Stocks slip ahead of Fed decision and megacap tech earnings

Stocks opened at their highs of the day and spent the rest of the session in a slow grind lower, finishing near their lows. Markets briefly perked up when China said it had come to an agreement with the US to continue their trade truce, before the gentle slide lower resumed.

The S&P 500 ended down 0.3%, the Nasdaq 100 gave back 0.2%, and the Russell 2000 underperformed with a 0.6% decline.

Performance among S&P 500 sector ETFs was mixed, with defensive groups like real estate and utilities leading the way higher while industrials fared the worst.

Gains were led by Corning, which jumped 12% after the glassmaker for smartphones and fiber-optic cables for AI data centers posted record second-quarter sales. Declines were led in part by Carrier and UPS, which fell 10%, with the shipping giant posting mixed Q2 results and warning of ongoing pressure in the US. Meanwhile…

Sarepta Therapeutics rose 14% after the Food and Drug Administration said it was clearing the way for the drugmaker to resume shipments of its gene therapy drug Elevidys to some patients.

SoFi Technologies shares jumped more than 6% after the personal finance company soared past Q2 expectations and hiked full-year guidance for 2025 revenue and earnings.

JetBlue shares jumped 7% after the airline posted a narrower-than-expected loss for Q2 and received approval for its “Blue Sky” alliance with United.

Stellantis shares dipped 1% after the Jeep maker said it would face a full-year tariff hit of about $1.7 billion.

UnitedHealth slumped 7% after it reported second-quarter earnings that missed expectations along with disappointing full-year guidance.

Uber shares dropped nearly 4% after Alphabet’s Waymo announced on Monday evening that it will launch its robotaxi service in Dallas in a partnership with rental car giant Avis. 

Spotify shares tumbled 11.5% after the audio streamer swung to a loss for the second quarter and gave a lighter-than-expected Q3 outlook.

Shares of PayPal fell almost 9% even after the payments company reported better-than-expected Q2 results and hiked its outlook for the year.

Tilray sank 17% after the cannabis company reported mixed Q2 earnings, including fewer sales than expected of alcoholic beverages like its Montauk beers.