Weekly Market Recap | July 06 – July 12

Analyst Highlights

Market breadth remained uneven: Large-cap technology supported headline indexes, while weakness in the Russell 2000 signaled continued pressure on smaller companies.
Energy became the week’s dominant macro driver: Brent and WTI gains revived inflation concerns and pushed short-term Treasury yields higher.
Monetary-policy risks shifted upward: Oil inflation and AI-driven demand strengthened the case for tighter Federal Reserve policy.
AI spending remains structurally strong: Micron, Meta and TSMC developments indicate demand for chips, memory and computing infrastructure remains resilient.
Investor positioning within technology is changing: Apple gained as capital rotated away from higher-risk AI infrastructure names, while Nvidia’s valuation compressed sharply.
Geopolitical fragmentation is affecting capital flows: US-Iran escalation, Gulf tensions and defense realignment are increasingly shaping investment, energy and security decisions.

SK hynix (SKHYL, Nasdaq) — listed on July 10, 2026, offering 177,900,000 shares at $149.00 per share.
Columbus Circle C. (CCCTU, Nasdaq) — listed on July 9, 2026, offering 20,000,000 units at $10.00 each. Shares traded 0.10% below the offer price.
Mercator Acquisition (MRCOU, Nasdaq) — listed on July 9, 2026, offering 15,000,000 units at $10.00 each. Shares declined 0.10%.
Freedom Metals Acquisition (FDMMU, Nasdaq) — listed on July 8, 2026, offering 27,500,000 units at $10.00 each. Shares gained 0.15%.
Bleichroeder Acquisition (BCCQU, Nasdaq) — listed on July 7, 2026, offering 30,000,000 units at $10.00 each. Shares were unchanged after pricing.

S&P 500 closed at 7,575.39, rising 96 points, or 0.50%, for the week.
Russell 1000 closed at 4,125.21, rising 07 points, or 0.29%, for the week.
Russell 2000 closed at 2,977.81, falling 73 points, or 1.05%, for the week.
Russell 3000 closed at 4,307.85, rising 12 points, or 0.24%, for the week.
CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) closed at 03, falling 0.54 points, or 3.47%, for the week.
Dow Jones closed at 52,637.01, falling 90 points, or 0.79%, for the week.
Nasdaq Composite closed at 26,281.61, rising 45 points, or 0.61%, for the week.
Bitcoin closed at $63,758.22, falling $236.80, or 37%, for the week.
Ethereum closed at $1,805.79, rising $8.22, or 46%, for the week.
Solana closed at $76.87, falling $5.05, or 16%, for the week.
XRP closed at $1.0857, falling $0.0581, or 08%, for the week.
Gold closed at $4,104.10, falling $51.00, or 23%, for the week.
Silver closed at $59.81, falling $2.11, or 41%, for the week.
WTI crude closed at $71.41, rising $2.86, or 17%, for the week.
Brent crude closed at $76.01, rising $4.02, or 58%, for the week.

US stocks gained for a second week, while SK Hynix surged 13% after raising $26.5 billion in a record foreign-company US IPO.
Oil jumped as US-Iran strikes escalated tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, lifting Brent above $79 and clouding diplomatic prospects.
Two-year Treasury yields hit their highest since 2025 as rising oil prices strengthened expectations of earlier Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Circle won approval for a US national digital-currency trust bank, expanding USDC custody under federal oversight and sending shares sharply higher.
A widening Saudi-UAE rift is raising concerns that global banks may have to choose sides across $3 trillion in sovereign wealth.
Morgan Stanley expects earnings strength to broaden beyond technology, with median S&P 1500 profit growth exceeding 10%.
Fed official John Williams warned AI-driven demand could keep inflation elevated, potentially forcing monetary policy to respond.

US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes as Tehran targeted Gulf bases, while conflicting Hormuz claims fueled renewed oil-supply fears.
The US demanded Iran publicly confirm the Strait of Hormuz is open to all shipping, warning of consequences for noncompliance.
Moscow endured a second day of mass Ukrainian drone attacks, with over 350 drones targeting the region and three fatalities reported.
Ukraine said it struck two Russian refineries and 13 fuel tankers, intensifying attacks on Moscow’s energy infrastructure and military logistics.
Trump said Ukraine will be allowed to manufacture Patriot missile interceptors, marking a significant shift in his approach toward the war.
The EU is set to let Ukraine use its €60 billion defense loan to purchase British-made weapons.
China rejected the South China Sea arbitration ruling as invalid, while 14 countries reaffirmed support for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Turkey is seeking to transfer its Russian S-400 systems to a third country, hoping to restore access to US-made F-35 jets.

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Work, a GPT-5.6-powered agent designed to handle complex business tasks across documents, spreadsheets, presentations and web apps.
Micron raised planned US investment to $250 billion to expand memory-chip production, strengthen domestic supply chains and create 90,000 jobs.
TSMC’s quarterly sales jumped 36%, reinforcing strong AI-chip demand even as investors questioned high valuations and excess computing capacity.
Nvidia lost roughly $1 trillion in market value, pushing its valuation to pre-AI-boom levels despite rising profit forecasts.
Meta committed another $40 billion to its Louisiana data-center campus, expanding the site toward 5 gigawatts of computing capacity.
Apple added nearly $600 billion in market value as investors rotated out of AI-linked chipmakers and cloud stocks.
Washington is weighing stronger safeguards as US AI labs accuse Chinese firms of using distillation to train rival models.
Apple added nearly $600 billion in market value as investors rotated out of AI-linked chipmakers and cloud stocks.
Chinese AI firm Zhipu plans a $4 billion share sale after its Hong Kong-listed stock surged nearly 1,500%.

👉Keep the conversation going! Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for more insights, delivered straight to your inbox.