Stock Market Today: Dow Nabs Longest Win Streak Since 1987 After Fed Meeting
A mixed batch of earnings and another Fed rate hike couldn't keep the blue chip Dow Jones down.


Stocks closed mixed Wednesday as investors weighed a fresh batch of earnings reports and a mid-afternoon Fed announcement.
Negative reactions to earnings from mega-cap blue chip stock Microsoft (MSFT) and chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN) created headwinds for most of the session.
And while stocks failed to lift off after the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates to their highest level in 22 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average managed to eke out its longest daily win streak in decades.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Taking a quick look at today's earnings reports, Microsoft reported top- and bottom-line beats for its fiscal fourth quarter. However, in the company's earnings call, Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood warned that even with its leadership position in the nascent artificial intelligence (AI) industry, "growth from our AI services will be gradual as Azure AI scales and our copilots reach general availability dates." Additionally, the CFO said capital expenditures will "increase sequentially each quarter through the year" as the company scales to meet demand for its AI platform. MSFT stock fell 3.8%.
Elsewhere, Texas Instruments reported higher-than-expected earnings and revenue for its second quarter, but gave disappointing guidance for its current quarter. Additionally, the company said it will continue forward with plans to build out manufacturing capacity even if it results in short-term changes in gross margin. "Those are not irrelevant, of course," said Rafael Lizardi, chief financial officer of Texas Instruments, in the company's earnings call, "but it's just the focus is on supporting revenue growth in the short-term, midterm and long-term." The semiconductor stock slumped 5.4% today.
Happily, not all of the day's earnings reports were as poorly received. Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) jumped 5.8% on second-quarter earnings and revenue beats, while Dow stock Boeing (BA) rose 8.7% after reporting a narrower-than-expected Q2 loss.
Fed resumes rate hikes
While the raft of earnings reports commanded the market's attention for much of Wednesday's session, the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's July monetary policy meeting was the marquee event. As expected, the Fed lifted its benchmark rate by 25 basis points (0.25%) to a target range of 5.25% to 5.5% – the highest level since early 2001. In its statement, the Fed said it will remain data dependent in determining if more rate hikes are needed to bring inflation down to its 2% target.
Along those lines, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in his subsequent press conference that the central bank will proceed on a meeting-by-meeting basis to determine if future rate hikes are warranted. "Between now and the September meeting, we get two more jobs reports and two more Consumer Price Index (CPI) reports," and the outcome of those reports will drive the Fed's decision-making process, Powell said. But regardless of whether it hikes rates again, the central bank intends "to keep policy restrictive" until it's "confident inflation is coming down," the Fed chair added.
This led to a nail-biter of a finish on Wall Street. While the S&P 500 (-0.02% at 4,566) and the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1% at 14,127) closed modestly lower, the Dow eked out a 0.2% gain to 35,520. This marked the blue chip index's 13th straight advance and longest winning streak since 1987, according to Dow Jones Market Data.
XPEV pops, boosts other EV stocks
Lost in the shuffle of a jam-packed earnings calendar and highly anticipated Fed meeting was news that German automaker Volkswagen (VWAGY, -0.5%) will invest $700 million in Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Xpeng (XPEV). The strategic partnership will include the joint development of two VW brand mid-size electric vehicles in the Chinese market. The news was enough to send XPEV stock up nearly 27% and generate a halo effect on other Chinese stocks in the EV industry, including Nio (NIO, +10.6%) and Li Auto (LI, +3.6%).
We've mentioned before that the electric vehicle market is expected to grow by leaps and bounds over the next decade. As just one example, Fortune Business Insights projects a compound annual growth rate of 25.4% through 2028.
As such, investors seeking out the best growth stocks would be wise to keep an eye on the electric vehicle space. Here, we take a look at some of the best EV stocks to capitalize on the expanding industry.
Related Content
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.

With over a decade of experience writing about the stock market, Karee Venema is the senior investing editor at Kiplinger.com. She joined the publication in April 2021 after 10 years of working as an investing writer and columnist at a local investment research firm. In her previous role, Karee focused primarily on options trading, as well as technical, fundamental and sentiment analysis.
-
The Most Tax-Friendly States for Investing in 2025 (Hint: There Are Two)
State Taxes Living in one of these places could lower your 2025 investment taxes — especially if you invest in real estate.
-
Want To Retire at 55? See If You Can Answer These Five Questions
Who said you can’t retire at 55? If you say yes to these questions, you may be on your way to an early retirement.
-
Stocks Grind Up to New All-Time Highs: Stock Market Today
UnitedHealth stock led the Dow Jones Industrial Average amid increasing signs the labor market has not been well for months.
-
Markets Prepare for August Inflation Data: Stock Market Today
Apple CEO Tim Cook is still important, but price action this week is as much about incoming inflation data ahead of next week's Fed meeting.
-
Big Tech Names Rise Above Broad Weakness: Stock Market Today
Some familiar names enjoyed solid rallies on the resolution of outstanding questions, but macro uncertainty hangs over the broader market.
-
Alphabet Stock Pops After Google Antitrust Ruling: What to Know
GOOGL stock is soaring Wednesday after a judge ruled that Alphabet does not have to divest its Chrome browser.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into Sherwin-Williams Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Sherwin-Williams stock has clobbered the broader market by a wide margin for a long time.
-
If You'd Put $1,000 Into UnitedHealth Group Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
UNH stock was a massive market beater for ages — until it wasn't.
-
President Trump Makes Markets Move Again: Stock Market Today
The White House is moving ahead with plans to reshape the Federal Reserve and to buy shares in more sectors and stocks.
-
Dow Rips 846 Points to New All-Time High: Stock Market Today
Fed Chair Jerome Powell seems ready to cut interest rates in the fall but will still rely on incoming economic data about inflation and employment.