All indexes closed last week in the green amid strong earnings from multiple technology companies, offsetting higher capital expenditure concerns.
- Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly said over the weekend that a new round of talks with Iran will begin Monday.
- Oil prices declined following the news.
- Some of the top companies reporting earnings this week include Palantir Technologies, Advanced Micro Devices, McDonald’s, and Costco, among others.
U.S. futures climbed higher in the overnight session late Sunday as markets look forward to another busy week of earnings that will kickstart August’s trading.
Meanwhile, the war between the U.S. and Iran is seemingly at a pause after U.S. President Donald Trump said earlier during the weekend that he had canceled a planned attack on the Middle Eastern country, subject to being able to rapidly close down on a deal. The president also reportedly said that a new round of talks with Iran will begin Monday.
Nasdaq-100 futures climbed 0.77%, Dow futures were up 0.45%, and S&P 500 futures gained 0.50% at 9:49 PM EDT.
At the close of the regular trading session on Friday, all benchmark indexes closed higher, aided by strong quarterly results from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN). The Dow closed up 0.53%, while the S&P 500 ended the session up 0.70%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was up 1% at close.
| Index | Move | Close |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | 0.53% | 52,485.03 |
| S&P 500 | 0.70% | 7,489.72 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 1.00% | 25,373.85 |
All indexes also closed the week higher amid strong earnings from multiple technology companies, despite reporting higher capital expenditures.
The Nasdaq led the gains, rising about 1.59% for the week. The S&P 500 and the Dow both gained more than 1% each in the same time.
What’s Driving US Markets?
U.S. futures are gaining on the back of another week of earnings expected from top American companies.
Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) is slated to report its second-quarter (Q2) results on Tuesday. Many consumer firms, including McDonald’s Corp. (MCD), Kraft Heinz Co. (KHC), Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST), and Walt Disney Co. (DIS) are also slated to announce their quarterly results this week.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR), Pfizer Inc. (PFE) and SpaceX (SPCX) will also announce their results.
“Some 71% of S&P 500 companies have now reported Q2 results, with another 15% of the index due this week. The consensus of analysts’ estimates implied Q2-2026 operating EPS growth of 37.0% y/y as of July 30, up from 35.8% last week. That figure includes the mark-to-market investment gains booked by a few of the Mag-7 companies. Nevertheless, estimates for Q3 and Q4 continue to trend higher,” Yardeni Research said in a blog post on Sunday.
Meanwhile, on the geopolitical front, markets are awaiting updates on the status of the war between the U.S. and Iran. Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday that “Obviously, they (Iran) don’t want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,” as per Al Jazeera. “Now what we’re doing is talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon,” he added.
Earlier, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that despite the U.S. being “locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” the country is holding off on attacks after having “been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”
“This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat. Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE,” he added.
Global oil prices were declining at the time of writing. Brent crude futures expiring in October were down about 4.6% to $83.86 a barrel. Meanwhile, WTI crude futures expiring in September were trading at $80.52 per barrel, down nearly 5% at the time of writing.
On the economic front, July’s monthly jobs report expected on Friday will be among the key releases for markets. July’s ADP National Employment Report and a host of other manufacturing data are also expected over the course of the week.
“July’s employment report (Fri) is the headliner,” Yardeni Research said in its post, adding that it expects “July’s figure to rebound. June’s shortfall came almost entirely from leisure and hospitality, which shed 61,000 jobs, a seasonal quirk unlikely to be repeated in July.”
Trending Stocks To Watch
United States Oil Fund (USO): The exchange-traded fund, which tracks the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Light Sweet Crude Oil, was on the retail radar after it declined nearly 5% overnight on Sunday on the hopes of a new deal announcement between the U.S. and Iran soon.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): The company also garnered significant attention from investors on Stocktwits ahead of its Q2 results expected on Monday.
Critical Metals Corp. (CRML): The mining company was in the retail spotlight after it jumped more than 3% overnight amid major supply-chain initiatives, including its latest involvement in the Mrima Earth Limited Consortium.
IonQ Inc. (IONQ): The company completed its acquisition of SkyWater Technology (SKYT) on Friday and noted that SkyWater will operate as a subsidiary under the SkyWater name.
Other Market Trends
Yields on the 10-year Treasury were at 4.696% at the time of writing, while spot gold prices climbed to $4,053.17 per ounce.
Among ETFs tracking benchmark indexes, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) and the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) all edged higher at the time of writing.
Retail sentiment for SPY and QQQ was ‘bearish,’ while it was ‘bullish’ for DIA.
The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) was down 0.15% amid ‘bullish’ sentiment.
Asian markets were all trading lower at the open on Monday, including South Korea’s KOSPI, Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s SSE Composite and Australian stocks.
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