Weekly Market Recap | July 20 – July 26

Analyst Highlights

Inflation pressure increased: Rising oil prices revived inflation concerns and strengthened expectations that the Federal Reserve may consider further rate increases.
AI spending faced greater scrutiny: Alphabet’s decline showed investors now expect clearer financial returns rather than rewarding infrastructure expansion alone.
Technology remained vulnerable: The Nasdaq underperformed the broader market as concerns grew over elevated AI costs, valuations and uncertain returns.
Leveraged bond trading weakened: Hedge funds reduced Treasury basis-trade exposure by more than $200 billion as narrowing price gaps limited potential returns.
Precious metals strengthened: Gold gained 1.43% and silver rose 3.27%, reflecting demand for protection against inflation and geopolitical uncertainty.
Circular AI financing raised concerns: Nvidia’s potential $750 billion deal pipeline demonstrated the sector’s scale while increasing fears of artificially supported demand.

Market Technology Acquisition Corp. (MTAKU, Nasdaq) — began trading on July 24 after offering 20 million units at $10.00 each, raising approximately $200 million. Units traded 0.30% below the offer price.
Pelican Acquisition II Corporation (PLCIU, Nasdaq) — listed on July 24, offering 7.5 million units at $10.00 each and raising approximately $75 million. Units declined 0.30%.
Scribe Therapeutics (SCTX, Nasdaq) — priced an upsized offering of 8.58 million shares at $15.00 each, raising approximately $128.7 million. Shares surged 44.33% during their first trading session.
B&R Technology Merger Corp. (BRTMU, Nasdaq) — began trading on July 21 after offering 32.5 million units at $10.00 each, raising approximately $325 million. Units finished unchanged from the offer price.
Southern Cross Acquisition I Corp. (NCOOU, Nasdaq) — listed on July 21, offering 10 million units at $10.00 each and raising approximately $100 million.

S&P 500 closed at 7,408.30, falling 34.98 points, or 0.47%, for the week.
Russell 1000 closed at 4,033.45, falling 19.19 points, or 0.47%, for the week.
Russell 2000 closed at 2,940.16, falling 2.27 points, or 0.08%, for the week.
Russell 3000 closed at 4,213.78, falling 19.33 points, or 0.46%, for the week.
CBOE VIX closed at 18.70, rising 0.05 points, or 0.27%, for the week.
Dow Jones closed at 51,711.65, falling 127.61 points, or 0.25%, for the week.
NASDAQ Composite closed at 25,137.69, falling 370.38 points, or 1.45%, for the week.
Bitcoin closed at $65,340.30, rising $110.27, or 0.17%, for the week.
Ethereum closed at $1,953.41, rising $49.65, or 2.61%, for the week.
Solana closed at $76.60, falling $1.19, or 1.53%, for the week.
XRP closed at $1.1117, falling $0.0004, or 0.04%, for the week.
Gold closed at $4,067.60, rising $57.30, or 1.43%, for the week.
Silver closed at $58.66, rising $1.86, or 3.27%, for the week.
WTI Crude closed at $89.31, rising $6.08, or 7.31%, for the week.
Brent Crude closed at $96.78, rising $7.56, or 8.47%, for the week.

Fed officials face growing pressure to raise rates as Middle East tensions, surging oil prices and AI-driven demand revive inflation risks.
The US extended tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on imports from nearly 60 countries, intensifying global trade tensions.
Alphabet fell over 7% as rising AI spending and negative cash flow triggered a 4.8% selloff across the Magnificent Seven.
A supertanker’s U-turn before Bab el-Mandeb showed Houthi threats disrupting Saudi crude shipments to Chinese buyers and increasing shipping risks.
Big Tech may issue $285 billion in debt this year, increasing concentration risk in the investment-grade corporate bond market.
The Trump Trade Index fell 16% since May as the Iran conflict lifted oil, inflation, rates and the dollar.
Beijing launched a coordinated market rescue after tech selloff, aiming to prevent AI and chip weakness from spreading across Chinese stocks.
Hedge funds are unwinding the leveraged Treasury basis trade as shrinking price gaps cut returns, with exposure falling over $200 billion.

The US and Iran extended a pause in strikes for a second night, easing immediate fears of renewed regional escalation.
Iran and Oman opened talks on Strait of Hormuz shipping, focusing on keeping the critical global energy route open.
Houthi claims of missile, drone and tanker attacks on Saudi-linked targets prompted coalition strikes, escalating tensions across Yemen and the Red Sea.
Trump will meet Zelenskyy next week as Washington seeks to revive diplomacy and advance negotiations aimed at ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The US-Saudi nuclear deal could reshape Saudi energy policy while raising proliferation concerns and requiring congressional approval.
Three China-Philippines clashes near Scarborough Shoal escalated South China Sea tensions as US naval activity increased.
India pressed China for wider market access and a smaller trade imbalance as both countries sought to stabilize relations after years of border tensions.
Trump’s tariffs may outlast his presidency as their negotiating leverage and projected $1.7 trillion revenue make full repeal politically and fiscally difficult.

OpenAI plans to invest over $30 billion in a Georgia data center, securing 3.2 gigawatts for AI expansion.
AMD unveiled new data-center processors, AI accelerators and server systems, targeting a $2 trillion market by 2030.
Alphabet’s future spending commitments surged to $811 billion, reflecting rapid expansion of chips, data centers and energy for AI infrastructure.
Nvidia’s AI infrastructure deals may exceed $750 billion, reviving concerns that circular financing could inflate demand, valuations and systemic risk.
CXMT raised 66.6 billion yuan in a near-record IPO, positioning the Chinese memory-chipmaker for a potentially historic market debut.

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