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US STOCKS-Equities dip as earnings weigh; Fed statement on deck
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US STOCKS-Equities dip as earnings weigh; Fed statement on deck
Jul 29, 2025 12:16 PM

(Updates to afternoon trading, adds analyst comment and market

details)

*

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) forecasts annual profit below expectations

*

Whirlpool plunges after Q2 earnings miss, FY profit

outlook trim

*

UPS weighs on Dow Transports

*

Indexes down: Dow 0.51%, S&P 500 0.27%, Nasdaq 0.24%

By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq

retreated from record highs on Tuesday as some corporate

earnings disappointed, as investors waded through the latest

round of economic data ahead of a Federal Reserve policy

statement.

A host of Dow components reported earnings, with

UnitedHealth ( UNH ), Boeing ( BA ) and Merck ( MRK ) all

trading lower after their quarterly results.

Health insurer UnitedHealth ( UNH ) fell 5.2% as the biggest drag on the

Dow after a disappointing profit forecast, while Boeing ( BA ) lost

3.7% despite reporting a smaller second-quarter loss.

Merck ( MRK ) shed 2.6% after the drugmaker reported its quarterly

results and said it was extending its pause on shipments of HPV

vaccine Gardasil to China until at least the end of 2025 due to

persistent weakness in demand.

"Earnings have been a bit of a mix. Economic data has been

somewhat mixed too, but not enough to move the needle in terms

of the Fed," said Tim Ghriskey, senior portfolio strategist at

Ingalls & Snyder in New York.

"The next two days, you have Microsoft ( MSFT ), Meta, Apple ( AAPL ), Amazon ( AMZN )

- those are big companies, and they will move markets depending

on how the earnings are and how the outlooks are."

Earnings from megacaps Meta, Microsoft ( MSFT ),

Amazon ( AMZN ) and Apple ( AAPL ) are scheduled later this week

and are likely to have a strong impact on market direction.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 228.54 points,

or 0.51%, to 44,608.93, the S&P 500 lost 17.15 points, or

0.27%, to 6,372.62 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 51.25

points, or 0.24%, to 21,127.34.

United Parcel Service ( UPS ) shares plunged 9.3% as the package

delivery company posted earnings and again declined to issue

annual revenue and margin forecasts, deepening concerns that

U.S. President Donald Trump's continually changing trade policy

is weighing on the company.

The Dow Jones Transport average fell 2.2% and was on

track for its biggest daily percentage decline since late May.

Likewise, Whirlpool plummeted more than 12% after the

home appliances maker slashed its annual earnings forecast and

dividend, as the appliance maker cited pressure from a

pull-forward in imports by rivals ahead of Trump's tariffs.

With nearly 200 S&P 500 components having reported earnings,

79.7% have topped analyst expectations, according to LSEG data,

compared with a 6.3% beat rate over the last four quarters.

On the economic front, consumer confidence in July increased

more than expected to 97.2. In June, U.S. job openings and

hiring, or JOLTS data, had decreased, pointing to a further

slowdown in labor market activity.

The JOLTS report was the first in a string of data on the

labor market this week, culminating in Friday's government

payrolls report.

The Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged at its policy

announcement on Wednesday and traders will closely analyze

remarks by Fed Chair Jerome Powell to gauge the timing of any

potential rate cuts.

The S&P had notched a sixth straight closing record high on

Monday, after a U.S.-EU trade deal that halved tariffs to 15%

and boosted expectations of more agreements ahead of Trump's

August 1 deadline. Trump has also floated a potential "world

tariff" of 15% to 20% for non-negotiating countries.

Key negotiations between the U.S. and China completed their

second day in Stockholm as the world's two leading economies aim

to resolve their trade conflict, with Trump saying he was told

by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that he had a very good

meeting with Chinese officials.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.02-to-1 ratio

on the NYSE and by a 1.98-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 32 new 52-week highs and nine new lows,

while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 71 new highs and 67 new

lows.

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