Wall Street’s Friday Forecast: Records, Rockets, and Rate Watch

​As the sun rises on another trading day, Wall Street is riding a record-breaking wave—but don’t blink. From space stocks to durable goods data and a fresh earnings splash, Friday is set to be anything but boring.

Here’s what’s lighting up CNBC’s radar and what could send stocks soaring—or stalling—in the next session.

🚀 Records Keep Falling
Let’s start with the scoreboard:
-S&P 500 closed at a record high for the 13th time this year.
-Nasdaq Composite notched its 14th record close of 2025.
-NYSE Composite is up 9.2% this year.
-Nasdaq 100 hit a fresh high, now up 10.5% YTD.

If this momentum holds, Wall Street’s going to need a bigger scoreboard.

💰 Europe’s Banks Are Quietly Crushing It
Over in Europe, financials are on a tear:
-The iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF (EUFN) has jumped 3% in just 4 days.
-It’s up 40% year-to-date and nearly hitting a 52-week high.
-Top performers include Commerzbank, Societe Generale, and Deutsche Bank—all nearly doubling this year.

Banking may be boring, but returns like that are anything but.

🌌 Space Stocks Blast Off
The space race isn’t just for billionaires anymore:
-Texas-based Firefly Aerospace is going public, boasting lunar landers and orbital vehicles.
-Rocket Lab is up 88% YTD.
-Intuitive Machines and Planet Labs have both surged 23% in the last month.
-AST SpaceMobile? Up a stratospheric 185% YTD.

Even Howmet Aerospace is flying high—+71% YTD—as investor appetite for anything space-related continues to climb.

📊 Data Drop: All Eyes on Durable Goods
At 8:30 a.m. ET, durable goods numbers will hit the wires during “Squawk Box.” This release could spark movement across industrials, which are already up 5.7% in July—making them the second-best performing sector behind tech.

🧪 Sector Check: Materials Flex Muscle
-Dominic Chu is watching the Materials sector, which has quietly delivered a solid 8% gain in 2025:
-Newmont Corp: Up 65% YTD, hit a new record this week.
-GE Vernova: Up 22% this month.
-United Rentals: Gained 18% in the same period.

Looks like gold and gears are working in tandem.

🛢️ Phillips 66 Earnings Incoming
-On the earnings front, Phillips 66 takes the spotlight:
-CEO Mark Lashier will appear live on “Squawk Box.”
-The stock is up 18% over the last 3 months, but still 17% below last July’s peak.

A strong earnings beat could reignite the rally.

🎤 Final Word: Eyes on the Data, Feet Off the Brake
Friday’s market menu includes record highs, aerospace fireworks, and a high-stakes earnings preview. But make no mistake—the durable goods number could be the sleeper story that moves markets most.

With sectors from banking to space posting double-digit gains, traders are strapping in and watching every tick. Will the rally continue—or is it time for a breather?

​Either way, the next move is just a headline away.