The Nasdaq, the Dow, and S&P 500 Index all advanced, while the Russell 2000 Index was little changed, in a week characterized by sharp swings tied to the Fed’s policy meeting, the ongoing U.S.-Iran war, and volatility in AI-related shares. Consumer discretionary led the S&P 500 sectors—supported by a late-week rally in Amazon shares. Concerns about the sustainability of heavy AI investments continued early in the week, with many AI-related shares coming under pressure amid questions about elevated capex, circular financing, and rising competition. However, sentiment reversed sharply on Thursday after Microsoft reported stronger-than-expected growth in its Azure cloud business and issued an encouraging outlook, helping support a broad rebound in recently weak tech stocks. The Fed left the rate target range unchanged. However, three policymakers dissented, voting instead to raise rates.

AI investment is now the consensus explanation for a resilient 2026 US economy, and the scale remains striking.

From tightening oil chokepoints to mounting AI-related debt and a widening credit-market divide, energy, capital and geopolitics are telling a single story of scarcity and strain. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

U.S. equities ended mostly lower, pressured by doubts over the payoff from heavy AI capex and a sharp jump in oil prices. The Nasdaq lagged (-2.13%) while the Dow, S&P 500, and Russell 2000 fell more modestly. Corproate earnings dominated a thin macro week, with 86 S&P 500 names reporting. Alphabet and Tesla both sold off on elevated capex and softer cash flow reinforcing the broader unease about big tech's AI spending. On the geopolitical side, stalled ceasefire efforts in the Middle East sent brent oil to $100. Energy shares benefited; travel and consumer names suffered. The spike in oil prices revived inflation concerns, pushing Treasury yields up and nudging market pricing toward a possible Fed hike.

Andy Burnham was invited by King Charles III to form a government on Monday, July 20, becoming Britain's 59th Prime Minister...

Meanwhile, Wall Street's long-term earnings expectations for the S&P 500 are now at record levels. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

US stocks sold off on, led by chips. The S&P 500 fell 1.6% on the week, the Nasdaq 2.9% and the Dow 0.9%. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) dropped almost 9%, its third weekly decline in four weeks, and the SOX sits roughly 18–20% below its June highs. Among the reasons, Beijing-based Moonshot AI's Kimi K3, a 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight model that reportedly matched or outperformed several leading US models, trailing only Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 and OpenAI's GPT-5.6. Investors read it as a second "DeepSeek moment," reviving doubts about US AI capex and chip valuations. The Tech rout spread across Asia with both Japan and Korea momentum unwinding.

Meanwhile, corporate leadership is evolving rapidly: only 135 of the S&P 500 constituents from 1996 are still in the index today, while the EU goods trade deficit with China is close to a record €376bn. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.

Equities ended a volatile week higher, with indices clawing back losses from the collapsed Iran ceasefire. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both notched weekly gains of more than 1%; the Dow slipped roughly 0.5% on the week. Semiconductors again led. Meta jumped about 15%, its best week since early 2024. Friday's marquee event was SK Hynix's Nasdaq debut, which opened around 14% above its $149 ADR price after a seven-times-oversubscribed, $26.5bn offering. Europe was subdued, with the Stoxx 600 near flat. The 10-year Treasury yield settled around 4.55%, easing modestly by the end of the week as oil retreated. June Fed minutes showed only a few members favoring a hike, but markets still price at least one increase by year-end — a hawkish tilt reinforced by AI-driven demand concerns.

Meanwhile, Trump’s personal crypto earnings in 2025 topped the combined profits of every publicly listed US crypto company. Each week, the Syz investment team takes you through the last seven days in seven charts.