Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on July 23, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
The S&P 500 rose slightly on Monday as investors showed limited enthusiasm over a highly anticipated trade deal announced between the U.S. and the European Union.
The broad market index inched up 0.08% after touching a fresh record-high shortly after the opening bell. The Dow Jones Industrial Average hovered near the flatline, while Nasdaq Composite added 0.3%. The technology-heavy index also hit a record on Monday.
The moves came after President Donald Trump announced Sunday that the U.S. has reached an agreement with the European Union to lower tariffs to 15%. The president had previously threatened 30% tariffs on most imported goods from the U.S.’s largest trading partner. On Monday, Trump said that the global baseline tariff for countries that have not renegotiated with the U.S. will likely be between 15% to 20%.
“While sentiment is increasingly bullish, there’s some hesitation about chasing stocks at record highs in the immediate term off something that was widely expected ahead of what is going to be one of the busiest weeks of the entire year,” Adam Crisafulli of Vital Knowledge said in a note.
This week, Wall Street will be examining earnings from several major tech companies, a key Federal Reserve meeting, Trump’s tariff deadline on Friday and important inflation data. It will be the busiest week of earnings season.
More than 150 companies in the S&P 500 are due to post their quarterly results, including “Magnificent Seven” names Meta Platforms and Microsoft on Wednesday, followed by Amazon and Apple on Thursday. Investors will be listening for companies’ comments on AI spending for direction on whether big investments in hyperscalers this year are justified.
The Fed will also hold its two-day policy meeting, concluding on Wednesday. Although the central bank is expected to keep its key short-term interest rate at its current target range of 4.25%-4.5%, investors will be looking for clues about whether a rate cut could be on the table at the September meeting.
Though there is little on the economic docket Monday, the rest of the week holds a variety of pivotal releases.
The first glance at second-quarter economic growth will happen Wednesday when the Commerce Department releases its estimate on real gross domestic product growth. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the U.S. economy grew at a 2.3% annualized pace for the April-through-June period, following a 0.5% decline for the first quarter.
“This week is one traders dream of and also fear. There are so many adventures from which to choose,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “What will be the biggest headline between the FOMC decision and the Fed Chair press conference?”
Tariffs and their effect on inflation will remain in focus on Thursday as traders get the June personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation. The report is expected to show, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, holding steady at 2.7% and headline inflation rising to 2.5%, according to Dow Jones consensus estimates.
Investors will also get a batch of jobs-related data this week, including the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, on Tuesday, ADP’s private payrolls report on Wednesday, initial jobless claims Thursday and, on Friday, the critical July jobs report. The report is expected to show the economy added 102,000 jobs in July, down from 147,000 in June. The unemployment rate is expected to show a slight bump to 4.2% from 4.1%.
