New York Stock Exchange Sees Its Sharpest Surge in 50 Years, Now Pauses for Breath

Goldman: "The market may have risen too quickly and too much amid performance slowdown"

Yellen: "Supports Powell, no grounds for immediate resignation"

The New York Stock Exchange, which had set consecutive record highs, saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes pause for breath on the 22nd (local time).

The S&P 500, which broke through 6,300 points the previous day, fell by 0.2% at 10:10 AM Eastern Time, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.1%.

The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds fell for a fifth consecutive session, dropping another 2 basis points (1bp=0.01%) to close at 4.36%. The dollar remained near its previous level, continuing its strongest month so far this year. The Japanese yen rose 0.4% against the dollar, reaching 146.76 yen per dollar.

Bitcoin climbed 1.9% to reach $119,225.14. Ether dropped 1.8% to $3,690.66.

Spot gold increased 0.6% per ounce to $3,415.78.

Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor, reported second-quarter earnings that missed analysts’ estimates due to cost spending in classified projects and its Sikorsky helicopter unit, also lowering its full-year outlook. Northrop Grumman raised its annual revenue forecast, driven by growth in its Sentinel ballistic missile and B-21 Raider bomber programs. RTX lowered its annual profit outlook due to tariff effects, but posted sales that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations due to strong demand.

General Motors reported earnings per share of $2.53, topping analyst forecasts, but said its core profit dropped by $1.1 billion due to tariff impacts.

Coca-Cola reported a second-quarter sales increase that beat Wall Street estimates, as consumers ramped up purchases of higher-priced soft drinks.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced that she will meet with Chinese counterparts next week in Stockholm for the third round of trade talks to discuss extending and expanding the tariff truce. She predicted that from now until the August 1 deadline, "explosive" amounts of trade negotiations would take place.

A day after calling for a comprehensive investigation into the Fed, Yellen said in an interview with Fox News that she “supports Jerome Powell and that there are absolutely no grounds for the Federal Reserve Board Chairman to immediately resign.”

Chairman Powell emphasized the need for the banking system’s capital framework to work effectively, for banks to secure sufficient capital, and for proper risk management. He also noted that industry competition remains important.

Amid the recent gains in the New York Stock Exchange, there are rising concerns that valuations have become excessively high. Gene Goldman, CIO at Cetera Investment Management, said, “Most of the good news is already priced in, leaving little margin for error.”

Goldman Sachs also pointed out that “the market may have risen too quickly and too much.” Goldman commented that after the S&P 500 plunged to 4,982 following the early April mutual tariff announcement, it has since soared at the fastest pace in nearly 50 years. However, he noted that corporate performance forecasts for 2025 have been cut almost in half this year.

Jung-A Kim, Contributing Reporter kja@hankyung.com