The market finally got its slow-ish summer Friday—which still included a record high.
After a busy week of inflation data and earnings results, the market came into the regular trading session marking small gains and losses–and finished the day much the same.
The Nasdaq Composite finished up 0.1%, a new record close and the index’s 11th record close in 2025. The S&P 500 ended flat, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3%, or 142 points.
This trading week, the Nasdaq marked a total of five record closes and the S&P 500 notched one.
That’s despite a wave of political news: President Donald Trump threatened to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, before walking back those comments on Wednesday. The same day, Trump said he’s sending out letters to more than 150 countries dictating the tariff rates they will pay.
“While tariff uncertainty continues, the markets may be learning to live with it, to a certain extent,” Daniel Skelly, Head of Morgan Stanley’s Wealth Management Market Research & Strategy Team.
Investors parsed dovish comments from Fed governor Christopher Waller, who on Friday made it clear that the central bank should move forward with rate cuts. He cited recent labor market data in his comments, saying half of the progress in the June’s jobs numbers comes from the government, whereas private payrolls, a better guide, haven’t seen similar gains.
Rate cuts will likely to provide a boost to stocks, because companies can get easier access to cash, which can help both the stock market and economy grow. But cutting rates too soon may reignite inflation, especially against the backdrop of tariffs, which are forcing U.S. businesses to pay more to the U.S. government to import foreign products.
“In effect, comments coming from Fed officials suggest that the [Federal Open Market Committee] is cleaving, with a vocal side arguing for rate cuts to begin now, and another side (including Jay Powell, for now) still wanting a delay,” wrote Thierry Wizman, Global FX & Rates Strategist at Macquarie Group.
Next week, investors can participate in a week filled with Treasury bill auctions, starting with auctions for the 13-week and 26-week bills on Monday and an auction for 6-week bills on Tuesday. The Treasury Department been issuing a lot of bills to rebuild its cash account.
These shorter-dated types of debt are much loved by Wall Street for their security and attractive 4% yield. In the second quarter, investors poured $16.7 billion into exchange-traded funds that hold Treasury bills, more than double the amount seen in the same period last year.
Investors and economists will also be able to parse continuing jobless claims, which are due on July 24.