* The three major indexes closed slightly lower

* Tesla's Q2 profit missed expectations

* Overall poor performance, UPS fell 12.1%

On Tuesday, July 23rd (local time), the three major U.S. stock indexes rose and then fell, closing slightly lower collectively, as investors remained cautious ahead of the quarterly earnings announcements from large technology companies.

As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 57.35 points, or 0.14%, to 40,358.09; the Nasdaq Composite fell 10.22 points, or 0.06%, to 17,997.35; the S&P 500 index fell 8.67 points, or 0.16%, to 5,555.74.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, and Tesla reported their earnings after the market closed on Tuesday, kicking off the earnings season for large technology companies.

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Tesla reported an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.52 for the second quarter on Tuesday, below analysts' expectations of $0.60. The automotive gross margin, excluding regulatory credits, was 14.6% for the second quarter, down from 16.4% in the first quarter. Tesla stated that the Cybertruck is expected to become profitable by the end of this year, and the low-cost car program is also advancing, with production expected to begin in the first half of 2025.

Alphabet's second-quarter revenue was $84.74 billion, compared to the market expectation of $84.16 billion and $74.604 billion in the same period last year. The second-quarter revenue for Google Cloud was $10.35 billion, compared to the market expectation of $10.09 billion and $8.031 billion in the same period last year.

As of the time of writing, Google and Tesla fell approximately 2% and 7%, respectively, in after-hours trading.

As former U.S. President Trump's advantage in the presidential election narrows, the so-called "Trump trade" continues to recede. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 energy sector fell 1.6%, leading the decline among the 11 industry sectors.Under pressure from Democratic peers, President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would forgo a re-election campaign, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the party's candidate. Harris's campaign fundraising reached a record $88.4 million in a single day for this election cycle, and she has received endorsements from most of the Democratic hierarchy. The latest national poll results released by Morning Consult show Harris with a 45% approval rating, just 2% behind Trump's 47%. This is the first significant poll since Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the race.

In terms of individual stock movements, music streaming media Spotify's stock price soared by more than 12% on Tuesday, reaching a 52-week high. The company's second-quarter revenue grew by 20.2% year-on-year to €3.81 billion ($4.14 billion), which was in line with analysts' expectations. Monthly active users (MAU) stood at 626 million, a 14% increase year-on-year, below the company's previous guidance of 631 million. Nevertheless, due to reduced costs, Spotify's profit metrics exceeded expectations.

Coca-Cola rose by 0.29%. Second-quarter revenue under non-GAAP standards grew by 2.9% year-on-year to $12.31 billion (GAAP revenue was $12.36 billion), above the market expectation of $11.76 billion. Earnings per share grew by 7.7% year-on-year to $0.84, surpassing the market expectation of $0.81.

General Motors fell by 6.4%. Second-quarter revenue was $48 billion, a 7% increase year-on-year, exceeding market expectations of $45.6 billion. Adjusted earnings per share were $3.06, higher than the previous year's $1.91 and also above market expectations of $2.71, but the company is restructuring its loss-making China operations.

United Parcel Service fell by 12.1%, with its closing stock price hitting the lowest level since July 2020. Second-quarter revenue was $21.8 billion, a 1.1% decrease year-on-year, $440 million below expectations; non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share were $1.79, a 29.5% decrease year-on-year, $0.20 below expectations. Despite a positive growth in domestic U.S. market volume, overall performance was poor.

According to FactSet data, analysts expect S&P 500 component companies to report a 9.7% year-on-year increase in earnings per share, an upward revision from last week's 9.3%. So far, 80% of the companies that have reported earnings have exceeded analysts' expectations, but in terms of revenue, only 62% of companies have surpassed expectations. This indicates that while profit performance is good, revenue growth may not have met market expectations.

Despite positive news, analysts generally believe that the U.S. stock market is still full of uncertainty. Traditionally, the U.S. stock market tends to be weak in August and September, and the current market sentiment is relatively low. A Goldman Sachs analysis report points out that the S&P 500 index has set 38 historical highs in 2024,有望 reaching the second-highest closing high in about 100 years. However, August is usually the month when passive stocks and mutual funds experience the most severe outflows, with seasonal factors being weak, positions being tight, and all positive news already digested, the index is on the brink of a summer correction.

After a continuous rise, the stock market still faces the risk of weak capital inflows and is susceptible to negative news. It is expected that there will be no capital inflows from passive investors or mutual funds in August, as capital has already been allocated for the third quarter. For trend-following systematic capital, positions have reached their maximum, indicating no further room for purchases.

In the commodity market, gold prices fluctuated narrowly, with spot gold rising by 0.3% to $2,405.09 per ounce. In addition to the latest developments in the U.S. election, the market is watching for the U.S. second-quarter GDP data to be released on Thursday, as well as the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index on Friday. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the money market has fully digested the expectation of a 25 basis point interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve before September.