Bulls in full charge: How Wall Street stormed to new highs

2 minutes read

18 July 2025

Bulls in full charge: How Wall Street stormed to new highs

A summer's afternoon on Wall Street, and the trading screens glowed a bright green. Headlines flashed: new record closes for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq. Numbers soared, but behind those digits was a deeper story, a market that had weathered storm clouds and now basked in the sun, fuelled by strong company results and stubborn economic optimism. It was a week where even the sceptics paused to wonder if this rally had legs.

This latest charge upwards didn't begin with fireworks but with a steady drumbeat: companies reporting better-than-expected earnings, consumers still opening their wallets, and economic figures that signalled resilience rather than panic.

When earnings do the talking

PepsiCo set the tone early, surprising analysts by posting a £22.73 billion net revenue for the second quarter, growing 1% from last year and beating forecasts. Its robust performance, despite strong headwinds like rising costs and trade tariffs, turned heads. CEO Ramon Laguarta was pragmatic: “As we look ahead, we expect more volatility and uncertainty, particularly related to global trade developments, which we expect will increase our supply chain costs”. Yet, PepsiCo didn’t just survive; its shares actually surged, underlining a central lesson of this rally: concrete results still win the day.

Other corporate giants joined the parade. Tech firms like Nvidia and TSMC led the Nasdaq higher, driven by demand for AI and chipmaking muscle. By week’s end, 88% of S&P 500 companies had outrun analysts’ expectations, according to FactSet. Anthony Limb, chief strategist at Tiprise Financial, summed it up crisply: “Economic data and corporate earnings reports are indicating that the economic environment remains quite solid, enabling markets to steadily climb this week, supported by the data”.

The mood was infectious. Johnson & Johnson rallied on strong healthcare numbers, while retail didn’t miss out: US sales in June rose 0.6%, handily beating consensus. Optimism, once in short supply, seemed suddenly abundant. A pie chart showing the S&P 500 sector gains during earnings week

Optimism and caution: The market walks a tightrope

But behind the heady numbers, caution lingered. Investors recalled how, only a few months back, sharp declines and policy drama, a rumoured Federal Reserve shake-up, new tariffs, tested nerves and triggered a market dip. Now, though, clarity on Fed policy and resilient economic stats—like jobless claims falling by 7,000 to 221,000 were steadying hands.

Chief market strategist Ryan Detrick noted, “July actually does better when May and June are higher, but it is the final six months that really stand out...these months have finished higher an incredible 15 out of the past 16 times and up nearly 9% on average”. There’s history here, and investors are keenly aware of it.

Yet no one is mistaking this for a market without risk. The spectre of trade wars, volatile global headlines, and political wrangling in Washington could swiftly challenge the party. Still, for now, the story is one of surprising resilience.

The curtain came down on a week of milestones with the S&P 500 rising 0.54%, the Nasdaq 0.75%, and the Dow 0.52%. One analyst noted, “This bull market continues to be fuelled by results rather than hype.” Investors, weary of uncertainty, welcomed tangible progress.

So as Wall Street's summer rally races ahead, the lesson is clear: resilience still holds. For every headline, there’s a human story, workers clocking in, shoppers spending, and firms meeting bold expectations. It’s this undercurrent, not just the numbers, keeping the bulls running strong

Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or brokerage companies, and not of Winvesta. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.