Both the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) and the Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQ) closed near their respective all-time highs on Thursday as the market continued to push forward.
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Before the market open, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released initial jobless claims data for the week ending July 19. The number of Americans filing for these claims fell by 4,000 week-over-week to 217,000, below the consensus estimate for 226,000. The DOL also announced that continuing jobless claims, which lag initial jobless claims by one week, increased by 4,000 to 1.955 million, above the consensus estimate for 1.954 million. The labor market remains resilient with no sustained warning signs.
At the same time, a higher baseline tariff rate could shock the economy. “We’ll have a straight, simple tariff of anywhere between 15% and 50%,” President Trump said at an AI summit in Washington, D.C. “We have 50 because we haven’t been getting along with those countries too well.” While a 50% baseline tariff will likely only be imposed on countries that fail to cooperate with the U.S., Trump is giving a clear warning that the baseline tariff rate could increase to 15% from 10%.
On Thursday, Trump signed three AI-related executive orders. These actions seek to combat diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in chatbots, provide federal support for data centers, and establish guidelines for exporting AI hardware.
After the market close, Trump is set to pay the Fed and Fed Chair Jerome Powell a visit at the central bank’s newly renovated headquarters in Washington, D.C. This marks the first time a president has visited the Fed since 2006, highlighting Trump’s aim of influencing monetary policy. Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Bill Pulte will be present as well. Prior to his visit, Pulte proclaimed “Jerome Powell must resign” in an X post.
Finally, India is optimistic that it will be able to sign a U.S. trade deal before the August 1 deadline. “I’m always confident,” said Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in an interview with Bloomberg TV. The two countries are reportedly working on a deal that would tax imported Indian goods at less than 20%.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed with a 0.07% gain while the Nasdaq 100 (NDX) returned 0.32%.
