S&P 500 goes nowhere with earnings season set to pick up steam
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 ended fractionally lower while the Russell 2000 fell 0.6% in a ho-hum end to the week.
Volatility seems to have gone on vacation for the summer. The S&P 500 has traded in a weekly range of less than 2% in each of the past three weeks, the first time it’s done that this year.
Utilities was the only S&P 500 sector ETF to end with a gain of more than 1%; energy, healthcare, and communications services were the biggest decliners.
Gains were led by Invesco, which jumped 15% after the investment management firm told the SEC that it’s seeking permission from owners of its Invesco QQQ Trust to change the fund structure. Elevance Health was among the decliners, falling 8% after disappointing Q2 results and signaling uncertainty around the future of ACA enrollment. Centene and Molina Healthcare also dropped 4% and 10%, respectively.
Charles Schwab shares rose about 3%, hitting a record high, after relentless retail trading activity throughout the tariff-infused volatile second quarter helped drive better-than-expected results.
Both Coinbase and Robinhood reached record highs after the House passed two critical crypto legislative bills focused on stablecoins and market structure oversight.
(Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company subject to certain legal and regulatory restrictions.)
Shares of online real estate company Opendoor were up 36%, continuing its rally after call volumes set a new daily record for the fourth straight session, nearly eclipsing 1 million.
Tiny AI company Blaize jumped more than 50% after announcing a $120 million deal to deploy its platform in Asia “for smart city applications.”
Netflix shares fell 5% a day after reporting a Q2 beat and receiving a wave of analyst price target hikes, as investors reacted to the company’s warning that second-half margins would be lower than the first half.
Sarepta shares sank 36% after reports that the FDA plans to halt all shipments of the company’s top-selling drug following a second patient death link to its experimental gene therapy.
Exxon shares fell 3.5% after rival Chevron won a ruling that gives the company access to one of the world’s fastest-growing offshore oil regions, allowing Chevron to close its $53 billion acquisition of Hess. Chevron shares dipped down less than 1%.
Talen Energy, a power provider for hire with a focus on selling juice to the booming AI data center industry, jumped nearly 25% after announcing the purchase of two gas-fired power plants.
