FX.co ★ US Stocks Hold Gains from Week

U.S. stocks mostly registered gains on Friday, maintaining their upward trajectory from the previous three sessions as markets evaluated the potential effects of tariffs on pricing, economic growth, and corporate earnings. This development comes ahead of President Trump's summit with Russian President Putin. This week, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 experienced minor fluctuations but remained near their record highs. Meanwhile, a notable rally in UnitedHealth propelled the Dow Jones to rise by 150 points, marking its first new peak since November of the preceding year. Additionally, both headline and core retail sales increased by 0.5% in July, with the latter exceeding market expectations, thus bolstering confidence in the strength of the U.S. consumer economy following weaker figures in the first half of the year. However, import prices—excluding the impact of tariffs—saw an unexpected rise. UnitedHealth's stock surged more than 10%, recovering from previous declines earlier this year after Berkshire Hathaway announced a substantial investment in the company. Conversely, Applied Materials saw its stock drop by 13% following the release of its second-quarter financial results.