NEW YORK, July 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday following a wave of upbeat corporate earnings reports, declining crude oil prices, and a broad capital rotation out of semiconductor equities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 537.24 points, or 1.03 percent, to 52,747.32. The S&P 500 added 15.6 points, or 0.21 percent, to 7,428.78. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 55.17 points, or 0.22 percent, to 24,876.91.
Seven of the 11 primary S&P 500 sectors ended in the green, with health and consumer staples leading the gainers by going up 2.33 percent and 1.96 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, energy and technology led the laggards, falling 1.4 percent and 1.17 percent, respectively.
Corporate heavyweights Boeing and PayPal both posted gains following their quarterly disclosures, while Coca-Cola rose 5 percent, its best single-day performance since 2009 after beating Wall Street estimates. Ford Motor raised its 2026 earnings forecast Tuesday after beating Wall Street's second-quarter earnings expectations despite reporting a revenue decline that slightly missed estimates.
Investors also turned their attention toward South Korean memory manufacturer SK Hynix, whose quarterly results are scheduled for release later in the evening.
The earnings optimism helped offset lingering weakness in the semiconductor sector. Chip stocks faced renewed headwinds following media reports that Nvidia is exploring a 250-billion-U.S.-dollar financing backstop for OpenAI, further deepening structural ties between the two entities and intensifying investor concerns over circular financing within the tech ecosystem.
Meanwhile, global energy markets retreated after the United States and Iran suspended active military hostilities, with U.S. President Donald Trump confirming that both nations have engaged in diplomatic discussions. West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery dropped 3.35 dollars, or 4.06 percent, to settle at 79.26 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for September delivery fell 4.27 dollars, or 4.83 percent, to close at 84.09 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.
On the economic front, the Federal Reserve convened the first day of its two-day monetary policy meeting on Tuesday, marking one of the most closely watched central bank decisions in years. While financial markets broadly anticipate policymakers will hold interest rates steady, investors are seeking greater clarity regarding the future path of monetary policy. According to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool, fed funds futures were last pricing in a quarter-point rate hike at the Fed's September meeting.
On the corporate front, Apple rose nearly 1 percent, after briefly achieving a historic 5-trillion-dollar market capitalization on Tuesday, just one day after surpassing Nvidia to reclaim its position as the world's most valuable publicly traded company. Investors now await Apple's high-stakes quarterly reports due later this week, along with those from Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Amazon.
