The U.S. stock market experienced a volatile trading session on Thursday, July 31, 2025, with major indexes ultimately closing lower despite an early surge fueled by strong earnings reports from tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META). The S&P 500 (SPX) shed 0.4%, marking its third consecutive day of losses after a six-session streak of record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) finished fractionally lower. Despite the day's downturn, all three major indexes posted gains for July, marking their third straight month of advances, driven by investor optimism surrounding robust corporate earnings and resilient economic data, even amidst lingering uncertainties about the impact of tariffs.
Market Performance Recap
The day began with a strong upward momentum, as futures for the Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) surged by 1.3%, S&P 500 (ES=F) by 0.9%, and Dow Jones (YM=F) by 0.3% in premarket trading. This initial enthusiasm was largely a reaction to better-than-expected quarterly results from Microsoft and Meta Platforms, which reported after the market close on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
However, the early gains proved unsustainable. Investors also closely monitored inflation data released on Thursday morning, which largely aligned with expectations. The Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged, coupled with Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish stance indicating a need for more data on the impact of tariffs before any rate adjustments, contributed to the market's pressure. This dampened hopes for a near-term rate cut, which had been a significant factor in driving market rallies.
For the week, the S&P 500 is down 0.8%, the Dow is down 1.7%, while the Nasdaq has managed a slight gain of 0.1%. Year-to-date, the S&P 500 is up 7.8%, the Dow is up 3.7%, and the Nasdaq is up 9.4%.
Major Stock News and Earnings Announcements
Several companies made significant moves following their earnings reports:
- Microsoft (MSFT): Shares of Microsoft soared, rising 4% on Thursday, after the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $76.44 billion, an 18% year-over-year increase, exceeding analyst estimates. Its Intelligent Cloud segment, particularly Azure, showed strong growth, contributing to Microsoft briefly reaching a $4 trillion market capitalization, joining Nvidia (NVDA) as the only companies to achieve this milestone. Microsoft's earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter ending June 30, 2025, was $3.65, a 24% increase year-over-year.
- Meta Platforms (META): Meta's stock jumped 11% on Thursday, reaching a record high, after its second-quarter results handily surpassed analyst estimates. The company reported quarterly revenue of $47.52 billion, up 22% year-over-year. Meta's strong performance was attributed to a boost in its core advertising business driven by AI, with the company planning significant investments in AI infrastructure.
- eBay (EBAY): Shares of eBay surged over 18% on Thursday, leading all companies on the S&P 500, after the online auction site operator reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue of $2.73 billion and profit. The company also issued a strong outlook for the third quarter.
- Comcast (CMCSA): The telecommunications and entertainment giant saw its stock rise more than 2% following its earnings release.
- Qualcomm (QCOM): Qualcomm shares slipped on Thursday after the chipmaker reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $10.37 billion, which was largely in line with analyst expectations, though some revenue growth disappointed.
After the market close on Thursday, several other major companies were slated to report their earnings, including:
- Amazon (AMZN): Traders anticipated Amazon shares could see a 5% move up or down by the end of the week based on options pricing. The company was expected to report rising sales and profits for its second quarter.
- Apple (AAPL): Apple was also scheduled to release its earnings after the bell.
- Riot Platforms (RIOT)
- Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY)
- CVS Health (CVS)
- Mastercard (MA)
- MicroStrategy (MSTR)
- AbbVie (ABBV)
- Roku (ROKU)
- Coinbase Global (COIN)
- United Bancorp, Inc. (UBCP): Reported diluted EPS of $0.33 and net income of $1,914,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2025.
- S&P Global (SPGI): Reported its second-quarter results and held a conference call to discuss them.
- Aecon Group Inc. (ARE): Reported second-quarter 2025 results with a record backlog of $10.7 billion.
Upcoming Market Events
Looking ahead to August 2025, several key economic events and data releases are scheduled that could influence market sentiment:
- August 1: Average Hourly Earnings and Average Weekly Hours.
- August 5: ISM Services Business Activity.
- August 12: CPI ex-Food & Energy NSA Y/Y and Budget Balance.
- August 14: PPI ex-Food & Energy NSA Y/Y.
- August 15: Retail Sales ControlGroup SA M/M.
- August 19: Building Permits.
- August 20: FOMC Minutes, which will provide a detailed record of the Federal Reserve's latest meeting and could offer further insights into future interest rate decisions.
- August 21: Markit PMI Manufacturing SA (Preliminary).
- August 29: Personal Income SA M/M, GDP Chain Price SA Y/Y (Second Preliminary), and GDP SAAR Q/Q (Second Preliminary).
- Jackson Hole Symposium: This annual economic policy symposium, typically held in late August, is a significant event where central bankers and economists discuss important economic issues, and any statements from Federal Reserve officials could impact market expectations.
Investors will also continue to monitor developments regarding U.S. trade deals and tariffs, as President Trump's administration has recently announced or threatened tariffs on goods from countries like India, which could impact global trade and corporate earnings. The ongoing discussions about the U.S. and EU trade agreement are also noteworthy.
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.