizing there’s still time to reach an agreement.
Trump is reportedly seeking broad tariffs of 15% to 20% on EU imports as part of a potential deal, according to The Financial Times. If no agreement is reached, 30% tariffs could take effect on August 1 — a date that also marks the start of possible tariffs on other countries and targeted sectors including copper, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals.
In recent weeks, Trump has issued letters to more than 20 trade partners imposing new tariff baselines ranging from 20% to 40%, with Brazilian goods facing a 50% levy. He also pledged to send similar notices to over 150 smaller trade partners, reshaping the U.S. trade landscape in a matter of weeks.
On July 10, Trump slapped a 35% tariff on Canadian goods and announced upcoming 30% duties on imports from Mexico and the EU. These letters have frequently blindsided negotiators, with Trump insisting the letters themselves constitute the deal — though he has also expressed openness to alternate arrangements. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that the White House is “more concerned with high quality deals than getting these deals done by Aug. 1.”
Goldman Sachs Eyes Major Acquisitions as Northern Trust Shares Surge
Goldman Sachs is actively pursuing acquisitions to expand its wealth management footprint, according to a Semafor report Monday evening. CEO David Solomon reportedly explored a $25 billion takeover of Northern Trust earlier this year and came close to finalizing a $6 billion deal for alternative investment firm Cliffwater. The news sent Northern Trust shares soaring more than 4%.
The report also noted Goldman’s interest in low-fee ETF deals—an area where the firm has struggled to gain traction. These moves signal a strategic pivot following Goldman’s retreat from its consumer banking efforts. Despite those setbacks, Goldman shares have gained more than 23% year-to-date.
Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Urges Canada to Impose Steel Tariffs to Protect Domestic Industry
Cleveland-Cliffs CEO Lourenco Goncalves is pressuring Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to introduce tough steel import tariffs aimed at shielding the country’s steel sector, Bloomberg reported Monday.
The outspoken U.S. executive and staunch Trump supporter stated that Carney and his administration should implement “significant” trade protections to safeguard Canadian industry. Goncalves, who acquired one of Canada’s largest steel producers last year, blamed foreign steel imports for damaging the domestic market—but notably stopped short of criticizing U.S. steel imports.
“That was the main reason why I bought Stelco, because I believe in Canada. The problem is that apparently the Canadians, particularly the Canadian politicians, they don’t believe in Canada,” Goncalves said Monday during an earnings call. “Let’s see how Prime Minister Carney will react. He’s not a central banker anymore. I don’t like central bankers, but now he’s a prime minister, so time to step up and do what’s necessary for Canada.”
His comments come as Canada negotiates to ease U.S.-imposed steel tariffs while tightening its own controls on foreign steel. Just last week, the country said it would reduce the amount of tariff-free steel imports allowed, aiming to support domestic producers impacted by U.S. trade policy.
“Canada can fix themselves. They import an amount of steel into Canada that’s equivalent to the size of the Canadian market,” Goncalves said. “The very first thing they need to tell foreigners, get out of my market.”
According to U.S. Commerce Department data, Canada remains the top foreign supplier of steel to the U.S.
In the same earnings call, Goncalves revealed that Cliffs has hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. to advise on potential sales of non-core assets, which he said “could represent billions of dollars of value.” He added that the company is also receiving interest in some recently idled facilities that may be sold for cash.
Shares of Cleveland-Cliffs jumped nearly 16% Monday, reaching their highest level since early March.
Top Gainers
Several stocks experienced significant gains. Some of the top gainers included:
- Stem, Inc. (STEM) moved higher by 23.26%
- Astera Labs. Inc. (ALAB) soared by 19.35%
- Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. (CLF) exploded 12.45%
- SentinelOne, Inc. (S) surged 9.83%
- Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX) rose 9.59%
- Century Aluminum Company (CENX) moved up 9.25%
- Harmony Gold Mining (HMY) rose 7.53%
- Rocket Companies, Inc. (RKT) spiked 7.51%
- Sasol Limited (SSL) moved up 7.41%
- WW International, Inc. (WW) surged 7.37%
Top Losers
The top US stock losers today, based on percentage change included:
- QuantumScape Corp. (QS) moved lower 14.48%
- Bruker Corp. (BRKR) moved down 12.12%
- Newegg Commerce, Inc. (NEGG) sank 10.86%
- Archer Aviation, Inc. (ACHR) fell 10.84%
- Antero Resources Corp. (AR) was down 10.47%
- Dave Inc. (DAVE) sank 10.34%
- Centrus Energy Corp. (LEU) plummeted 10.16%
- Gulfport Energy Corp. (GPOR) down 10.00%
- NuScale Power Corp. (SMR) dragged 9.57%
- EQT Corp. (EQT) down 9.55%
Notables
- NXP Semiconductors shares dropped more than 5% after the company reported a second-quarter sales decline, weighed down by sluggish automotive demand. Despite the slowdown, NXP topped expectations on both the top and bottom lines, posting adjusted earnings of $2.72 per share on revenue of $2.93 billion. Analysts surveyed by LSEG had forecast $2.67 in earnings and $2.90 billion in revenue.
- Steel Dynamics also disappointed investors, with shares falling around 3.4% following a weaker-than-expected Q2 report. The company earned $2.01 per share on revenue of $4.57 billion, missing analysts’ estimates of $2.10 per share and $4.76 billion in revenue, according to LSEG.
- Zions Bancorp saw its stock climb 2.4% after delivering a strong beat. The regional bank reported second-quarter earnings of $1.63 per share, well above the $1.31 consensus estimate. CEO Harris Simmons added, “We’re incrementally more optimistic about growth in the back half of the year than we’d previously been.”
- Sarepta Therapeutics (SRPT) slid after the FDA ordered the company to stop shipments of its bestselling drug.
- Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) shares climbed on Monday, leading the “Magnificent Seven” Big Tech stocks higher as analysts reaffirmed their bullish outlook ahead of the Google parent’s quarterly earnings report on Wednesday.
- Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) shares surged after the steelmaker posted second-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations, despite year-over-year declines in both earnings and revenue.
- Trump Media stock jumped after the company announced a $2 billion investment in bitcoin (BTC-USD) and related securities, according to Yahoo Finance’s David Hollerith.
- Verizon (VZ) shares climbed after the telecom giant raised the lower end of its full-year profit outlook and posted earnings that beat expectations.
- Block (XYZ) stock surged following its addition to the S&P 500 index, signaling the growing mainstream acceptance of digital payments.
- Tesla (TSLA) shares rose ahead of this week’s earnings report.
- Opendoor (OPEN) moved higher. The iBuyer extended its rally fueled by retail investor enthusiasm, gaining more than 180% last week after activist investor Eric Jackson made a bullish case for the stock.
- Shares of Domino’s Pizza rose following its second-quarter results, as Wall Street weighed strong sales performance against weaker-than-expected earnings per share.
- Big Three automaker Stellantis (STLA) cautioned on Monday that it anticipates a net loss of 2.3 billion euros ($2.7 billion) for the first half of 2025, driven by restructuring expenses, declining sales, and initial impacts from U.S. tariffs.
- Target (TGT) dropped after Barclays downgraded the retailer from Equal Weight to Underweight, citing expectations that Target’s sales will continue to lag.
What to Watch Ahead
Philip Morris International, Coca-Cola and Lockheed Martin are just a few of the companies on deck to report earnings results on Tuesday.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company, and Tesla are set to report earnings on Wednesday, marking the start of closely watched results from the “Magnificent Seven” tech giants. These mega-cap firms are projected to drive a substantial portion of the overall earnings growth this season.
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