Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., July 14, 2025.
Jeenah Moon | Reuters
Stocks were little changed Monday even after President Donald Trump threatened high tariffs on more countries over the weekend. Losses were kept in check as investors bet those duties will eventually be negotiated down and looked ahead to a busy week for second-quarter earnings season.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 28 points higher, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 added 0.1%, while the Nasdaq Composite added about 0.4%.
Investors continue to monitor ongoing updates on the tariff front, after Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. will impose 30% tariffs on the European Union and Mexico starting Aug. 1. Leaders of the EU and Mexico indicated they intend to keep talking with the Trump administration this month in an attempt to agree on a lower rate.
Trump’s announcement comes ahead of inflation readings this week, which will give investors a better sense of how the Trump tariffs already in effect are being felt throughout the economy.
Eyes are on a slew of earnings reports set to roll out this week. Major banks, including JPMorgan Chase, will deliver quarterly reports starting Tuesday.
“The big question for markets in the coming weeks is if earnings, which are expected to be solid, can overshadow the tariff issues that are still there in the background,” said Glen Smith, chief investment officer of Texas-based GDS Wealth Management. “So far, the market has been able to withstand tariff headlines and is more focused on earnings and economic resiliency.”
Another potential factor for investors to monitor is the rift between the Trump administration and the Federal Reserve. On Sunday, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told ABC News that Trump can fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell “if there’s cause.”
Trump officials are probing the costs of renovation of the Federal Reserve’s main building in Washington, D.C., while the president has repeatedly criticized Powell for not lowering interest rates. The central bank has pushed back against some of the criticisms of the renovation project.
Monday’s moves come after a negative week for stocks, although the major averages are still near record highs.
Recent Trump tariff developments likely make it more difficult for the Fed to cut rates, Bank of America says
President Donald Trump’s latest tariff announcements could mean that the Federal Reserve is now less likely to cut interest rates, according to Bank of America.
The president announced over the weekend that the U.S. will impose 30% tariffs on goods from the European Union and Mexico, effective Aug. 1. Just days prior, Trump sent letters to the leaders of various countries – like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines – establishing new U.S. tariff rates.
“The most recent wave of announced tariffs would raise the effective rate by around 4 [percentage points], with further upside risks if 15-20% blanket tariffs are implemented. That would carry around 30 [basis points] of stagflationary risks,” economist Claudio Irigoyen wrote in a Monday note.
“With more uncertainty around the tariff shock and inflation, the Fed is less likely to cut rates at the margin,” he continued. “Extending the ‘escalate to de-escalate’ strategy just increases the option value of waiting for the Fed, in line with our out of consensus call of no Fed cuts this year.”
Minutes from the central bank’s June meeting released last Wednesday showed that most Fed officials anticipate rate cuts in 2025, though they diverged on how many exactly. Traders are pricing in about a 96% chance of two quarter-percentage-point cuts by the end of the year, per the CME FedWatch tool.
— Sean Conlon
Autodesk, PayPal and Rivian are among the stocks making midday moves
Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
- Autodesk — The design software maker rose more than 5% after Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that it ended a plan to potentially buy out PTC. The possible acquisition was first reported by Bloomberg last Wednesday. PTC fell about 2%.
- PayPal – Shares of the fintech company jumped more than 3% as Wall Street analysts brushed off a Bloomberg News report that JPMorgan will start charging fees for access to customer bank account information. “If implemented, any adverse impact is likely to be negligible in our view,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a Monday note.
- Waters — The life sciences tools maker fell nearly 12% after announcing plans to merge with Becton Dickinson’s Biosciences & Diagnostic Solutions unit. Waters will take on $4 billion in debt and issue 39.2% of its stock to Becton Dickinson shareholders, under the terms of the deal. Becton shareholders will also receive a $4 billion payout. Becton shares fell more than 1%
For the full list, read here.
— Pia Singh
Melius Research says McDonald’s is a sell, sees significant downside for stock
Signage outside a McDonald’s restaurant in Washington, DC, U.S., November 25, 2024.
Benoit Tessier | Reuters
McDonald’s appears to no longer be a top choice for American consumers on both the taste and value fronts, according to Melius Research
Melius analyst Jacob Aiken-Phillips initiated coverage of McDonald’s on Monday with a sell rating.
“We believe US value perception has eroded, competition for everyday occasions is intensifying, and consumers are shifting to healthier, fresher meals,” Aiken-Phillips said in a note to clients.
The firm set a $250 price target for McDonald’s, which is 17% below where the stock closed Friday.
Some restaurant stocks that Melius prefers to McDonald’s are Yum! Brands and Texas Roadhouse.
— Jesse Pound
Piper Sandler downgrades Best Buy
Piper Sandler analyst Peter Keith says that Best Buy stock is “lacking catalysts.”
The analyst downgraded Best Buy stock to neutral from overweight in a Sunday note, and trimmed his price target to $75 per share from $82. Keith’s forecast calls for roughly 4% upside from Friday’s $71.79 close.
Best Buy stock in 2025.
“[W]e don’t see any meaningful catalysts in the coming quarters to meaningfully accelerate comp/EPS growth,” the analyst said. “And we have longer-term competitor concerns around BBY’s appliance (12% of sales) and TV (15%-20% of sales) categories.”
— Brian Evans
Stocks open Monday lower
Stocks making the biggest moves premarket
A view shows a second-generation R1S at electric auto maker Rivian’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois, on June 21, 2024.
Joel Angel Juarez | Reuters
Check out some of the companies making headlines in premarket trading.
- Kenvue — The Neutrogena-maker jumped 4.5% after the company said its CEO Thibaut Mongon has stepped down. Kenvue said its board is conducting a strategic review of the company and is considering a range of possible alternatives, such as simplifying the company’s portfolio.
- nCino — The financial technology provider gained nearly 5% following an upgrade to outperform at Baird, with analyst Joe Vruwink citing an upbeat outlook from company management highlighting a potential boon from recent initiatives.
- Rivian Automotive — The electric vehicle company pulled back 1.3%. Guggenheim downgraded Rivian to neutral from buy in a Monday note, with analyst Ronald Jewsikow pointing to the likelihood of softer long-term sales of its R2 and R3 vehicles.
Read the full list here.
— Brian Evans
Morgan Stanley downgrades cybersecurity stock CrowdStrike to equal weight
After a massive runup from its April lows, Morgan Stanley says it’s time to take a breather when it comes to cybersecurity stock CrowdStrike.
In a Monday note, analyst Keith Weiss downgraded the name to an equal-weight rating from overweight.
“Stepping to the sidelines given full valuation after ~50% run and rising growth expectations. Still a compelling long-term story, but the second half acceleration we expect now looks well priced in the shares,” he wrote.
CRWD YTD chart
The analyst also cited a lack of near-term catalysts as a reason for moving away from the stock. CrowdStrike’s second-quarter earnings report is “unlikely to be a thesis-changing event,” he wrote, and he now awaits a clearer catalyst before moving back into owning the stock.
Despite the downgrade, Weiss lifted his price target to $495 per share from $490. This updated forecast represents a 3% upside from CrowdStrike’s Friday close.
— Lisa Kailai Han
Bitcoin tops $120,000 for the first time
The bitcoin rally continued Monday, with the flagship cryptocurrency topping $120,000 for the first time. Bitcoin was last trading at $122,150.30, up 2.5% on the day, putting its year-to-date advance at 30.4%.
Bitcoin year to date
— Fred Imbert
Asia-Pacific markets close mixed
Asia-Pacific ended the day mixed Monday.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index added 0.26% to close at 24,203.32, while the mainland’s CSI 300 index was flat at 4,017.67.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark lost 0.28% to close at 39,459.62, while the broader Topix index was flat at 2,822.81.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Kospi index increased by 0.83% to close at 3,202.03, while the small-cap Kosdaq moved down 0.14% to 799.37.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 benchmark ended the day 0.11% lower at 8,570.4.
Over in India, the 50-stock benchmark Nifty 50 was down 0.53% while the Sensex index dropped 0.46% as of 2 p.m. Indian Standard time.
— Amala Balakrishner
Major banks highlight busy week of earnings
A man walks inside one of the JPMorgan Chase & Co. buildings in New York on June 12, 2023.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez | View Press | Corbis News | Getty Images
The second-quarter earnings season begin in earnings this week. Here are the dates of some of the notable reports:
- Tuesday: JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup
- Wednesday: Johnson & Johnson, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, United Airlines
- Thursday: PepsiCo, Netflix
- Friday: American Express
— Jesse Pound
S&P 500, Nasdaq Composite with 0.5% of record highs
Here is how the major averages performed last week and where they sit in terms of their record highs:
The S&P 500 fell -0.31% for its first negative week in 3
- The index is -0.48% off its record high
The Nasdaq Composite fell -0.08%, breaking a three-week win streak
- The index is 0.34% off its record high
The Dow fell -1.02%, snapping a three-week win streak
- The average is 1.56% off its record high.
— Jesse Pound, Christopher Hayes
Trump says Mexico, EU will face 30% tariff on Aug. 1
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he departs for travel to Texas to tour areas affected by deadly flash flooding, from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 11, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
President Donald Trump on Saturday said that Mexico and the European Union will face a 30% tariff rating starting Aug. 1. This continues the trend of Trump releasing letters announcing tariff rates unilaterally, and hits two of the United States’ biggest trading partners.
Leaders of both Mexico and the EU indicated that they plan to continue talking to the Trump administration ahead of Aug. 1 and are looking for a lower rate. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday the EU would delay its own tariffs, which were set to take effect on Monday, the Associated Press reported.
— Jesse Pound, Erin Doherty
Stock market futures open lower
Equity futures were lower when trading resumed on Sunday evening in New York. Dow futures were down 200 points, or about 0.5%.
— Jesse Pound
