US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq hit new highs on corporate earnings, Fed meeting in focus

By Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap

July 29 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq touched fresh record highs on Tuesday as investors assessed a spate of earnings and turned their focus to the U.S. Federal Reserve's much anticipated policy meeting.

At 10:07 a.m. ET, the Dow .DJI fell 0.08%, to 44,803.16, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 7.45 points, or 0.12%, to 6,397.42, and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC gained 40.19 points, or 0.19%, to 21,218.78.

The blue-chip index was currently about 200 points below its record peak.

Key Dow components UnitedHealth UNH.N and Boeing BA.N reported mixed quarterly results on the day. Health insurer UnitedHealth fell 4.2% after a disappointing profit forecast, while Boeing lost 2.7% despite reporting a smaller second-quarter loss.

UnitedHealth's stock has lost nearly half its value from the beginning of 2025. On the day, the healthcare index .SPXHC lagged other sectors and was down 1.1%.

Meanwhile, United Parcel Service UPS.N became the latest victim of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs as the stock tumbled 8% after the company reported a lower-than-expected second-quarter profit.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were largely aided this week by 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 entered their second day in Stockholm as the two leading economies aim to iron out their trade conflict and possibly produce a 90-day extension to the tariff truce brokered in May.

Meanwhile, India was preparing for higher U.S. tariffs — potentially as high as 25% — on some exports as it opts to hold the line on new trade concessions ahead of Washington's deadline, according to two Indian government sources.

The International Monetary Fund was looking at the details of the trade agreements the United States has struck in recent days to assess their economic impact.

Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta META.O, Microsoft MSFT.O, Amazon AMZN.O and Apple AAPL.O are scheduled later this week, which could test Wall Street's record run.

Spotify SPOT.N slumped 10% after the company forecast third-quarter profit below estimates.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence in July increased more than expected to 97.2. U.S. job openings fell to 7.437 million in June, JOLTS data showed. However, recent data has shown resilience in the labor market despite initial signs of inflation from tariffs.

"It looks like companies are tightening up their hiring. The proportion that it dropped wasn't large, but it's not in the right direction," said Kim Forrest, chief investment officer at Bokeh Capital Partners.

The U.S. central bank is set to begin its two-day policy meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze policymakers' remarks to gauge the timing of future moves.

According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in about a 63.6% chance of a rate cut in September.

Among other earnings-related moves, Cadence Design CDNS.O rose 10% after the chip design software provider raised its annual sales and profit forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 1.5-to-1 ratio on the NYSE, while declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 1.17-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P 500 posted 29 new 52-week highs and nine new lows, while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 53 new highs and 34 new lows.