Geopolitics remained a central focus for traders on July 24, while U.S. equities ended mixed, Treasury yields moved lower on the day, and major currency pairs showed limited net movement in North American trading.

InvestingLive's session coverage included the following developments: U.S. indices closed mixed, with the Dow higher, the S&P 500 nearly unchanged and the Nasdaq lower; next week's earnings calendar heats up; Trump said Iran is not ready to make a deal; crude oil futures settled at $89.31; and the New York Times reported that Trump met with top advisers to decide whether to increase military pressure on Iran.

Other items included EU fines today, Trump 301 tariffs tomorrow?; the U.S. and the U.K. planning a meeting on protecting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz; major European indices closing the day and the week higher; Pakistan exploring a path toward a resumption of U.S.-Iran talks, with oil moving lower; and President Trump set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on Tuesday at the White House. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical oil transit chokepoints, with roughly a fifth of global petroleum consumption passing through it, making any threat to shipping lanes there a direct variable for energy prices.

Economic and market coverage also included U.S. new-home sales for June at 0.628 million versus the 0.610 million estimate; the July flash S&P Global manufacturing PMI at 53.8 versus a 54.3 estimate; Canada June PPI at -1.4% versus -0.4% expected; Canada's new housing price index for June at -0.1% versus -0.3% last month; EUR/USD, USD/JPY and GBP/USD little changed at the start of the North American session; ECB policymakers reiterating that they are not seeing second-round effects and stressing data dependence; and the InvestingLive European session wrap, where oil prices came off the boil and markets took a light breather in the final stretch of the week.

U.S. stocks finished the week on a mixed note as investors weighed another heavy round of earnings against profit-taking in several of the market's largest technology names. The Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed, rising 235.04 points, or 0.45%, to 51,952.20. The S&P 500 posted a small gain of 3.68 points, or 0.05%, to 7,411.97.

Technology shares remained under pressure. The Nasdaq Composite fell 161.87 points, or 0.64%, while the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.15%, reflecting continued rotation away from some of the year's largest growth winners. Small-cap shares also lagged, with the Russell 2000 down 0.35%.

For the week, the broader indices showed a weaker pattern. Despite Friday's mixed finish, the three major indices moved lower over the week. The Dow lost 0.38%, the S&P 500 fell 0.61%, and the Nasdaq declined a more pronounced 2.13%, underscoring rotation beneath the surface. Investors rewarded companies that delivered strong earnings and guidance while taking profits in richly valued technology and AI-related names that failed to impress.

The earnings calendar becomes busier next week, with Microsoft, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Visa, Boeing, Coca-Cola, ARM, Qualcomm, Lam Research, Exxon Mobil and Chevron all scheduled to report quarterly results. With several of these companies carrying index weightings in the trillions of dollars, their results have outsized influence on broader market direction, and AI-related capital spending and monetization commentary from the mega-cap platforms will be closely parsed for signs of whether the sector's valuation premium is supported by fundamentals.

In the bond market, Treasury yields moved lower across the curve, signaling a modest bid for fixed income as investors digested economic data and positioned ahead of another major week of earnings as well as the Federal Reserve decision on Wednesday. The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged, but the source noted a 38% chance of a 25-basis-point hike. The 2-year yield fell to 4.337%, while the 10-year yield eased to 4.679%, helping support rate-sensitive sectors even as technology shares struggled. The 2-year yield in particular is closely tracked as a market-based proxy for near-term Federal Reserve policy expectations. For the week, however, the 2-year yield surged by 15.4 basis points and the 10-year yield rose by 12.2 basis points.

In foreign exchange, the U.S. dollar was mixed. The Australian dollar rose 0.17%, and the New Zealand dollar gained 0.24%, helped by stronger flash PMI data. The Swiss franc fell 0.20% against the greenback. The euro slipped marginally, down 0.08%. USD/JPY was unchanged after surging to 40-year highs during the week, a level that has historically drawn heightened attention from Japanese officials concerned about excessive currency volatility. The pound rose modestly, up 0.05% against the dollar. USD/CAD also rose modestly, up 0.07%, indicating a lower Canadian dollar.

Canada's producer and raw material prices both fell sharply in June, pointing to a broad easing in upstream inflation pressures. The Industrial Product Price Index declined 1.4%, ending a five-month streak of gains. The Raw Materials Price Index tumbled 6.9%, its largest monthly decline since July 2022.

The main driver was a steep drop in energy prices after the announcement of a tentative U.S.-Iran agreement eased concerns about potential oil supply disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz. Lower crude oil prices filtered through to refined petroleum products, while precious metals and other non-ferrous metals also weakened. Even excluding energy, both indexes declined, suggesting that softer price pressures were broad-based rather than limited to energy. Lumber was the notable exception, with prices continuing to rise on resilient demand.

June's data pointed to easing pipeline inflation. The source also noted that energy prices had since rebounded sharply, and that sustained strength could reverse some of June's progress and eventually feed through to producer and consumer prices. Central banks are likely to remain cautious, watching for signs that higher energy costs lift inflation expectations and create broader second-round inflation pressures.

In U.S. economic news, the July flash S&P Global PMI report presented a mixed but generally positive picture of the economy. The manufacturing PMI slipped to 53.8 from 53.9, missing the 54.3 forecast and reaching a four-month low as inventory stockpiling faded and supply chain disruptions weighed on factory activity. By contrast, the services PMI jumped to 53.6 from 51.2, well above the 51.5 estimate and its strongest reading since November 2025. That lifted the composite PMI to 53.6, also the highest since November.

The report suggested the economy entered the third quarter on firmer footing, with business activity and hiring improving. S&P Global cautioned, however, that renewed supply chain delays, rising price pressures and escalating Middle East tensions could dampen growth and keep inflation risks elevated in the months ahead.

U.S. new-home sales unexpectedly strengthened in June, rising 1.6% to an annualized pace of 628,000. That topped the 610,000 estimate and built on an upward revision to May's data. Even with the sales improvement, the broader housing picture remained mixed. Inventory stayed relatively elevated at a 9.3-month supply, suggesting buyers continued to have ample choices, while prices softened noticeably.

The median sales price fell 3.3% from May and 2.7% from a year earlier. The average sales price dropped 9.5% on the month and 6.5% year over year, pointing to greater pricing pressure on builders. Although the June report was encouraging for sales, it reflected conditions before mortgage rates moved higher again and before renewed geopolitical tensions pushed Treasury yields and financing costs upward. Elevated supply and declining prices suggested the market remained tilted toward buyers.

Commodity markets also reflected a shift in positioning. WTI crude oil fell $1.78 to $90.46, giving back part of the week's sharp rally as traders locked in profits after the recent geopolitical risk premium. Gold added 0.17% to $4,055.67, benefiting from the decline in Treasury yields, but remained well below its high of $4,082.14. Silver rose 1.00% to $58.18 to end the week. Bitcoin slipped 1.46% to $64,103.

The source also included a separate sports-related section on LeBron James. It said James earned about $50 million last year with the Los Angeles Lakers, and that the decline represented a pay cut of roughly 84%, one of the largest voluntary salary reductions ever taken by a superstar. James said the move was about pursuing another championship rather than maximizing earnings. The item estimated LeBron's net worth at $1.4 billion.

Despite his age, James remained highly productive in the 2025–26 season, playing in 60 of 82 regular-season games. He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game, with 51.5% field-goal shooting, a 31.7% three-point percentage, a 73.7% free-throw percentage and 33.2 minutes per game.

Those figures compared with his career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game, along with a 50.7% field-goal percentage, a 35.0% three-point percentage, a 73.7% free-throw percentage and 37.8 minutes per game. The item said James is 41 years old and continued to be one of the league's best playmakers and most efficient scorers while managing a reduced workload. It also said his willingness to take a veteran-minimum type contract gives Philadelphia significant salary-cap flexibility to surround him with talent for one final championship run.