By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap
July 22 (Reuters)
This week, US financial stocks were quite active. This is due to the United States’ negotiations with trading countries, which were shaken by new tax policies. Large companies and investors were directly impacted by this scenario, which is a mix of optimism and concerns regarding trade tariffs. Learn more.
Deadline: Big companies worry about tariffs
U.S. stock futures trimmed early losses after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to meet his Chinese counterpart next week, potentially discussing an extension to the August 12 deadline set for tariffs on China. With little more than a week to go before the August 1 deadline for most U.S. trading partners, Bessent emphasized on Monday that the administration was prioritizing the quality of trade deals over speed.
Meanwhile, trade talks have hit a roadblock as the European Union weighs new countermeasures against the United States. Hopes for an interim U.S. deal with India were fading, Indian government officials said. Wall Street’s heavyweights are starting to feel the sting of tariffs. General Motors GM.N saw its second-quarter core profit tumble 32% to $3 billion, blaming steep tariff costs for shaving $1.1 billion from its bottom line.
“Everyone’s watching GM very closely, and the numbers did disappoint and specifically related to tariffs. The fact that they did come out and say that there’s going to be a forecast based on increases in tariffs is something that is going to play out throughout the day.” said Mark Malek, chief investment officer at Muriel Siebert.
The company’s shares lost 2.3% in premarket trading, while peer Ford F.N also dipped 0.7%. RTX RTX.Ncut its 2025 profit forecast as the aerospace and defense giant took a hit from Trump’s tariff war. Its shares fell 1%. Despite trade policy uncertainty out of Washington, the resilience of the economy has propelled major indexes to fresh all-time highs. Still, a slew of positive earnings surprises has kept markets near record territory. Analysts expect S&P 500 companies to report a healthy 6.7% jump in second-quarter profits, with Big Tech leading the charge, data compiled by LSEG showed.
Wall Street raises expectations for Tech companies
There’s been some caution in the market since last Tuesday. This is due to expectations regarding diplomatic advances between the US and China, which some way end up affecting import costs, which have become very high. Investors are therefore placing bets on companies with more solid performance potential.
Tuesday’s cautious trading comes after a rollercoaster session that ended with the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC both notching record closes. Much of the action was fueled by investors snapping up megacaps such as Alphabet GOOGL.O ahead of earnings. Google-parent Alphabet and EV-maker Tesla TSLA.O will kick off quarterly results for the “Magnificent Seven” stocks on Wednesday. Shares of Tesla were up 0.1% in premarket trading, having fallen about 19% so far in 2025 amid CEO Elon Musk’s political involvement and challenges faced by its core business.
The secret to stability on the market’s rollercoaster may lie in two companies: Alphabet and Tesla. Investors should pay attention to the financial statements of these companies, both of which are highly invested and important in the technology sector.
The technology sector has a crucial role
Among other movers, U.S. coal miners Peabody Energy BTU.N and Warrior Met Coal HCC.N were up about 5% each as China’s coking coal prices surged amid market speculation about government inspections in major production hubs.
Market fluctuations are expected to continue in the coming weeks, especially regarding the trade relations of the US with its partners. Tariffs may still be uncertain; however, the strong performance of large companies will likely mitigate the most serious problems, especially in the technology sector.
GCN.com/Reuters