Markets Hit Record Highs, Banks Report Q2 Results: Stocks to Watch

Stocks crept higher to kick off an eventful week, with the Nasdaq notching a record closing high ahead of the official start of the second-quarter earnings season.

Over the weekend, President Trump upped the ante in regards to his tariff agenda, promising 30% duties on Mexico and the European Union. Officials from both countries are pushing to make a deal before the August 1^st deadline.

Adding to the headlines yesterday, Trump ramped up tensions with Russia over the war in Ukraine, threatening to impose “secondary” tariffs of up to 100% if a deal is not struck soon.

Markets seemed to shrug off the latest tariff flareups, looking past any uncertainty as the Q2 earnings season gets underway. Almost 100 companies are on deck to report results this week, including 38 S&P 500 members.

Several big banks reported this morning before the open, with the majority of the pack outpacing estimates. A mainly in-line CPI inflation report added to the bullish sentiment.

It’ll be interesting to see how stocks react to earnings. Looking at the second quarter as a whole, S&P 500 companies are expected to witness 4.7% earnings growth on 4% higher revenues. These figures represent a significant deceleration from the growth trend of recent quarters.

Recapping the First Half of the Year

It’s an exciting time in the stock market right now with the major U.S. indexes eclipsing their former all-time highs. As we make our way deeper into the third quarter, let’s take a step back and try to determine what may lie ahead for the rest of 2025 and beyond.

It was certainly a first half to remember. The see-saw action translated to one of the most volatile first halves in recent memory. President Trump’s trade war sent shockwaves throughout the financial markets, resulting in a nasty correction earlier in the year as investors priced in potential trade outcomes.

By April, market performance began to turn the corner, improving rapidly as investors gained more clarity amid signs of trade-talk progress. The V-shaped, relentless move morphed into a lockout rally that left nonbelievers in the dust. And because many investors missed out on big gains, they will continue to snap up shares on weakness, which should help lift stocks even further.

The S&P 500 just delivered one of the greatest three-month rallies in history, advancing more than 25% off the April lows. As we can see below, the current version of the blue-chip index has only accomplished this feat five other times since its inception in 1957:

In the twelve months following each of these instances, the S&P 500 delivered double-digit gains each time. As the saying goes, strength begets strength.

Still, the doubters and naysayers remain prevalent. This is certainly one of the most hated market rallies since the surge in stocks following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are always reasons that critics can point to as to why stocks can’t continue higher, but as we know, stocks climb a wall of worry.

Stocks to Watch

Megabank JPMorgan Chase JPM led a slew of banks reporting quarterly earnings Tuesday morning. The banking giant reported Q2 earnings of $4.96 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $4.51/share by 9.98%. The bottom line improved 12.7% versus the year-ago period. Revenues for the second quarter of $44.91 billion also topped estimates.

JPM stock, a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), ticked down slightly but remains in a strong uptrend and near 52-week highs:

Outside of financials, leading chipmaker Nvidia NVDA saw its stock pop about 4% in the early going after the company stated it is filing applications with the U.S. government to resume sales of its previously restricted H20 GPUs to China.

“The U.S. government has assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to start deliveries soon,” the company said in a prepared statement.

Nvidia will be one of the last companies to report quarterly results this season in late August. The stock has broken out to all-time highs and is resuming its former momentum:

Bottom Line

Positive earnings results out of the gate bode well for the remainder of the season. A tame inflation trend in the face of President Trump’s tariffs adds to the bullish case.

Historical statistics also point to more general market strength over the next twelve months. Make sure you’re taking advantage of all that we offer here at Zacks.

Disclosure: JPM is a long-term holding in the Zacks Income Investor portfolio. NVDA is a core holding in the Zacks Headline Trader portfolio.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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