S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 notch record closes to cap strong earnings week

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, notching another record close after a week of strong earnings results and optimism around new US trade agreements.

Your Evening Briefing July 25, 2025 S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 notch record closes to cap strong earnings week The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, notching another record close after a week of strong earnings results and optimism around new US trade agreements. The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.2% to a record-high close, while the Russell 2000 was up 0.4%. Materials was the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, lifted by Newmont, whose shares gained 6.8% after the gold-mining giant posted blowout Q2 results on the back of strong bullion prices. Meanwhile, communications services and energy were the biggest group decliners. The day's gains were led by Deckers, which saw its stock jump 11.4% after the Hoka and Ugg parent company posted stronger-than-expected Q2 results. Losses were led by Charter, which fell 18.5% after the telecom giant reported mixed Q2 results, beating on revenue but falling short on earnings as subscriber losses continued. Elsewhere… Intel shares plummeted 8.5% after the chipmaker's recent job cuts failed to distract investors from a significantly worse-than-expected Q2 adjusted loss. Centene shares swung from a double-digit drop premarket to a 6% gain by close, after the healthcare provider posted an unexpected Q2 loss. Sarepta Therapeutics fell more than 7.4% after its blockbuster gene therapy drug Elevidys failed to get approval from European regulators. Estée Lauder shares jumped over 4% after JPMorgan hiked its rating on the stock to "overweight" from "neutral" and boosted its price target to $101 from $62. EV makers Rivian and Nio rose 1.4% and 2%, respectively, amid growing robotaxi hype and news that Swiss bank Vontobel significantly boosted its stake in them this quarter.  Palantir shares rose 2.5% to a new all-time closing high, as the defense, data analytics, and AI firm continues its stock market surge. — Nia Warfield, Markets Writer Palantir leapfrogs US corporate titans Home Depot, P&G in market cap Is this a durable changing of the guard in corporate America? Read more. He didn't set out to create a kids' company. Roblox's "Builderman" wound up with one anyway. Founder and CEO David Baszucki tells us the origin story and what's next for a company that has nearly tripled in stock price and caught a lot of controversy over the past year. Read more. A bipartisan group of more than 80 lawmakers sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration on Friday asking the regulator to crack down on companies selling knockoff weight-loss drugs made by compounding pharmacies. Read more.  Tesla's mission-critical Optimus project is reportedly falling behind schedule. Traders are buying the stock anyway. The Information reports that Tesla is far behind on its promise to make 5,000 Optimus robots by year's end, and the product is facing engineering challenges. ChatGPT co-creator named chief AI scientist of Meta's "superintelligence" team Shengjia Zhao was co-creator of ChatGPT at OpenAI and will now lead AI research at Meta Superintelligence Labs.  The fertility rate in the US has fallen to a new record low The latest CDC figures show that births per woman in the US slumped to under 1.6 — well below replacement level. Was this email forwarded to you? Don't miss out on future stories — subscribe to The Wrap and get your daily dose of financial news straight to your inbox.  Craving more insights in your inbox? Subscribe to Chartr and Snacks for quality reads. We care what you think! If you have any feedback or comments, feel free to reply and let us know your thoughts!  Sherwood Media, LLC produces fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate... See more Sherwood Terms and Conditions Our Editorial Standards Contact Us Advertise With Us Unsubscribe Privacy Policy