Wall Street stocks closed mixed on Friday, July 18, 2025, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq struggling to achieve significant gains as investors remained cautious ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings reports and highly anticipated remarks from the Federal Reserve Chair.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a slight dip, falling by 0.3 percent to close at 44,342.19. In contrast, the broad-based S&P 500 Index ended virtually flat at 6,296.79. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index, however, managed a modest gain, creeping up 0.1 percent to reach 20,895.66, marking its fifth consecutive record close.
“Investors are gearing up for next week,” noted Peter Cardillo of Spartan Capital Securities, highlighting that major brands such as Coca-Cola, Tesla, and Mattel are scheduled to report their earnings. Briefing.com further added in a note that “a lack of major developments has kept the major averages drifting sideways since falling from session highs this morning.”
For the time being, traders largely shrugged off a Financial Times report published on Friday, indicating that US President Donald Trump is pushing for a minimum tariff of 15-20 percent on European Union products in any potential trade deal with the bloc. This proposed tariff level would be higher than the 10 percent additional tariff currently faced by the EU and most other US trading partners.
Markets also processed the preliminary results of a University of Michigan survey, which revealed that consumer sentiment saw a slight increase to its highest value in five months in July. Despite this uptick, sentiment remains substantially below its historical average.
Looking ahead to the upcoming week, market participants will be closely monitoring Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s remarks scheduled for Tuesday at a conference in Washington. His comments are expected to provide further insights into the central bank’s monetary policy outlook amidst evolving economic conditions and the ongoing debate surrounding Fed independence. Several major earnings reports, including those from Coca-Cola and Tesla, are also set to influence market movements.
