Stocks ended mixed on July 18 to close out the week as the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average and
benchmark S&P 500 slid into the red on renewed tariff worries.
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The 30-stock Dow fell 142.30 points, or 0.32%, settling at 44,342.19, while the S&P 500 lost 0.01% after hitting a record high earlier in the day, finishing out the trading session at 6,296.79. The declines came after reports surfaced that U.S. President Donald Trump is seeking tariffs of 15% to 20% on European imports.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite index eked out a small gain of 0.05%, ending the week at 20,895.66 as notable names such as Apple (AAPL), Tesla (TSLA), and Amazon (AMZN) climbed higher. Those gains were partly offset by Netflix (NFLX), which closed down 5% after the streaming giant issued forward guidance that underwhelmed Wall Street.
Tariff Rumblings
Investors appear to have tariffs on the mind as President Trump is reportedly seeking blanket duties of 15% to 20% on imports from the European Union (EU). European trade officials are apparently scrambling to reach a trade deal with the U.S. ahead of Trump’s Aug. 1 deadline, when tariffs of 30% will be imposed.
Tariff concerns cast a shadow over a new report from The University of Michigan that shows consumer sentiment across the U.S. is improving, as well as a spate of better-than-expected second-quarter financial results from leading companies such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Interactive Brokers (IBKR), and PepsiCo (PEP).
Looking ahead, quarterly earnings from big technology companies such as Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla, and Intel (INTC) are expected to dominate the upcoming trading week.
Is the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust a Buy?
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) has a consensus Moderate Buy rating among 504 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 427 Buy, 71 Hold, and six Sell recommendations issued in the last three months. The average SPY price target of $679.22 implies 8.29% upside from current levels.
