Early Look

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

Stock futures are looking higher, boosted by technology stocks after Nvidia (NVDA) said it would restart some chip sales to China, while investors awaited earnings reports from some of the biggest U.S. banks (JPM, C, WFC) and a key inflation reading (June CPI at 8:30 am). In trade news, EU trade commissioner Sefcovic will talk with U.S. trade representative Greer this early evening, EU spokesperson notes. Stocks managed gains again on Monday as the Nasdaq ends at fresh record high as U.S. stocks climb despite tariff jitters. US 30-year Treasuries fell for a third day on Monday, pushing yields to the highest level in more than a month ahead of a key inflation report (CPI) later this morning. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index gained 218 points to 39,678, the Shanghai Index fell -14 points to 3,505, and the Hang Seng Index gained 386 points to 24,590. In Europe, the German DAX is up 49 points to 24,209, while the FTSE 100 is up a few points to 9,000. China’s second-quarter GDP growth slows to 5.2%, decelerating from the 5.4% in the first quarter as trade tensions with the U.S. rattled the economy, but topped estimates of a 5.1% growth. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index falls 0.2% ahead of US inflation data that is forecast to show an acceleration in CPI for June. Treasuries climb as yields slip. Bitcoin prices pullback after hitting record highs above $123,000, down -2.5% to $117,000. Big banks are mixed early after earnings (JPM, BK higher and BK, WFC shares looking lower initially).

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 88.14 points, or 0.20%, to 44,459.65
• The Nasdaq Composite gained 54.80 points, or 0.27%, to 20,640.33
• The Russell 2000 Index advanced 14.90 points, or 0.67% to 2,249.73

• 8:30 AM ET                  Consumer Price Index (CPI) Headline M/M for June…est. +0.3%
• 8:30 AM ET                  Consumer Price Index (CPI) Headline Y/Y for June…est. +2.7%
• 8:30 AM ET                  Core CPI, Ex: Food & Energy M/M for June…est. +0.3%
• 8:30 AM ET                  Core CPI, Ex: Food & Energy Y/Y for June…est. +3.0%
• 8:30 AM ET                  Empire Manufacturing for July…est. (-9.25)
• 8:55 AM ET                  Johnson/Redbook Weekly Sales
• 11:00 AM ET                Cleveland Fed CPI for June…prior +0.2%
• 4:30 PM ET API Weekly Inventory Data

• Earnings After the Close: FULT HWC JBHT OMC PNFP WAFD

• Japanese bond yields rose as investors worried Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling coalition could lose its upper-house majority, raising the prospect of a freer-spending government. Yields on 20-year bonds rose to 2.63%, on pace to settle at their highest since November 1999, according to LSEG data.

• Chinese carmaker BYD (BYDDF) said it had launched a smartphone-car connectivity feature across its lineup, compatible with phone brands including Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo.
• La-Z-Boy (LZB) said it would acquire Furniture Galleries Store Network in Southeast Region from Atlanta Furniture Galleries for undisclosed terms; now sees 1Q Sales and adj operating margin around low end of ranges in previously issued outlook for period ending July 26.
• Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Inc. (RRGB) announced its “First Choice” strategic plan aimed at driving long-term shareholder value while updating its second quarter financial outlook; sees Q2 comp restaurant sales falling approximately 4%, below the previously communicated expectation of a 3% decline. However, Red Robin now expects Adjusted EBITDA to exceed the prior expectation range of $13M to $16M.
• Tesla (TSLA) on Tuesday launched its Model Y at about $70,000 in India, the highest price among major markets, as the U.S. automaker grappling with slowing sales bets on prospects in a country CEO Elon Musk has long criticized for its high import tariffs.

• National Fuel (NFG) was double upgraded to Buy from Underperform at Bank America with $107 tgt.
• Spire Global (SPIR) awarded $1.2M NASA contract renewal for earth observation data.

• Bank of New York (BK) Q2 EPS $1.94 vs. est. $1.76; Q2 total revs $5.03B vs. est. $4.83B; Q2 net interest income $1.2B vs. est. $1.15B; Q2 total fee revenue rose 7% to $3.64 billion, compared with the year-ago quarter; assets under custody and administration rose 13% in the quarter ended June 30 to $55.8 trillion from a year earlier; sees 2025 net interest income up high-single-digits % y/y.
• Wells Fargo (WFC) Q2 EPS $1.60 vs. est. $1.41; Q2 net income $5.494B vs. est. $4.59B; Q2 revs $20.82B vs. est. $20.76B; Q2 provision for credit loss $1.0B; Q2 net interest income $11.71B vs. est. $11.83B; outlook FY noninterest expense $54.2B and outlook FY net interest income roughly in line with 2024.
• BlackRock (BLK) Q2 adj EPS $12.05 tops consensus $10.60 on revs $5.42B vs. est. $5.41B; assets under management rose to $12.53 trillion in the quarter ending June 30, from $10.65 trillion last year. However, long-term net inflows fell to $46 billion in the quarter, down 9.8%.
• FB Financial (FBK) Q2 adj EPS $0.88, in-line with consensus on adj net income $40.8M vs. est. $41.1M; Q2 Deposits were $11.40B, compared to $11.20B end of March, a 7.21% annualized increase, and $10.47B y/y up 8.94%; Q2 Net interest margin (NIM) was 3.68% in Q2 vs. 3.55% in Q1 and 3.57% y/y.

• Ascendis Pharma (ASND) announced new data from Week 156 of its Phase 3 PaTHway Trial confirming that long-term treatment with TransCon PTH (palopegteriparatide) continued to provide a durable response in adults with hypoparathyroidism regardless of its cause (post-surgical, autoimmune, genetic, or idiopathic), including improvements in biochemistries, kidney function, and quality of life.
• Simulations Plus (SLP) Q3 adj EPS $0.45 vs est. $0.06, adj EBITDA $7.4Mm vs est. $5.48Mm on revs $20.4Mm vs est. $20.04Mm; guides FY revs $76-80Mm vs est. $79.73Mm, software mix 55-60%, adj EBITDA mgn 23-27% and adj EPS $0.93-1.06 vs est. $0.26.

• Ericsson (ERIC) Q2 sales came in at 56.13B Swedish crowns ($5.84 billion), 5% below consensus estimates; forecasts Q3 networks segment sales growth to be below 3-year average seasonality, and its adjusted gross margin between 48-50%; warns of the impact from potential further tariff changes and the broader economic environment.
• Google (GOOGL) will invest $25B in data centers across Pennsylvania and neighboring states; First Energy (FE) is investing $15B in the state’s energy grid according to a report by Semafor.
• Google (GOOGL) has agreed to secure as much as 3 gigawatts of U.S. hydropower in the world’s largest corporate clean power pact for hydroelectricity. The deal between Google and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) includes initial 20-year power purchase agreements, totaling $3 billion, for electricity generated from two hydropower facilities in Pennsylvania.
• Oracle (ORCL) will invest $3 billion over the next five years in artificial intelligence and cloud infrastructure in Germany and the Netherlands to meet upbeat demand, the company said. The cloud service provider plans to allocate $2 billion to Germany and $1 billion to the Netherlands.
• Trade Desk (TTD) shares surge after the company will replace Ansys (ANSS) in the S&P 500 index on 7/18 after Ansys is being purchased by Synopsys, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
• China’s smartphone shipments dropped by 4.0% Y/Y in the second quarter, the International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Tuesday. Apple’s (AAPL) market share in China was at 13.9%, while Huawei’s was at 18.1% in Q2, according to IDC.