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Stock Market Live July 31: S&P 500 (VOO) Rises on Positive China, Earnings News

By Joel South Updated Jul 31, 4:07PM EDT · Published Jul 31, 9:51AM EDT

Key Points

US trade negotiators say a deal with China to lower tariffs may be close.
Tech giants Meta and Microsoft both beat on earnings last night, adding fuel to the fire that’s heating up the S&P 500 today.

Live Updates

Thursday Wrap-up

Jul 31, 2025 at 4:07 PM EDT

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF closed Thursday at 580.95, down 0.4% for the day.

Investors Give Bristol-Myers the Cold Shoulder After Earnings Beat

Jul 31, 2025 at 11:46 AM EDT

Pharmaceuticals giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY | BMY Price Prediction) earned $1.46 per share in Q2, forty cents better than expected. Revenue beat estimates by nearly $1 billion — $12.3 billion. Rounding out the good news, Bristol-Myers said it will earn between $6.35 and $6.65 this year, the entire range of which was above analyst forecastss for $6.32.

All to no avail. Bristol-Myers stock is down 4.2% so far today. And the gain on the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF has shrunk to 0.4%.

Roblox a Winner!

Jul 31, 2025 at 11:08 AM EDT

Roblox (Nasdaq: RBLX) — not an S&P 500 component — is up a big 14% this morning despite reporting worse than expected “earnings.” Actually, a loss of $0.41 per share. Bookings, however, came in at $1.4 billion, nearly $200 million ahead of expectations, foreshadowing stronger revenue and profits in quarters to come.

Management further forecast bookings of about $1.6 billion in Q3, and $5.9 billion or even $6 billion for the year.

MassterCard Charges Ahead

Jul 31, 2025 at 10:00 AM EDT

In further S&P 500 component earnings news, MasterCard (NYSE: MA) reported this morning that Q2 earnings were a dozen cents more than analysts forecast — $4.15 per share. Revenue topped expectations by $200 million — $8.1 billion.

MasterCard stock is up 2.7%, and the Voo has retreated only a bit, still up 0.8%.

This article will be updated throughout the day, so check back often for more daily updates.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC Thursday that, after two days of negotiations in Stockholm, Sweden, the U.S. and China “have the makings of a deal” to reduce tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S. However, there’s still a few technical details to be worked out.” Notably, Bessent said nothing specific about President Trump’s threat to levy “secondary tariffs” on China in sanction for its role buying sanctioned Russian oil and gas.

Investors are still responding positively to the news, with the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) up nearly 1% in pre-market trading.

In related news, however, the Commerce Department reported this morning that personal consumption expenditures (i.e. inflation) grew at an annualized rate of 2.6% in June, up significantly from the 2.1% rate in all of Q2, and ahead of the 2.5% rise economists had predicted. More durable “core” inflation was 2.8%, suggesting inflation is getting pulled higher over time.

President Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for being “Too Late” lowering interest rates, and also “TOO ANGRY, TOO STUPID, & TOO POLITICAL.” But with inflation ticking up, it’s hard to see how the Fed can in good conscience fuel even more inflation by lowering rates.

Until something changes on the inflation trend, it’s likely we’ll see further conflict between the President and the Fed Chairman (whom he appointed in his own last term).

Earnings

In earnings news, two megacap S&P 500 component companies reported after hours last night.

Meta Platforms (Nasdaq: META) reported Q2 profit of $7.14 per share, well ahead of the analyst forecast for $5.85. Revenue came in $2.8 billion ahead of expectations at $47.5 billion, and is still getting bigger.

Meta forecast that in Q3, it will do $47.5 billion to $50.5 billion in business. Management noted that Q4 revenue will continue to grow sequentially, but perhaps not quite as fast as in Q3.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) also reported last night, for its own fiscal Q4 2025. Earnings were $3.65 per share, $0.28 more than expected. Microsoft’s revenue beat was also smaller than Meta’s, with $76.4 billion in Q4 sales surpassing estimates by $2.6 billion.

This morning, it was Comcast‘s (Nasdaq: CMCSA) turn to report. Q2 earnings were $1.25 per share, nine cents better than expected, and revenue was $30.3 billion — also ahead of expectations.

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About the Author Joel South →

Joel South has been an avid investor and financial writer for over 15 years, publishing thousands of articles analyzing stocks, markets, and investment strategies across multiple leading financial media platforms. He spent 12 years at The Motley Fool, where he worked as an investment analyst and Bureau Chief before ascending to direct the Fool.com investing news desk, overseeing editorial operations and content strategy. During his tenure, Joel co-hosted an investing podcast and became a recognized voice in financial media through numerous TV and radio appearances discussing stock market trends and investment opportunities.

Currently serving as General Manager and Managing Editor at 24/7 Wall Street, Joel has published hundreds of in-depth analyses focusing on large-cap stocks, dividend-paying equities, and market-moving developments. His comprehensive coverage spans earnings previews, price predictions, and investment forecasts for major companies across all sectors—from technology giants and semiconductor manufacturers to consumer brands and financial institutions. Joel's expertise encompasses t fundamental analysis, options market interpretation, institutional investor behavior, and translating complex market dynamics into clear, actionable insights for individual investors.