Market Close: Stocks Mixed, Dow Gains 500, Ford's Quarter Mixed • 7/28/26

Summary

Stocks ended mixed with the Dow up 537 points led by strong quarterly results from Sherwin-Williams, IBM and Coca-Cola. The S&P 500 edged higher while the Nasdaq fell, dragged by chipmakers except for Nvidia. Wells Fargo's Mark Smith encouraged buying semiconductor dips on the long-term AI demand story. Separately, Ford shares popped after hours on free cash flow, Visa beat but slipped on job cuts, and consumer confidence came in below expectations. The market awaits the Fed rate decision and earnings from Microsoft, Meta, Qualcomm, ARM, Starbucks, Robinhood and Chipotle.

• Dow jumps 537 points, best day since early July, led by SHW, IBM, KO
• S&P 500 adds 15 points, Nasdaq falls 55 points despite late-day recovery
• Nvidia gains 0.5% while other chipmakers remain in the red
• Wells Fargo's Mark Smith: chip stocks are on sale, dollar cost average on dips, AI demand is a long story
• Ford reports mixed results; EV loss but strong free cash flow lifts shares after hours
• Visa beats estimates but cuts 7% of workforce; shares tick lower
• Consumer confidence slips to 90.8, well below expectations
• Ahead: Fed rate decision, earnings from MSFT, META, QCOM, ARM, SBUX, HOOD, CMG