August 2, Market Update

The stock market stumbled out of the gate on Thursday due to concerns over U.S.-China trade relations, but found its footing as Apple (AAPL 207.39, +5.89, +2.9%) extended its post-earnings rally, becoming the first company ever to reach a market cap of $1 trillion. The S&P 500 finished higher by 0.5%, erasing an opening loss of around 0.6%.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rallied 1.2%, coming within 1.7% of its July 25 record high; the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average finished flat, weighed down by materials giant DowDuPont (DWDP 66.44, -1.52, -2.2%), which sold off despite reporting upbeat earnings; and the small-cap Russell 2000 added 0.8%.

​In other notable earnings news, electric automaker Tesla (TSLA 349.54, +48.70, +16.2%) soared after above-consensus revenues, reaffirmed guidance, and an apology from CEO Elon Musk for last quarter's abrasive earnings call helped overshadow the company's larger-than-expected earnings per share loss of $3.06.
The U.S. equity market was an outlier on Thursday, outdoing Asian and European markets, which finished solidly lower. The weakness overseas -- and in early trading on Wall Street -- was attributed to the White House's confirmation that it's considering raising proposed tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods to 25% from 10%.
Separately, in the UK, the Bank of England hiked rates for just the second time in a decade and surprised some by saying it anticipates raising rates further despite the looming uncertainty over Brexit. The British pound dropped 0.8% against the U.S. Dollar following the decision, retesting an 11-month low.

Source: Briefing.com
Graph: Google Finance