Pre-Market Report – Friday 25 July: US markets mixed, results dominate | SPI down 37

Wall Street recorded a modestly positive session as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed at fresh highs, boosted by positive Alphabet results which fuelled continued AI optimism. S&P 500 up 0.07%, Nasdaq up 0.18%. Dow dropped at open, recovered partially, and subsequently slowly fell throughout the day. Finished near low, down 316 points. Mixed sector performance. Energy the best performer, followed oil up which rose following US crude supply concerns. Tech second best performer, Alphabet results a boost, rose 1.0%, positive contagion. Industrials and Financials also recorded modest gains. At the opposite end, Tesla results caused the EV maker to dive 8.2%, dragging Cyclicals down. Materials and Staples saw more modest losses.

In corporate news, still dominated by earnings reports, yesterday’s reports were primarily weak outside of AI and tech related news. UnitedHealth sank 4.8% after disclosing cooperation with a DOJ probe into its Medicare business, with both civil and criminal investigations in play. IBM plunged 7.6% as weak software sales dragged down second-quarter results. Honeywell slipped 6.2% despite beating estimates and lifting guidance. And American Airlines dropped 9.6% after flagging a sharp third-quarter loss, blaming soft domestic travel.

Resources up again, strong week, even a rising dollar couldn’t stop them. Oil up on US supply worries. Iron ore up another 0.5%, sustained enthusiasm from the news of China's mega-dam project. Copper, nickel, tin all recorded modest gains too.

ASX to fall. SPI futures down 37 points (-0.43%).

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