US stocks end July on a soft note

So ends the S&P 500's first month without a daily gain or loss of at least 1% for the first time since July 2023.

Your Evening Briefing July 31, 2025 US stocks end July on a soft note The S&P 500 opened 1% higher after last night's blockbuster earnings from Microsoft and Meta lit a fire under the entire AI complex. Unfortunately, the day only got worse from there. US stocks slid throughout the session, ending near their lows. The S&P 500 gave back 0.4%, the Nasdaq 100 fell 0.5%, and the Russell 2000 underperformed with a 0.9% decline. This ends July as the S&P 500's first month without a daily gain or loss of at least 1% since two years ago, in July 2023. Healthcare was far and away the worst-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, with drugmakers including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Novo Nordisk falling after President Trump sent a letter to 17 pharma CEOs demanding they cut US drug prices within 60 days. On the positive side, eBay soared 18%, touching an all-time high a day after the online marketplace posted strong Q2 results and analysts issued a pair of price target hikes. Declines were led by Align Technology, which sank a massive 36% after the Invisalign maker missed both top- and bottom-line Q2 estimates. Elsewhere… Meta shares jumped another 11% after the social media and AI behemoth topped Q2 estimates Wednesday. Ad revenue — which makes up the majority of its total — leapt 21%. Microsoft shares rose another 4% after the company's blowout fiscal Q4 earnings, pushing its valuation above $4 trillion for the first time. Norwegian Cruise Line sailed up 9% after the cruise operator reaffirmed full-year guidance despite so-so Q2 results, citing a rebound in bookings. Roblox jumped 10% after the gaming platform beat estimates, with total bookings climbing to $1.4 billion. CVS Health climbed as much as 6% before closing flat after the pharmacy retailer topped Q2 estimates and raised its full-year outlook. SoFi Technologies bounced up 3%, marking its third straight day of big moves after Deutsche Bank and Mizuho hiked their price targets on the stock. Comcast shares closed up 2.2% after the media and cable giant delivered a strong Q2 earnings beat, fueled in part by the debut of its Epic Universe park and hit Peacock shows. AB InBev fell 13% as the world's largest brewer continued to report declining sales volume with each passing quarter. Cigna shares dropped 10%, despite the healthcare insurer beating Q2 estimates and showing solid cost control during the quarter. — Luke Kawa, Markets Editor & Nia Warfield, Markets Writer These two charts on the AI spending boom have something for everyone Capital intensity is up. Sales are up. Both of these trends are expected to continue. See the second chart. Microsoft's latest earnings show Xbox doing pretty well at everything except selling Xboxes Microsoft reported that Xbox console sales plunged in the quarter ending in June. Read more. Somehow, Meta just keeps growing — the company's added an extra 1.38 billion daily active users since 2019. Read more.  Apple beats earnings expectations The iPhone maker reported earnings after the bell today. Amazon beats on Q2 earnings as capex goes sky-high Amazon posted quarterly results this afternoon. Investors give Reddit a big upvote after its latest earnings report Reddit reported its second-quarter earnings after the bell today. Tesla moved its "Robotaxi" to the Bay Area and put a driver in the driver's seat Tesla doesn't need a permit to have a human drive you around with supervised FSD. Eli Lilly's diabetes and weight-loss drug is as effective for cardio conditions as its older heart-health medication Novo Nordisk's GLP-1s are already approved to reduce cardiovascular risk.  Meta: GenAI ad tools are good for small businesses while ad agencies continue working with large brands CEO Mark Zuckerberg seems to be dialing back some of the sweeping claims for Meta's generative-AI ad tools. You thought electric cars were having a tough time? Harley-Davidson's electric bike brand is getting crushed LiveWire wanted to sell 101,000 bikes by 2026 — in the latest quarter they sold 55. Bitcoin treasuries continue buying as price stays in $115,000 to $119,500 range Neither the Fed meeting nor the release of the White House digital asset report did much to move bitcoin's price. Robinhood's* Q2: Here's what Wall Street thinks Analysts revised estimates higher following Robinhood's Q2 results, but there's still that question of valuation. Ethereum treasuries surpass $10 billion in their stockpiles The milestone comes just after ethereum celebrated its 10th birthday. *Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions. 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? 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