Next time you leave yourself on mute while trying to talk in a business call, remember Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world, did the same thing in front of Congress.
This week the S&P 500 closed at 3,271.12, a gain of 1.73%, the NASDAQ finished at 10,905.88, a gain of 4.03%, and the Dow ended at 26,428.32, a loss of 0.16%.
Summary
This was a wild week. Arguably the busiest week of news for the market all year. There were earnings, a Federal Reserve Board meeting, updates on COVID-19 vaccines, testimonies from the CEO’s of big tech companies, GDP numbers, and talks of another stimulus package. Let’s not forget basketball started back up Thursday too.
Worth Mentioning
- The CEO’s of some of the largest technology companies testified to Congress, and then reported earnings the next day
- GDP was reported Thursday and shrank at an annualized rate of 32.9%. By far the largest decline in recorded U.S. history
- Kodak’s stock SHOT UP after it received a loan from the government to manufacture pharmaceuticals ingredients
- The Federal Open Market Committee met Wednesday and will keep interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future
- Weekly unemployment claims were recorded at 1.434 million
- An abundance of companies reported earnings this week
- Google announced employees can work from home until summer 2021
- Microsoft is rumored to be in talks to buy TikTok
- Conversations of another stimulus package continued in Washington
- Baseball’s season may be in jeopardy after several teams had positives case
What You Missed Related To The “Tech Big Four”
This week was special in that Apple, Alphabet, Amazon and Facebook all reported earnings and their CEOs all testified in front of Congress Wednesday. So to celebrate, here’s one item of interest about them each:
- All except Alphabet had huge gains after-hours Thursday after reporting earnings.
- Apple announced a 4-for-1 stock split, and then became the most valued company, surpassing Saudi Aramco
- Alphabet reported quarterly revenue decline for the first time since they’ve been public
- Facebook sees “no end in sight” for its employees’ current work from home situation
- Amazon announced Prime Day will be in the fourth quarter this year
Looking Ahead to Next Week
- Earnings season continues on but slows down
- Employment Report comes out Friday
Change in Each Sector
| Sector | Price, 7/24 | Price, 7/31 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| XLC — Communications Service | $56.85 | $58.13 | 2.25% |
| XLY — Consumer Discretionary | $135.54 | $137.00 | 1.08% |
| XLP — Consumer Staples | $62.13 | $62.70 | 0.92% |
| XLE — Energy | $37.51 | $36.03 | -3.95% |
| XLF — Financials | $24.27 | $24.03 | -0.99% |
| XLV — Health Care | $105.10 | $105.53 | 0.41% |
| XLI — Industrials | $71.84 | $71.73 | -0.15% |
| XLK — Information Technology | $105.20 | $110.43 | 4.97% |
| XLB — Materials | $61.47 | $60.36 | -1.81% |
| XLRE — Real Estate | $34.80 | $36.26 | 4.20% |
| XLU — Utilities | $60.28 | $60.83 | 0.91% |
Treasury Yield Rates
The 10-Year ended the week at 0.55%, compared to last week’s end of 0.59%
The 2-Year ended the week at 0.11%, compared to last week’s end of 0.14%