This Week's Read — July 27–31, 2026
Stocks ripped higher this week as blowout Big Tech earnings overpowered a tense Fed meeting and renewed Middle East oil risk. The S&P 500 gained 2.53% to 7,600.50. The Nasdaq Composite led, up 3.94% to 25,913.90. The Dow rose 1.85% to 53,178.41, and the Russell 2000 added 1.15%.
Microsoft and Amazon delivered the two biggest single-day stock moves this market has ever seen. Microsoft reported fiscal Q4 revenue of $68.9 billion, up 18% year-over-year, with Azure growing 30%. Shares jumped 15.6% on Thursday, adding roughly $450 billion in market value — the largest single-day market-cap gain in stock market history. Amazon followed Friday: AWS revenue accelerated 37% to $42.2 billion, its fastest growth since 2021, and the stock jumped 15.3% to its best day since 2015. Amazon also raised its 2026 capex guidance from $200 billion to roughly $220 billion. Not everyone celebrated. Meta beat on revenue but missed badly on earnings, and free cash flow collapsed 91% to $784 million as AI capex ate nearly all its operating cash — shares fell about 9%. Apple beat estimates too, with iPhone revenue up 22% to a June-quarter record, but slid more than 6% on weak guidance tied to component shortages.
The Fed held rates steady, but not unanimously. The FOMC kept its benchmark at 3.50%-3.75% for a fifth straight meeting on Wednesday, and three policymakers dissented in favor of a hike — a notably hawkish split. Most officials now see the rate ending 2026 between 3.6% and 4.1%, up from a prior 3.25%-3.75% estimate. No CPI, jobs, or Fed-funds data was released this week; the most recent prints still date to June, with the fed funds rate holding at 3.63%.
Oil stayed tense but didn't blow out. Iran's Revolutionary Guard attacked two tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. Central Command struck back at Iranian military assets, pushing Brent crude back above $90 a barrel intraweek. WTI still finished the week up a modest 0.97% to $80.03 — the market shrugged harder than the headlines suggested. Vermont gas prices actually eased against that backdrop, with the statewide average dipping to $4.20 a gallon this week.
Gold added 1.80% to $4,108.80 and the dollar fell 1.38%, while the VIX dropped 15.05% to 15.86 — a sign this week's rally came with genuine relief, not just complacency.
What's next: The next FOMC meeting isn't until September 15-16, so markets get a breather on Fed decisions. Earnings season keeps rolling with Palantir reporting Monday, AMD Tuesday, and Disney and Uber on Wednesday. On the data front, ISM Manufacturing lands Monday, ISM Services and ADP private payrolls hit Wednesday, and the July jobs report — the week's marquee release — is due Friday morning.
Sources: CNBC, Bloomberg, Forbes, GuruFocus, TradingKey, MacRumors, FedRateCalc, TipRanks, Kiplinger, Vermont Business Magazine, and FRED/yfinance market data.
The views expressed here reflect my own read on the week's market activity and are intended for educational purposes only. Nothing in this post constitutes investment advice, legal advice, or a recommendation for any specific security or strategy. Every investor's situation is different — if you'd like to discuss how any of this applies to your own portfolio, I'm always happy to talk.