Stock Market Live July 28: EU Trade Deal Success Pushes S&P 500 (VOO) Even Higher
Key Points
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US and EU trade representatives struck a deal to lower tariffs on EU exports to the US last night.
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Rumors are swirling that reciprocal tariffs on China will also be pushed back a further 90 days.
Live Updates
Monday Wrap-up
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed at 585.46 Monday, down 0.02%.
Firefly Lights Up the IPO Market
Space company Firefly Aerospace just announced it will sell 16.2 million shares at its upcoming IPO, and plans to price the shares between $35 and $39. The company earlier this year became only the second American company in the last 50 years to land a spacecraft on the moon successfully.
Manufacturing Activity Flips to Positive
A bit more macroeconomic news for you: The Dallas Fed manufacturing index flipped from negative to positive in July, rising to a better than expected 0.9. (As recently as June, the index was reading negative 12.7). Today’s report breaks five-month streak of negative reports indicating U.S. manufacturing activity was in contraction, and is a positive for the U.S. economy.
GE Vernova Downgraded
In less happy news, Guggenheim analyst Joseph Osha downgraded GE Vernova (NYSE: GEV | TXN Price Prediction) to neutral today, and removed its $600 price target from the $635 stock. “The stock’s valuation fully reflects even the substantially above consensus estimates that we are publishing as part of today’s note,” warned Osha.
Meaning: GE Vernova can go ahead and beat official Wall Street consensus earnings estimates — and the stock would still be fully valued. Conversely, if GE Vernova fails to beat expectations in future quarters, the implication would be that this stock is overvalued.
GE Vernova stock is down 2% in the market’s opening minutes. The Voo is still up about 0.1%.
This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) closed at (yet another) all-time high last week, 585.58, and as Monday dawns, its run doesn’t yet look done. The ETF is rising more than 0.1% in premarket trading this morning, and for that, you can thank President Trump… and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen as well.
On Sunday, the two leaders announced they have reached a trade deal to avoid the imposition of 30% tariffs on EU exports to the U.S. Instead, importers will pay a 15% tariff on most European exports, cars included. Certain products, including airplanes and airplane parts, pharmaceuticals, and some chemicals, will incur no tariffs at all. Conversely, steel and aluminum exports to the U.S. will still incur a 50% tariff.
The EU will also purchase $750 billion worth of U.S. energy exports, and make $600 billion in investments into the U.S., in factories and other investments that will avoid tariffs entirely.
In other news, the South China Morning Post is reporting that Trump will agree to extend the 90-day “pause” on imposition of “reciprocal tariffs” against China.
Investors like both developments, and their reaction is pushing stock market averages higher today.
Earnings
Earnings news is starting off light this week, with few big reports out this morning. Bank of Hawaii (NYSE: BOH) “beat by a penny,” reporting a $1.06 per share Q2 profit on $174.5 million in revenue.
Enterprise Products Partners (NYSE: EPD) also beat by just one cent, reporting $0.66 per share on sales of $11.4 billion.
Analyst Calls
Wall Street seems pretty happy regardless. Wolfe Research just upgraded S&P 500 component company Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) to outperform with a $230 price target, citing a stock price that’s been largely flat for the past three years and expecting TI will soon start catching up to the rest of the semiconductor sector.
JPMorgan is upgrading component Nike (NYSE: NKE) to overweight with a $93 target. Management’s recovery plan is “on track,” says the banker, predicting “high-teens to 20% EPS growth … through FY30.”
Joel South covers large-cap stocks, dividend investing, and major market trends, with a focus on earnings analysis, valuation, and turning complex data into actionable insights for investors.
He brings more than 15 years of experience as an investor and financial journalist, including 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he served as an investment analyst, Bureau Chief, and later led the Fool.com investing news desk. He has also co-hosted an investing podcast and appeared across TV and radio discussing market trends.
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