Wall Street endured another volatile week as investors balanced the start of second-quarter earnings season against persistent weakness in semiconductor stocks and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. The major indexes traded sharply in both directions throughout the week, with cooling inflation data and strong bank earnings helping fuel a midweek rebound before chip stocks came under renewed pressure. By week's end, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) were all headed for weekly losses.
Earnings to Watch
Second-quarter earnings season is in full swing, with the major banks largely exceeding expectations. Goldman Sachs (GS) stock hit a record high after blowout quarterly results, while strong earnings from UnitedHealth Group (UNH) helped lift the Dow midweek. Elsewhere, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) topped expectations, while a grim second-quarter warning sent IBM (IBM) plunging. To close out the week, Netflix (NFLX) fell sharply despite upbeat results, as investors focused on the streaming giant's outlook.
AI, Chip Names in Focus
Semiconductor stocks remained at the center of Wall Street's attention, with the sector swinging sharply throughout the week. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) shrugged off record earnings as capital expenditures raised concerns, while the U.S. trading debut of South Korean memory-chip giant SK Hynix (SKHY) sparked a selloff across memory and semiconductor equipment stocks. Meanwhile, quantum computing name D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) is approaching a historically bullish technical setup.
Looking Ahead
Though economic data will be relatively light, earnings season accelerates next week, with reports due from Alphabet (GOOGL), American Airlines (AAL), General Motors (GM), Intel (INTC), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Philip Morris (PM), RTX (RTX), Tesla (TSLA), T-Mobile US (TMUS), and Verizon Communications (VZ), and more. In the meantime, see why a sudden sentiment shift could favor S&P 500 bulls and how to examine the Cboe 3-Month Implied Correlation Index (Cor3M).
