Chips Worst Month Since 2002, Fed Holds & Big Tech Earnings Beat
Semiconductor stocks are in freefall while healthcare and financials hit records. The Fed holds rates with a hawkish tone. Microsoft and Meta beat expectations — Apple and Amazon follow.
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Finance Explained Simply The Brief 3 things that moved markets this week · 4 min read |
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01 Markets ↓ Chip Rout Chip Stocks Head for Worst Month Since 2002 as AI Spending Scepticism Grows Semiconductor stocks are on track for their worst monthly performance since the dot-com bust of 2002. Investors are questioning whether the hundreds of billions being poured into AI infrastructure by Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Google will generate returns that justify the spending. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) fell sharply for the third consecutive week, while the equal-weighted S&P 500 hit a record — meaning the broader market is fine, but the AI darlings are taking the hit. The rotation story: Money is moving from high-flying tech into healthcare and financial stocks, both of which hit record highs this week. This is a classic sign of investors reducing risk in growth names and rotating into sectors with more predictable earnings — a sign of late-cycle caution, not panic. | |
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02 Central Banks ↔ Hold Fed Holds at 3.5–3.75% as Warsh Keeps Hike Option Firmly on the Table The Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to hold its target rate at 3.50–3.75% at its 28–29 July meeting — but the statement was notably hawkish. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh emphasised that with inflation still above target and energy prices volatile, a rate hike remains “an active possibility.” Oil eased back toward $84 by mid-week as Iran tensions de-escalated slightly, giving the Fed some breathing room. The ECB also held rates unchanged at 2.25% on 23 July. The Bank of England announces on 30 July — another hold at 3.75% is expected, but the vote split will be closely watched for signs of dissent toward a hike. Three major central banks all pausing in the same week signals that the global rate-cutting cycle expected in early 2026 has been completely shelved.
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03 Corporate ↑ Earnings Big Tech Earnings Mega-Week: Microsoft and Meta Beat as Apple and Amazon Follow Microsoft reported fiscal Q4 earnings beating analyst expectations, with Azure cloud revenue growing strongly. Meta delivered Q2 results ahead of forecasts, with revenue up 26.7% year-on-year to approximately $60 billion, driven by AI improvements to ad targeting. Apple and Amazon report on 30 July, with Amazon Web Services expected to show ~32% year-on-year growth, adding to what has been a strong earnings season for the largest companies despite the chip-stock sell-off. The paradox: Big Tech’s earnings are strong. The chip stocks supplying them are crashing. The market is asking a simple question: if Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are spending hundreds of billions on AI, why are the chipmakers not reflecting it? The answer is that investors worry the AI infrastructure boom is running ahead of actual revenue generation. | |
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