Stock Market Weekly Review “Navigating Tariffs, Earnings, and Economic Data”
Description
📌 Weekly Highlights
* 🇺🇸 Trade Tensions: New U.S. tariffs spark global reactions
* 📊 Earnings Kickoff: Q2 reports begin strong
* 🏠 Economic Data: Inflation, housing, sentiment updates
* 🏦 Fed Focus: Market eyes policy signals
* 🤖 Sector Strength: Tech & crypto remain resilient
🚨 Event 1 – Trade Tensions
What Happened
* July 14: 30% tariffs on EU & Mexico imports
* 50% copper tariff extended earlier
Market Impact
* 📉 Monday dip across sectors
* ⚙️ Agriculture & manufacturing exposed
* 📈 Recovery later in week as focus shifted
💹 Event 2 – Earnings Season Begins
Key Results
* Fastenal, JPMorgan: Beat expectations
* Netflix: Beat but fell on inflated expectations
* Schwab & Chevron: Strong results + acquisitions
Market Impact
* Major driver of gains
* S&P 500 & Nasdaq hit record highs
* Q2 earnings growth revised from 4% → 10%
📈 Event 3 – Economic Data
What Happened
* CPI in line with forecasts
* Housing starts rebound
* Consumer sentiment up to 61.8
* Inflation expectations down to 4.4%
Market Impact
* 📊 Stability in inflation calms Fed fears
* 🏠 Positive housing data lifts confidence
* 💼 “Risk-on” mood builds end-of-week momentum
💰 Event 4 – Fed Policy Watch
Ongoing Trends
* Rate cut hopes remain
* Tariff-related inflation seen as temporary
Market Impact
* 🎯 Uncertainty keeps yields range-bound (4%–4.5%)
* 🧩 Anticipated easing supports equities
🤖 Sector Spotlight – Tech & Crypto
Highlights
* Nasdaq & Bitcoin hit highs
* Nvidia dips slightly post-$4T
* Palantir & Autodesk jump
Market Impact
* 🚀 AI and crypto momentum drives investor interest
* 💡 Key contributors to market strength
📊 Overall Performance
* 📈 S&P & Nasdaq: New highs
* ⚖️ Dow: Slight dip despite intraday volatility
* 🧭 Main drivers: Earnings & economic resilience offset tariffs
This week’s markets were a rollercoaster driven by new tariff announcements, corporate earnings, and evolving monetary policy signals. Let’s dive into what happened, how major indices reacted, and how I traded it — including updates on copper, AMD, NVIDIA, and more.
🔥 Key Market Drivers
🇺🇸 Trump Announces New Tariffs
* 30% tariffs announced on imports from EU and Mexico
* Follows earlier 50% copper tariffs
* Impact: Initially sent markets lower, copper soared
* Personal Trade: I’m shorting copper — but trend remains dangerously bullish short-term
📉 Market Reaction & Recovery
Despite the tariff shock:
* Dow, S&P 500, NASDAQ opened lower but rebounded midweek
* NASDAQ hit all-time highs, optimism fueled by earnings
💼 Q2 Earnings Season Kicks Off
🟢 Strong Performers:
* Fastenal (FAST): Beat expectations
* JPMorgan Chase (JPM): Strong numbers, flat stock reaction
* Netflix (NFLX): Beat on earnings, but declined due to high expectations
* Charles Schwab (SCHW): Stock rallied on positive results
* Chevron (CVX): Gained on acquisition but later turned down
🔎 Energy Sector Overview:
* Exxon fell -3.48%
* Sector dragged down by majors despite green performance elsewhere
📈 Technical Outlook
* S&P 500 reached new all-time highs midweek, but closed red on Friday
* Watching 20-day MA for short-term support
* If that breaks, 50-day MA is key dip-buy zone
🧾 Economic Data Highlights
IndicatorReport DateResult🧮 CPI (Inflation)TuesdayIn line with expectations🏠 Housing StartsFridayRebounded in June🎓 Michigan SentimentFridayConfidence rising, inflation expectations down to 4.4%
🏦 Monetary Policy:
* Fed expected to cut rates twice by year-end
* Powell under pressure from Trump
* Inflation vs growth remains a tightrope walk
💻 Tech & Crypto Overview
* NASDAQ hits new highs 📈
* Bitcoin holds strong
* Breakout started July 10th
* Short-term pullback possible to 20-day MA
* Target: $150K by 2026 (long-term)
💼 My Weekly Trades
✅ Profitable Trades:
StockNet ProfitNotesAutodesk$91Closed early; could have earned moreNVIDIA$16Exited too earlyAMDLarge UnrealizedWatching for pullback to reenter
❌ Loss Trades:
StockNet LossNotesLockheed MartinSmallAvoided bigger lossExxon-$114Exited on sell signalXLF (Financial ETF)MinorWaiting for dip to re-enter
📈 Total July Profit (So Far): €277.94 = $322 USD
🧠 Final Thoughts
Despite geopolitical noise, markets remain bullish on strong earnings and muted inflation data. I’m closely watching copper and AMD for new entries, and I expect volatility to remain high into August.
📝 Conclusion
* 🔀 Mixed signals: Trade worries vs. strong fundamentals
* 📢 Earnings as key catalyst
* 🛣️ Outlook: Eyes on future earnings, Fed, and trade updates
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