Stocks Rise Despite Trade Threats S&P 500 Futures Up 0.1% Nasdaq 100 Futures Up 0.1% Dow Futures Up 0.3%

Stocks continued to rise Sunday night, with S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures both increasing by 0.1%, while Dow futures climbed 130 points, or 0.3%. This upward trend comes despite lingering global trade threats under Donald Trump’s second term. Traders have been quick to react to developments, but the worst of Trump’s tariff moves haven’t materialized, keeping money flowing into stocks.

The gains follow weeks of volatile headlines from Washington and Beijing, with investors closely monitoring trade comments. The fear that tariff threats might become full-blown policies hasn’t played out, helping the S&P 500 rally 4.4% in June. The Nasdaq, heavily weighted with tech names, is up almost 6.1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average added around 3.7%. This rally has been swift and significant, with the S&P 500 recovering from being nearly 18% underwater for the year in April to closing out June with a fresh four-month high, finishing Friday’s session 0.5% higher at 6,173.07, overtaking the previous record of 6,147.43.

The Nasdaq Composite also ended Friday at an all-time high, rising 0.5% by the close. The Dow finished the week nearly 1% higher. This move wasn’t solely driven by lower trade fears; company earnings are starting to guide the conversation again. John Butters, senior earnings analyst, noted that more S&P 500 companies are giving optimistic guidance than usual. Of the 110 companies that have issued EPS guidance so far for the second quarter, 51 issued upbeat projections. This is better than the five-year average of 42 and the 10-year average of 39. However, 59 companies gave negative EPS guidance, indicating a mixed outlook.

Despite some companies being hopeful, the actual growth rate for Q2 is expected to be slower. According to the analyst's forecast, the estimated year-over-year earnings growth is around 5%, which would be the weakest since the final quarter of 2023. This contrast between positive sentiment and slowing numbers is keeping traders cautious, as everyone is bullish but no one wants to be caught holding the bag.