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US stocks climbed on Wednesday after the US struck a trade deal with Japan, lifting hopes for further tariff pacts as Wall Street got ready for Tesla (TSLA) and Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG) earnings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose roughly 0.5%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) moved up 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) nudged up around 0.2%, following a mixed day for stocks.
The new pact places a 15% tariff on imports from Japan, President Trump said — a step down from the threatened 25% duties set to hit next week. For its part, Tokyo will make $550 billion in US investment. “It’s a great deal for everybody,” Trump said late Tuesday.
Read more: The latest on Trump’s tariffs
The major-partner breakthrough lifted optimism that more trade deals will be sealed before Aug. 1, when Trump’s sweeping tariffs kick in. While negotiations with the European Union, India, and other large partners have dragged of late, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said talks with the EU and China were making progress. Economists believe that if tariffs then average out at 15%, that would be manageable for the global economy, limiting damage.
The deal’s confidence boost for markets after months of tariff uncertainty is likely to fuel this week’s record-setting run in the S&P 500 (^GSPC), which eked out another all-time closing high on Tuesday.
But the rally faces a big test in Google-parent Alphabet and Tesla’s earnings due after the bell, the first of the “Magnificent Seven” to report.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s rocky relationship with Trump is looming large over the EV maker’s earnings. With its stock down nearly 18% year-to-date, investors are watching for updates on the company’s core auto business and its robotaxi rollout.
With Alphabet, investors are looking for signs that AI investments are starting to pay off as the company pours billions into the technology. A federal judge’s decision that could force the company to sell Google Chrome will also be in focus.
Read more: Full earnings coverage in our live blog
Meanwhile, investors will scour Wednesday’s flurry of quarterly earnings for more insight into how Corporate America is coping with tariffs, after Texas Instruments’ (TXN) soft guidance fed fears. Highlights on the docket include Chipotle (CMG), AT&T (T), IBM (IBM), and Alaska Air (ALK).
LIVE 17 updates
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Wendy’s spikes, ‘could be the next meme’
Wendy’s (WEN) stock climbed nearly 5% Wednesday, after spiking 11% earlier in the morning.
Reddit users on r/wallstreetbets were talking about squeezing the stock in a string of comments late Tuesday, with one user saying Wendy’s “could be the next meme.”
Meanwhile, GoPro (GPRO) and Krispy Kreme (DNUT) early Wednesday appeared set to be the latest stars of a meme stock resurgence.
Wendy’s hit its lowest closing price in nearly a decade on Monday, with shares ending the trading session at $10.30.
The fast food chain has reported earnings falling in three of the past four quarters. In its most recent quarterly results, Wendy’s reported sales below Wall Street’s expectations amid “a challenging consumer environment.”
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MARA plummets after announcing proposed private offering
MARA Holdings (MARA) stock sank nearly 11% after the crypto miner announced a proposed $850 million debt offering.
The company said it would use the proceeds, in part, “to acquire additional bitcoin.”
Lately, companies and bitcoin treasuries have tested investor sentiment on using debt and equity to fund their bitcoin purchases. Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT) and GameStop (GME) fell earlier this year after announcing they were issuing debt — and also common stock, in Trump Media’s case — to fund bitcoin acquisitions.
Monness, Crespi, Hardt & Co analyst Gustavo Gala said in a recent series of notes to clients that fixed income investors have shown limited interest in the Strategy’s (MSTR) convertible debt and preferred shares used to fund its bitcoin purchases, writing in early June that Strategy has “a limited runway” to continue its approach.
Despite Wednesday’s decline, MARA shares are up nearly 7% for 2025. Still, that’s less than fellow crypto miner Riot Platforms’ (RIOT) 37.5% gain and CleanSpark’s (CLSK) 36% climb.
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Kohl’s falls after meme stock rally
Kohl’s (KSS) stock fell more than 12% Wednesday morning after a meme stock craze pushed shares up nearly 38% the day prior.
In an analysis Tuesday, S3 Partners said KSS is a “battleground stock” because it has equal amounts of active long and short positions.
“With both the long and short sides equally balanced there is inherently more volatility in the stock, there is a greater chance of seeing sudden and severe spikes in stock prices much like the sudden drop in a see-saw when one side jumps off suddenly,” Ihor Dusaniwsky, Head of Predictive Analytics, wrote.
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US stocks climb at the open
US stocks rose at the market open on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) moved up roughly 0.6%, while the S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) edged up around 0.2%.
The gain sets the S&P 500 on track for its third record close in a row. The broad benchmark eked out a slight gain to notch back-to-back all-time highs on Tuesday in a mixed day for stocks.
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Gold wavers as Trump’s deal with Japan eases trade concerns
The price of gold (GC=F) retreated on Wednesday after a three-day rally as President Trump’s trade deal with Japan relieved some demand for the safe-haven asset. Gold prices pared some losses, however, once it became clear that the European Union is preparing over $100 billion in tariff countermeasures.
Gold futures fell 0.18% to $3,437 ahead of the opening bell. Silver futures (SI=F), meanwhile, rose 0.6% to $39.80 an ounce, the highest since 2011.
Bloomberg reports:
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Trump readies new hands-off AI ‘action plan’
President Trump is expected to release an AI “action plan” on Wednesday, said to outline how the US can win in the global AI race by taking a hands-off regulatory approach.
The plan is likely to cover how to make it easier to export AI technology and to lower barriers to domestic development, going by a draft reported by Reuters.
A clutch of supporting executive orders expected this week could include one that could draw legal challenges, notes Yahoo Finance’s Alexis Keenan:
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AT&T subscribers surge, but the stock is sliding premarket
AT&T (T) stock fell over 3% in premarket trading despite the telecom provider reporting a huge subscriber beat.
Reuters reports:
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How the dropping dollar could scramble Trump’s agenda
President Trump has said he is “never going to let the dollar slide.” But his agenda is making that complicated, Yahoo Finance’s Ben Werschkul reports:
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Good morning. Here’s what’s happening today.
Economic data: MBA mortgage applications (July 18); Existing home sales (June)
Earnings: Alphabet (GOOGL, GOOG), Tesla (TSLA), Chipotle (CMG), Alaska Airlines (ALK), AT&T (T), Fiserv (FI), Freeport-McMoran (FCX), GE Vernova (GEV), General Dynamics (GD), Hasbro (HAS), IBM (IBM), O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY), QuantumScape (QS)
Here are some of the biggest stories you may have missed overnight and early this morning:
AT&T stock slides despite subscriber surge; Tesla, Google on deck
Trump gets Japan deal, but EU digs in with $100B response
How the dollar’s drop could scramble Trump’s agenda
Trump to launch hands-off ‘action plan’ to win AI race
Google earnings on deck: AI results wanted, not just hype
The protein boom is only beginning
Krispy Kreme, GoPro jump as meme stock rally continues
AT&T beats profit estimates as bundled plans boost subscribers
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The protein boom is only beginning
Yahoo Finance’s Hamza Shaban reports in today’s Morning Brief:
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Enphase stock slides on warning of hit from Trump policies
Shares in Enphase Energy (ENPH) fell after its third quarter revenue forecast fell short, as the US solar company pointed to headwinds from President Trump’s policies.
The solar equipment maker said Trump’s import tariffs had hit its gross margin, after the US in April finalized steep duties on solar cells from Southeast Asia.
At the same time, Enphase faces the fallout from Trump’s cuts to tax incentives in the renewable energy sector. It said it expects the US residential solar market to shrink 20% next year as tax credits for homeowners end under Trump’s sweeping budget legislation.
Bloomberg reports:
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Trending tickers: Krispy Kreme, GoPro and Constellation Energy Corporation
Here are some top stocks trending on Yahoo Finance in premarket trading:
Krispy Kreme (DNUT) stock rose 22% before the bell after its name was boosted on social media a day after retail traders snapped up Kohl’s (KSS) shares.
Camera maker GoPro (GPRO) shares rose 43%, per Reuters short interest in the stock recently stood at 7.7%. Investor interest in heavily shorted stocks has grown after Kohl’s jumped 38% on Tuesday amid heavy retail buying.
Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG) stock rose 4% premarket after PJM Interconnection released results from its 2026-2027 capacity auction. The grid operator set record prices at $329.17 per megawatt-day, raising total capacity costs to $16.1 billion from $14.7 billion last year.
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Tesla Q2 earnings preview: 3 things to watch
Tesla (TSLA) is slated to report second quarter earnings on Wednesday against an uncertain backdrop for its core auto business and robotaxi rollout.
Tesla stock pared some of its losses earlier in the year, as tariffs and a volatile relationship between CEO Elon Musk and President Trump weighed on the company. But the stock is still down about 17% year to date.
Yahoo Finance’s Pras Subramanian previews three key areas to watch when the EV maker reports:
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Meme stocks are on the move again
The return of meme stock mania doesn’t appear like it will end on Wednesday.
Some of the highest-trending ticker pages on Yahoo Finance this morning are meme crowd favorites Kohl’s (KSS), Rocket (RKT), and Krispy Kreme (DNUT). As of 6 a.m. ET, Rocket and Krispy Kreme are each up double-digit percentages in premarket.
“The phenomenon of meme stocks isn’t going away. I feel like the genie’s out of the bottle. And it’s just become a way for a certain subset of everyday investors to trade, and that’s completely fine,” Ritholtz Wealth Management strategist Callie Cox said on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid (watch below).
Makes sense!
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Texas Instruments stock plunges as guidance disappoints
Given how hard the stock market has rallied, any company reporting guidance that is perceived as subpar will get punished.
A good example of that will play out with Texas Instruments (TXN) in today’s session.
The stock is getting pounded premarket, down 12% after third quarter guidance on earnings per share that was 14 cents below consensus on the low end. TXN blamed weak demand in the auto market (heard the same in GM’s (GM) outlook on Tuesday).
Executives at the key chipmaker for producers of cars and factory equipment said they didn’t know how much of the second quarter’s jump in revenue was down to customers trying to get ahead of tariffs, per Reuters.
Whatever the case, TXN’s outlook is putting pressure on similar names in the space: Microchip (MCHP), Analog Devices (ADI), NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), and On Semi (ON).
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Japanese auto stocks surge as US announces lower-than-expected tariffs
Shares of Japanese automakers pumped after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan, lowering the previously discussed 25% auto tariffs on Japanese vehicles to 15%.
Honda (HMC) surged 9.8%, Toyota (TM) jumped 13.9%, Nissan (7222.T) gained over 5%, and Mazda (7261.T) soared 17.7%. Mitsubishi Motors (7211.T) rose over 12%.
According to Japan’s NHK, the revised tariff structure includes a 12.5% cut plus a 2.5% “Most Favored Nation” base rate. The move comes as Japanese auto exports to the US have suffered, plunging 26.7% in June.
Trump hailed the deal as the “largest Deal ever,” claiming Japan would invest $550 billion in the US and allow greater access to its markets, including for American autos, trucks, and agricultural goods.
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Trending tickers in after-hours trading
Texas Instruments, Inc. (TXN)
Texas Instruments, a leading chipmaker with the broadest product list in the field, saw its share value drop over 11.6% in after-hours trading. The stock has seen 46% gains in the year to date following a boom in purchases with each wave of tariff announcements. The rapid cooling-off occurred when the executive team announced they were unaware how much of the increase in revenue had been dependent on consumers attempting to circumvent the hike in prices from Trump’s tariffs.
Enphase Energy, Inc. (ENPH)
Solar equipment provider Enphase Energy saw a drop of over 7.2% in the company’s stock value in extended trading. With 5% of the market share in the solar equipment field Enphase acts as an early indicator for the impact that Trump’s removal of tax credits will have upon the industry. Enphase are pointing towards a 20% drop in the residential market.
Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI)
Shares in semiconductor maker Analog Devices saw a drop of over 4.1% after-hours, erasing gains from the month so far. The company specializes in chips that convert real world input into electrical signals, processing sound, light, temperature, pressure and motion. Investors have been eyeing ADI’s earnings reports, still not due for another month.
