The three major indices showed mixed results, with the Dow Jones slightly down, the S&P 500 marginally up, and the Nasdaq fluctuating, briefly rising by 1% before turning negative, but ultimately closing slightly higher.

By the close:

• The Dow Jones fell 0.12% to 40,539.93 points.
• The S&P 500 rose 0.08% to 5,463.54 points.
• The Nasdaq gained 0.07% to 17,370.20 points.

Stock indices were volatile throughout the trading session. Keith Lerner, co-chief investment officer at Truist, commented, "A lot is happening. It’s hard to make significant decisions before all of this."

This week, the latest Federal Reserve rate meeting is expected, and major tech giants like Apple, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon will release their earnings reports in the coming days.

Tesla surged over 5% on Monday after Morgan Stanley named it their top pick. On Semiconductor (ON) soared more than 11% after reporting better-than-expected earnings.

McDonald's rose nearly 4%, maintaining its forecast for new stores, capital expenditures, and operating margins for the year, despite lower-than-expected sales and profits.

Most large tech stocks rose: Apple increased by 0.13%, Microsoft by 0.34%, Tesla by 5.60%, Google by 1.51%, Amazon by 0.38%, Meta closed flat, Nvidia fell 1.30%, and Netflix dropped 0.70%.

Company News

Nvidia Launches Software and Services to Accelerate AI Adoption Nvidia $NVIDIA Corporation NVDA$ announced a series of software updates aimed at making generative AI more accessible for businesses. Generative AI powers technologies like chatbots, voice recognition, and other automated human-computer interactions, which typically require coordination of multiple hardware, software, and data retrieval processes.

Nvidia's founder and CEO Jensen Huang unveiled the company's latest offerings at the Siggraph conference in Denver, advocating for widespread use of Nvidia's technology to proliferate AI across industries.

Apple Releases Beta AI Features for Developers Only Apple $Apple Inc. AAPL$ released developer betas of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, and macOS Sequoia 15.1, offering a preview of "Apple Intelligence" features, currently available only to Apple developers. These features are accessible on select Apple devices, including iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, and Apple Silicon-equipped iPads and Macs.

Walmart to Invest $200 Million in Automated Forklifts According to sources, Walmart $Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. WMT$ plans to spend $200 million on self-driving forklifts to advance warehouse automation. Walmart intends to purchase hundreds of autonomous forklifts from startup Fox Robotics and invest $25 million in the company. These forklifts will be used in Walmart's distribution centers to stock its stores.

FDA Approves New Colorectal Cancer Screening Method, Guardant Health Stock Rises Nearly 7% The FDA approved Guardant Health's $Guardant Health GH$ blood test, Shield, for colorectal cancer screening. While not a replacement for colonoscopy, this test can significantly increase screening rates in the U.S. Guardant Health's stock surged 6.91% on the news.

GM CFO Purchases 25,000 Shares of Company Stock According to SEC filings, General Motors CFO Paul Jacobson bought 25,000 shares of GM $General Motors Company GM$ common stock at $44.11 per share on July 26, investing approximately $1.10 million.

AMKR Stock Falls Over 8% After Hours Amkor Technology $Amkor Technology, Inc. AMKR$ saw its stock drop more than 8% after hours. The company reported Q2 EPS of $0.27, beating analysts' expectations of $0.23, and Q2 net sales of $1.46 billion, exceeding forecasts of $1.45 billion. However, AMKR's Q3 EPS outlook of $0.42-$0.56 fell short of analysts' expectations of $0.64, and its Q3 net sales projection of $1.79-$1.89 billion missed the $1.87 billion estimate.

LSCC Stock Drops Over 13% After Hours Lattice Semiconductor $Lattice Semiconductor Corporation LSCC$ fell more than 13% after hours. The company reported adjusted Q2 EPS of $0.23, missing the $0.24 estimate, and Q2 revenue of $124.1 million, below the $130.2 million forecast. LSCC's Q3 revenue outlook of $117-$137 million also fell short of the $141.7 million analyst expectation.