Wall Street Soars to New Heights Ahead of Big Tech Earnings Bonanza
U.S. equity markets wrapped up the week on a high note Friday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq notching fresh all-time highs as bullish momentum builds. The rally comes just before next week’s earnings frenzy, when four of the Magnificent 7—Amazon, Apple, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft—are set to report results and potentially fuel the next leg of the bull run.
Meanwhile, bond markets showed strength as the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slipped to 4.38%, easing off its May peak of nearly 4.60%. Materials and industrials led the charge, while energy and communications took a breather. Overseas, markets in Asia and Europe dipped slightly as EU-U.S. trade talks remain in the spotlight. The U.S. dollar flexed its muscle against global currencies, and in commodities, WTI crude retreated as speculation swirled about U.S. oil firms ramping up activity in Venezuela.
The stage is set for a potentially explosive week with more earnings on the way—investors, buckle up.
Mixed Signals from the Economy, but the Fed Remains in Focus
This week delivered a lighter round of economic data, and the results were a mixed bag. On one hand, manufacturing took a hit, with the PMI sliding into contraction territory at 49.5—below both last month’s reading and forecasts. On the flip side, the services sector showed surprising strength, with the Services PMI jumping to a seven-month high of 55.2, handily beating expectations.
Housing data remained sluggish, as both new and existing home sales missed the mark. Durable goods orders posted a steep decline of 9.3%, but excluding transportation, the core data was slightly positive at +0.2%. Labor market indicators remained solid, with initial jobless claims falling to 217K—the lowest since mid-April—suggesting steady employment trends despite a slight uptick in continuing claims.
Here’s a snapshot of this week’s key releases:
- Leading Economic Indicators (LEI): -0.3% vs. 0.0% expected
- New Home Sales: 627K vs. 640K expected
- Existing Home Sales: 3.93M vs. 4.05M expected
- Durable Orders: -9.3% vs. -10.0% expected
- Initial Jobless Claims: 217K vs. 227K expected
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow estimate for Q2 GDP held steady at 2.4%. On the rates front, Treasury yields were relatively calm. The 2-year rose slightly to 3.92%, while 10- and 30-year yields edged lower, flattening the curve modestly.
Fed rate cut expectations shifted this week: Markets are now pricing in a 69% chance of a September rate cut, up from 64% last week, according to Bloomberg. However, expectations for total 2025 cuts dipped slightly from 1.82 to 1.76 cuts.
Bottom line: The economy continues to walk a tightrope, and all eyes remain on the Fed as September approaches.
Crypto Corner: Wall Street Dips Deeper into Digital Assets
While it was a quieter week on the crypto news front, two major Wall Street players made headlines with bold new moves in the digital asset space. JPMorgan is reportedly eyeing a plan to offer loans backed by Bitcoin or Ethereum as soon as next year—marking a major potential step toward institutional crypto lending.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs is in talks with BNY Mellon to roll out tokenized money market funds, complete with blockchain-based ownership tracking and 24/7 settlement capabilities. These developments come on the heels of recent progress in U.S. crypto regulation and signal growing momentum behind blockchain innovation and digital asset integration in traditional finance.
What to Watch:
Four companies from the “Magnificent Seven” will be reporting their latest financial results next week – Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon.
Economic Calendar:
- Monday (July 28): no reports
- Tuesday (July 29): Advanced International Trade in Goods, Advanced Retail Inventories, Advanced Wholesale Inventories, Consumer Confidence, FHFA Housing Price Index, S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index
- Wednesday (July 30): ADP Employment Change, EIA Crude Oil Inventories, FOMC Rate Decision, GDP-Advanced Reading, MBA Mortgage Applications Index, Pending Home Sales
- Thursday (July 31): Chicago Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), Continuing Claims, EIA Natural Gas Inventories, Employment Cost Index, Initial Claims, Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Prices, Personal Income, Personal Spending
- Friday (Aug 1): Average Workweek, Average Hourly Earnings, Construction Spending, ISM Manufacturing Index, Nonfarm Payrolls, Nonfarm Private Payrolls, Unemployment Rate, University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment
Earnings Schedule:
- Monday (July 28): Cadence Design Systems Inc. (CDNS), Enterprise Products Partners LP (EPD), Fomento Economico Mexicano SAB (FMX), Hartford Insurance Group Inc. (HIG), Nucor Corp. (NUE), Revvity Inc. (RVTY), Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO), Welltower Inc. (WELL), Waste Management Inc. (WM)
- Tuesday (July 29): AstraZeneca PLC (AZN), Boeing Co. (BA), Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG), Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK), Procter & Gamble Co. (PG), Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL), Spotify Technology SA (SPOT), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), Visa Inc. (V)
- Wednesday (July 30): Altria Group Inc. (MO), Arm Holdings PLC (ARM), Automatic Data Processing Inc. (ADP), Carvana Co. (CVNA), Meta Platforms (META), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD), UBS Group AG (UBS), Vertiv Holdings Co. (VRT)
- Thursday (July 31): Abbvie Inc. (ABBV), Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Coinbase Global Inc. (COIN), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), KKR & Co. Inc. (KKR), KLA Corp. (KLAC), Shell PLC (SHEL), Southern Co. (SO)
- Friday (Aug 1): Chevron Corp. (CVX), Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL), Dominion Energy Inc. (D), Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI)
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