• The S&P 500 finished essentially unchanged 0.1% on Friday, July 18, 2025, with strong consumer sentiment data pointing to waning tariff worries.

• Invesco shares soared after the asset manager petitioned shareholders to reclassify the
  Invesco QQQ Trust as an open-ended fund.

• Netflix posted better-than-expected quarterly profits but predicted a lower operating margin in the second half of the year. Shares of the video streamer dropped.
  

Major U.S. equities indexes were mixed heading into the weekend as a report showing an uptick in consumer sentiment suggested that unease over possible tariff impacts could be dwindling.

The S&P 500 wavered throughout Friday’s session before ending with a minimal loss of less than 0.1%, wrapping up the week just below Thursday’s closing high. The Dow dropped 0.3%, while the Nasdaq eked out a gain of less than 0.1% to complete a sweep of five record daily closes this week. Read Investopedia’s full coverage of today’s trading here.

Investment manager Invesco (IVZ) filed a proxy statement asking shareholders of the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) for permission to restructure the Nasdaq 100-tracking fund. The proposed reclassification of the massive tech-focused exchange-traded fund to an open-ended fund from a unit investment trust could boost Invesco’s fee revenue while lowering costs for shareholders. Invesco shares surged 15%, posting the S&P 500’s strongest daily performance.

Shares of Regions Financial (RF) advanced 6.1% after the Alabama-based banking company beat second-quarter profit expectations. Year-over-year growth in net interest income and fee income contributed to the strong quarterly results.

Power producer Talen Energy (TLN) announced a $3.5 billion deal to acquire a pair of gas-fired plants in Pennsylvania and Ohio. The move is part of the energy infrastructure firm’s portfolio expansion efforts as it aims to position itself to meet demand from power-intensive data centers. Talen stock soared more than 24% on Friday. Shares of nuclear power players Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy (CEG), which have drawn attention for their own data center ambitions, were up 6.1% and 4.3%, respectively.

Dell Technologies (DELL) shares powered some 6% higher. Analysts at Bank of America said the tech firm could come close to doubling its earnings per share by 2030. BofA believes demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure from businesses and government entities along with resurgent capital spending on cloud technology could drive an acceleration in revenue growth for Dell over the next five years.