A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, U.S., July 24, 2025.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
Stock futures were relatively unchanged on Thursday after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite reached another record closing high.
S&P 500 futures traded up 0.1%, along with Nasdaq 100 futures. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average likewise rose 50 points, or 0.1%.
Thursday marked another positive day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, as both indexes scored fresh all-time intraday and closing highs. That marked the broad market index’s 13th record close of 2025, four of which were recorded this week as the index finished above 6,300 for the first time on Monday. The Nasdaq, meanwhile, has seen three record closes this week, breaking the 21,000 threshold on Wednesday.
While the Dow Jones Industrial Average saw losses Thursday, all three major averages are on pace to finish the week with gains. The 30-stock Dow is tracking for an almost 1% advance on the week, as is the tech-heavy Nasdaq, while the S&P 500 has risen about 1.1% week to date.
The journey to all-time highs over this past week has been supported by a strong earnings season, including Alphabet’s better-than-expected earnings report. Almost 83% of the 155 S&P 500 companies that have reported to date beat Wall Street’s expectations.
“This part of the rally has to broaden out or become more consistent with what we’ve seen from the broader market in order to keep going another leg higher,” said Keith Buchanan, senior portfolio manager at Globalt Investments, on CNBC’s “Power Lunch” Thursday.
Recent trade deals between the U.S. and its trading partners have also helped push the market to new heights. Earlier this week, President Donald Trump announced a “massive” trade deal with Japan, which includes 15% “reciprocal” tariffs. The president also said this week that the U.S. and Indonesia have agreed to the framework of a trade agreement.
Investors are now awaiting any further trade announcements before the Trump administration’s Aug. 1 tariff deadline.
Next week is also when the Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet once again. Policymakers are widely expected to keep interest rates at their current target range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
Trump, who has also been putting pressure on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to lower rates, sparred with Powell over renovation costs during an historic visit to the central bank’s headquarters after the bell Thursday, at one point presenting a cost figure that was knocked down as incorrect by Powell in front of the press.
But after completing the tour of the renovation, Trump softened his tone a bit on the Fed chief and said he wasn’t planning on firing him, a threat that has worried markets.
“To do that is a big move, and I just don’t think it’s necessary. And I believe that he’s going to do the right thing,” said Trump.
