Good news sets up market for good start

There is another trade deal in the books, and it involves one of the biggies. Over the weekend, the U.S. and the EU struck a deal that sets the tariff rate for imported goods from the EU at 15%, with 0% carveouts for certain products like aircraft and component parts, semiconductor equipment, and certain raw materials, to name a few.

The deal also includes a provision whereby the EU will purchase $750 billion of  U.S. energy and invest $600 billion in the U.S.

This trade deal news has been a good way to start a week that will feature a super-heavy news cycle.

• Over 150 S&P 500 companies will report their quarterly results, including Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon.com (AMZN), and Apple (AAPL).
• The U.S. and China are holding trade discussions in Stockholm, Sweden.
• The latest FOMC policy decision will be released July 30.
• The Treasury Department will issue its quarterly refunding announcement; there will also be 2-yr, 5-yr, and 7-yr note auctions this week.
• The Advance Q2 GDP, June Personal Income and Spending Report, and July Employment Situation Report headline the economic calendar.

The corporate news flow today is on the light side.

Tesla (TSLA) said it has a $16.5 billion agreement with Samsung Electronics to manufacture its AI6 chip in Texas; Boeing (BA) defense workers in St. Louis are prepping for a strike after rejecting a new contract; and JPMorgan upgraded Nike (NKE) to Overweight from Neutral.

Currently, the S&P 500 futures are up 25 points and are trading 0.5% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 94 points and are trading 0.5% above fair value; and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are up 40 points and are trading 0.1% above fair value.

These indications lean in favor of a good start for a stock market that keeps posting even better finishes as it extends into record-high territory, seemingly without a care in the world.

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Originally Posted July 28, 2025 – Good news sets up market for good start