Stock Market Today: Major Indexes End Lower Ahead of Big Tech Earnings; Oil Prices, Treasury Yields Gain

There’s a New Benchmark Index for Digital Assets—And Bitcoin’s Not In It

FROM 3 hr 11 min ago

The elephant in the crypto universe is getting snubbed.

S&P Dow Jones Indices, the index provider behind the S&P 500, and crypto investment shop Pantera Capital launched a new benchmark for digital assets yesterday called the S&P Pantera Digital Asset Index. It isn’t the first yardstick that aims to represent the crypto market, but it is likely among the more high-profile that doesn’t include bitcoin.

That’s by design—the 18-constituent index’s main feature is that it only includes tokens that show real-world use and whose underlying blockchains generate revenue, or “things that we think that matter for serious investors,” according to S&P Dow Jones Indices CEO Kathy Clay. “What we’re trying to bring are the same sort of principles that we have in our equity indexes into digital assets,” she said in an interview with CNBC.

Other high-profile benchmark indexes aim to represent the broader crypto market and end up bitcoin-heavy. For example, the Nasdaq CME Crypto Index has a near 77% weighting in bitcoin, and a 13% weighting in the next largest, ether. The FTSE Digital Asset All Cap Index similarly has bitcoin at a 75% weighting. That would make sense because the cryptocurrency’s market cap accounts for roughly 57% of the total market, per CoinGecko.

Read the full article here.

–Crystal Kim

Investors Looking for Insights on Tesla’s AI Initiatives

FROM 3 hr 27 min ago

Tesla is expected to report a 19% increase in revenue over the second quarter of last year, as the EV maker continues sharpening its focus on AI.

The Elon Musk-led company is expected to report revenue of $26.29 billion for the latest quarter, along with adjust earnings 55 cents per share, up 15 cents from a year ago. Earlier this month, Tesla reported second-quarter delivery number that came in well above analysts’ estimates.

Morgan Stanley analysts said they see Tesla turning in a solid second quarter, but that investors will likely be more focused on updates to long-term projects. The analysts said the “key investor debate remains unchanged: can Robotaxi and Optimus progress quickly enough to justify an accelerating AI investment cycle?”

Meanwhile, speculation continues about a potential merger with SpaceX (SPCX), Elon Musk’s rocket, connectivity and AI company, which went public last month to great fanfare but has seen its share price sink in recent weeks.

–Aaron McDade

Google Cloud Revenue Is Expected to Have Soared in Q2

FROM 4 hours ago

Wall Street analysts predict that Alphabet will report revenue growth of about 20% for the second quarter versus the like period last year, amid continued huge growth in its Google Cloud business.

Alphabet is expected to report earnings of $2.90 per share on revenue of $117.19 billion, according to analysts’ estimates compiled by Visible Alpha. Revenue in its Search business is seen coming in at $63.29 billion, while Google Cloud revenue, a key sign of demand for AI compute, is projected to have risen 65% to $22.50 billion. The projected revenue growth is similar to what the company recorded in the first quarter.

Analysts from HSBC recently wrote that they will be looking for insights into whether customers are looking to manage their AI expenses by using lower-cost models, along with how the company sees rising hardware prices affecting its spending plans.

–Aaron McDade

GM Stock Surges for 2nd Straight Session After Earnings

FROM 4 hr 10 min ago

General Motors (GM) shares had a strong session yesterday after the automaker reported quarterly earnings. It’s following that up with another good one.

GM stock is up 3.5% in mid-afternoon trading after surging 5% Tuesday following what Morgan Stanley analysts called a “beat, raise, repeat” earnings report.

The analysts wrote in a note to clients that GM’s software and services business “is an underappreciated growth driver,” adding that it “has the potential to drive a significant re-rating in the shares as the company accretes high margin revenue through the P&L, and continues to add disclosure around the outlook for this business.”

With its two-day surge, GM stock has moved into positive territory for 2026.

Taco Bell’s Foot-Traffic Decline Worse Than Previously Indicated, Placer.ai Says

FROM 5 hr 2 min ago

The decline in foot traffic to Taco Bell locations after a lettuce recall was steeper than previously indicated, Placer.ai says.

On Monday, Placer.ai said its data indicated that as of last Friday, July 17, foot traffic was down by 18.9% at Taco Bell compared with the day-of-the-week average between Jan. 1 and July 6.

However, the company said it “discovered a bug that caused data discrepancies in the visit data” for Taco Bell and other restaurant chains. The corrected figure indicates foot traffic at the Mexican-inspired chain dropped 30.9% over that time frame—and remained lower. New Placer.ai data says foot traffic was down 29.8% as of Saturday, July 18.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration announced an investigation into an outbreak of Cyclospora illnesses linked to certain shredded iceberg lettuce from Mexico served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia. According to the FDA, Cyclospora “is a parasite that is so small it can only be seen under a microscope,” but people can get an intestinal illness called cyclosporiasis when they eat food or drink water that’s contaminated with it.

Shares of Taco Bell parent Yum! Brands (YUM) rebounded 1.5% today but are down about 9% since reports of the foodborne illness first spread less than two weeks ago.

Utilities, Materials Lead S&P 500 Sectors Higher

FROM 5 hr 46 min ago

The S&P 500 is slightly higher on the day. Its Utilities and Materials Sectors are aiding the cause.

The benchmark index is up 0.2% in early afternoon trading, paced by the Utilities and Materials Sectors, which are a respective 1.9% and 1.5% higher.

Seven of the 11 sectors tracked by the index are in the green. Consumer Discretionary shares are down 0.6% to pace sector decliners.

GE Vernova Shares Sell Off Following Weak Wind Orders

FROM 7 hr 6 min ago

GE Vernova (GEV) posted stronger-than-expected second-quarter revenue and lifted its full-year outlook. Its shares are sinking, though, because of soft results in its Wind segment.

Shares of GE Vernova dropped about 6% Wednesday morning the former General Electric unit posted Q2 earnings of $2.47 per share, well below the $3.15 consensus of analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha.

GE Vernova’s Wind orders came in at $1.2 billion, below expectations of $1.36 billion. It marked a 40% organic decline year-over-year, “due to lower equipment at Onshore Wind.”

The Cambridge, Mass.-based firm posted revenue of $11.1 billion, above estimates of $10.8 billion, and raised its 2026 revenue forecast to a range of $45.5 billion to $46.5 billion, up from $44.5 billion to $45.5 billion. It also lifted its free cash flow outlook to $11.5 billion to $12.5 billion from the prior $6.5 billion to $7.5 billion.

Despite today’s decline, shares of GE Vernova are up 55% since the start of the year.

Morgan Stanley Analysts Say Sentiment Has Gotten ‘Too Negative’ on Software Stocks. These Are Their Picks

FROM 8 hr 54 min ago

A number of software stocks have had a tough time lately. That could leave some high-profile names primed for a rebound, according to Morgan Stanley.

The S&P 500 software industry index has dropped more than 25% from its highs last October as many investors trimmed their holdings in the sector amid worries about AI-driven disruption. America’s largest software exchange-traded fund, the iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF (IGV), is down 13% this year so far, compared to the S&P 500’s close to 10% gain over the same period.

“We think the market has become too negative,” Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a note to clients Tuesday, saying that they believe “there are more opportunities than investors currently believe.” Here are some of their top ideas for ways investors could play a rebound in the sector.

Microsoft (MSFT), which has seen its stock lose nearly a fifth of its value year-to-date, making it the weakest-performing Magnificent 7 stock of 2026 so far, was one of Morgan Stanley’s picks. The software giant was the “highest quality” choice Morgan Stanley screened, based on its competitive moat and near-term growth potential, according to the analysts. Their price target of $600 for the stock would suggest 50% upside from Tuesday’s close and is a bit above the analyst consensus compiled by Visible Alpha around $550.

Read the full article here.

–Kara Greenberg

Monday.com to Lay Off 20% of Workforce

FROM 9 hr 59 min ago

Before the bell, Monday.com said in a regulatory filing that it initiated a restructuring plan “intended to support a leaner, more focused operating model.” It will include mass layoffs.

The Israel-based company, known for its software that helps teams keep track of work, said it intends to lay off about 20% of its workforce as it “continues to invest in its AI-driven growth strategy.”

Monday.com estimates it will incur about $45 million to $55 million in net charges, which are expected to be recognized in the second half of the year.

The firm now sees full-year adjusted operating margin of about 15%, up from its previous guidance of roughly 13%. It still expects year-over-year revenue growth and adjusted free cash flow margin of about 19% to 20%.

Monday.com shares have lost half their value since the start of the year. They rose 2% premarket following the news.

Supermicro Shares Soar on Updated Gross Margins Forecast

FROM 10 hr 27 min ago

Super Micro Computer (SMCI) significantly lifted its gross margins estimate for its recently completed fiscal fourth quarter. Investors loved what they heard.

Shares of Super Micro Computer, or Supermicro, soared 15% before the bell Wednesday, a day after the maker of AI servers estimated gross margins for the quarter ended on June 30 would be roughly double their previous projection.

The San Jose, Calif.-based firm now expects Q4 gross margins to be in the range of 15% to 17%, up from its prior guidance of 8.2% to 8.4%, “primarily due to a favorable customer and product mix.”

Although Supermicro now sees Q4 revenue “to be near the low end of our guidance of $11.0 billion to $12.5 billion,” it added that its “backlog rose to record levels at the end of fiscal 2026 with total new orders in excess of $60 billion received during the fourth quarter.”

The news provided a lift to shares of rival server makers Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) and Dell Technologies (DELL), which rose more than 2% apiece.

Shares of Supermicro, which is slated to release its full earnings report on Aug. 11, entered Wednesday down about 13% this year.

UPDATE—This item has been updated to correct the quarter of the updated forecasts and add the date of its full earnings report.

Stock Futures Point to Lower Open on Big Tech Earnings Day as Oil Prices Jump

FROM 11 hr 33 min ago

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were fractionally lower.

S&P 500 futures pointed 0.2% lower.

Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.6%.