S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 notch record closes to cap strong earnings week

The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, notching another record close after a week of strong earnings results and optimism around new US trade agreements. The Nasdaq 100 gained 0.2% to a record-high close, while the Russell 2000 was up 0.4%.

Materials was the best-performing S&P 500 sector ETF, lifted by Newmont, whose shares gained 6.8% after the gold-mining giant posted blowout Q2 results on the back of strong bullion prices. Meanwhile, communications services and energy were the biggest group decliners.

The day’s gains were led by Deckers, which saw its stock jump 11.4% after the Hoka and Ugg parent company posted stronger-than-expected Q2 results. Losses were led by Charter, which fell 18.5% after the telecom giant reported mixed Q2 results, beating on revenue but falling short on earnings as subscriber losses continued.

Elsewhere…

Intel shares plummeted 8.5% after the chipmaker’s recent job cuts failed to distract investors from a significantly worse-than-expected Q2 adjusted loss.

Centene shares swung from a double-digit drop premarket to a 6% gain by close, after the healthcare provider posted an unexpected Q2 loss.

Sarepta Therapeutics fell more than 7.4% after its blockbuster gene therapy drug Elevidys failed to get approval from European regulators.

Estée Lauder shares jumped over 4% after JPMorgan hiked its rating on the stock to “overweight” from “neutral” and boosted its price target to $101 from $62.

EV makers Rivian and Nio rose 1.4% and 2%, respectively, amid growing robotaxi hype and news that Swiss bank Vontobel significantly boosted its stake in them this quarter. 

Palantir shares rose 2.5% to a new all-time closing high, as the defense, data analytics, and AI firm continues its stock market surge.