Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 17, 2025.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
The S&P 500 closed lower on Tuesday as progress on trade talks with Beijing stalled and traders braced for the Federal Reserve’s rate decision.
The broad market index lost 0.30%, ending at 6,370.86. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 0.38%, settling at 21,098.29. Both indexes touched fresh all-time highs earlier in the day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 204.57 points, or 0.46%, to close at 44,632.99. Selling pressure intensified in the final hour of trading, at one point bringing the S&P 500 to its session low.
Investors trimmed some bets on risk assets after stocks came roaring back in recent months from their April lows, helped by progress in trade talks between the U.S., Japan and the European Union. Talks with China have been less certain, with U.S. negotiators ending negotiations with their Beijing counterparts on Tuesday, while a potential extension of a pause on higher China tariffs remained up in the air. Negotiators also said that such a reprieve wouldn’t be final until President Donald Trump signs off.
Traders evaluated some mixed results on Tuesday. Shares of Boeing lost more than 4% even after a solid earnings print as the company delivered the most airplanes since 2018. Procter & Gamble ended the day marginally lower despite a better-than-expected full-year revenue forecast and the naming of an insider as CEO.
Other corporate results have missed the mark, with shipping giant and consumer bellwether UPS posting an earnings shortfall and not issuing guidance. Whirlpool missed second-quarter analyst estimates and slashed its dividend. UPS fell more than 10%, while Whirlpool tumbled 13%.
This week is a key stretch for corporate earnings, with “Magnificent Seven” names Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon all set to report results on Wednesday and Thursday. As it stands, 199 S&P 500 companies have reported their quarterly results, and nearly 82% have beaten earnings expectations, according to FactSet data.
The looming Federal Reserve interest rate decision on Wednesday also weighed on equities. The central bank is largely expected to keep its benchmark unchanged at a range of 4.25% to 4.5%.
“The market has had a strong run and is now in digestion mode. Some technical indicators suggest a pullback may be coming,” said Jay Woods, chief global strategist at Freedom Capital Markets. “This is a pause, a period to focus on individual names driven by earnings, while the broader market watches how the Fed’s narrative evolves.”
“Hopefully, we’ll get some clarity after Wednesday’s press conference,” he added.
Investors will also parse a slew of economic data this week, including a reading of gross domestic product and private payroll data due out Wednesday. Wall Street will cap off the data-heavy week with the key July jobs report on Friday.
