Stocks on Wall Street nudged higher as earnings season continued, with a mixed showing from defence companies as Northrop Grumman and RTX beat expectations, while Lockheed Martin languished.
Meanwhile, General Motors’ bottom line was sapped by the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, and Tesla faced softer sales in California.
The Philippines reached a trade deal with the US ahead of the August introduction of the new tariff rates while the European Union is weighing up countermeasures to the prospect of import levies.
And Elon Musk’s xAI is out raising money again to accelerate its artificial intelligence investments, while SpaceX is citing Musk’s potential return to politics as a risk factor for investors to consider.
Mixed fortunes
Stocks on Wall Street were mixed as the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipped 0.3% in late trading ahead of results from Tesla and Microsoft after trading closes on Wednesday in the US.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.4% with pharmaceutical companies Amgen, Merck & Co and Johnson & Johnson pacing gains, while the S&P 500 was up 0.1%.
“The S&P is consolidating near record highs with limited economic data or other catalysts to provide direction,” Bank of New Zealand senior interest rate strategist Stuart Ritson said in a note.
Meanwhile, earnings season continued with GM sinking 7.9% after the automaker’s profit was knocked by the White House’s tariff regime, even as it reported stronger sales.
Tesla nudged up ahead of its result, with new registrations in the US state of California sinking 21% in the June quarter.
In other Elon Musk related companies, The Wall Street Journal reported his AI and social media firm xAI is seeking to borrow US$12 billion to accelerate investment in the booming sector. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported SpaceX noted a return to politics for the chief executive as a risk factor potential investors need to bear in mind.
US defence stocks reported mixed results, as Lockheed Martin sank 9.8% after impairment charges knocked its bottom line, while Northrop Grumman climbed 9.4% on strong sales in its aeronautics, defence and missions systems divisions. RTX dipped 1.5% after lowering its earnings outlook despite beating projections in the quarter.
Trade talk
Tariffs remain high on investors minds as the August introduction of new import levies draws near, with the Philippines cutting a deal with the US, and President Donald Trump saying he could meet his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping soon. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said a flurry of deals will be announced in the coming days.
European stock markets were weaker with Germany’s DAX 30 down 1.1%, with Reuters reporting the European Union is considering what retaliatory measures it could impose on the world’s biggest economy.
The kiwi dollar climbed to 60 US cents at 7am in Auckland from 59.59 cents yesterday as the greenback was broadly weaker, tracking US Treasury yields lower. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries fell 3 basis points to 4.34%, while Bitcoin advanced 2.6% to US$119,821.
Australian futures are pointing to a 0.4% gain for the S&P/ASX 200 index when it opens today after the benchmark nudged higher yesterday with gains in mining stocks and CSL offsetting heavy selling of Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 index was broadly sold off yesterday after soft June quarter export data.
There’s no local data scheduled for today.
Reporting by Paul McBeth. Image from Diego González on Unsplash.
