S&P 500 eyes new record high as Wall Street stays upbeat

Wall Street was upbeat at the open on Friday, July 18, with stocks looking to extend gains after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged to record highs in recent sessions.

Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 20 points, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were up 0.2% and 0.3%, respectively.

The positive start to the final trading day of the week for the S&P 500 came as Wall Street recorded fresh all-time highs, with the Nasdaq leading during the previous session. Better-than-expected quarterly earnings and upbeat economic data helped fuel broader optimism across risk assets.

Cryptocurrencies and crypto stocks also edged higher amid the stocks rally, with investors reacting positively to the U.S. House of Representatives passing the GENIUS Act. The bill is now set to land on Trump’s desk, ready for signing into law as the first major crypto legislation in the U.S.

Bitcoin (BTC) moved towards $120k and Ethereum (ETH) broke above $3,600.

Investors watch earnings, tariffs and inflation

After major banks reported revenue and earnings beats, Thursday saw PepsiCo, United Airlines, and Netflix release their results. The market also remained buoyant amid strong profits, retail sales, and jobless claims.

However, investors remain alert to the global trade and tariffs outlook, which has slightly cooled momentum following President Donald Trump’s announcements this past week. Also in focus is the Federal Reserve and interest rate policy, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell still under pressure from Trump.

The Fed signaled at its previous meeting that it would hold steady on interest rates, diverging from recent moves by the European Central Bank and other global peers. Currently, traders see the odds of a Fed rate cut in September at roughly 56%.

According to CME’s FedWatch tool, the market has largely priced in nearly zero chance of a rate cut in July, but Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller has once again remarked that a Fed move in July is okay.

Meanwhile, attention on the Fed and Powell intensified after the White House claimed the Fed Chair misled Congress regarding details of a $2.5 billion renovation of the Fed’s headquarters. While Trump recently said he does not plan to fire Powell, he criticized the scale of the renovations and suggested it could be grounds for dismissal.