S&P 500 Hits New High Despite Trump's Threats Amid Mixed Market Rally

Dow Jones futures rose slightly after hours, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also edged higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh all-time highs, despite a mixed session in the stock market rally. Google-parent Alphabet lifted AI giants, while Tesla plunged. President Trump and Fed Chairman Powell argued over renovation costs, but Trump backed off threats to fire the central bank chief.

Dow Jones futures rose slightly after hours, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures also edged higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq hit fresh all-time highs, despite a mixed session in the stock market rally. Google-parent Alphabet lifted AI giants, while Tesla plunged. President Trump and Fed Chairman Powell argued over renovation costs, but Trump backed off threats to fire the central bank chief.

Stock Market Performance

After hours trading saw mixed results. Dow Jones futures rose by 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq futures also edged higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq both hit fresh all-time highs during the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped 0.6% amid a post-earnings slide in IBM (IBM) shares. Alphabet (GOOGL) and ServiceNow (NOW) rose on strong earnings reports, boosting AI-related stocks.

AI Stocks Perform Well

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, reported strong earnings, which lifted AI-related stocks. Nvidia (NVDA), another AI-focused company, also saw its shares rise. These gains were supported by Alphabet's AI spending spree and the broader tech sector's optimism about AI as a key growth catalyst.

Tesla Plunges

Tesla's (TSLA) stock sank after an earnings miss, a continued slump in European sales, and a warning from CEO Elon Musk that the EV maker faced "rough quarters." The company's stock fell by more than 5% after hours.

Trade Deals and Tariffs

Trade deal hopes continued to run high after the US-Japan pact helped fuel more records for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday. The EU and US are closing in on an agreement that would impose a 15% tariff for most imports from Europe, instead of the 30% threatened. This rate is emerging as a potential new baseline for the "reciprocal" tariffs set to kick in on Aug. 1.

Fed Renovation Costs

President Donald Trump visited the Federal Reserve headquarters to inspect major renovations of two central bank buildings where costs have escalated. Trump claimed that the project was set to cost $3.1bn (£2.3bn), a figure that surprised the Fed chief. Powell has kept rates steady so far this year, infuriating Trump, who claims that slashing rates will save the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars in interest costs. Trump had previously signaled he was considering firing Powell but has since backed off those threats.

References

[1] https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-futures-sp-500-google-nvidia-ai-trump-federal-reserve/
[2] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/24/stocks-making-the-biggest-moves-after-hours-intc-deck-sam.html
[3] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/stock-market-today-sp-500-notches-4th-consecutive-record-as-google-earnings-fuel-ai-hopes-200143030.html
[4] https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/24/trump-powell-fed-visit.html
[5] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-says-fed-cost-overruns-205909414.html