Markets Roar: Nvidia’s Meteoric Run, Oil’s Slippery Path & Rate Cut Hopes 📊
S&P hits fresh highs, AI continues to print money, and investors are practically begging the Fed to blink
Welcome to Staten News — where we track tickers like your uncle tracks horse odds. The summer rally’s in full swing, but don’t get too comfy: earnings season is about to toss a grenade into everyone’s forecasts.
📈 Markets Recap: Party in the Index
S&P 500 is up a breezy +1.3% this week, notching fresh all-time highs as traders pour into megacap tech.
Nasdaq leads the charge, up +1.8%, driven by… what else? The AI mania train.
Dow Jones lags slightly, up +0.6%, with more old-school industrials stuck in neutral.
Hot Take: It’s basically a “buy Nvidia, close laptop, go to the beach” market right now.
💥 Top Gainers: Nvidia & AI Buddies Still Printing
Nvidia (NVDA) blew past a $4 trillion valuation, up +6% this week alone. Wall Street’s new favorite meme? “AI is the new electricity, and Nvidia’s the power company.”
AMD (AMD) up +4.2%, thanks to chatter about its next-gen AI chips stealing share in specialized servers.
Super Micro Computer (SMCI) popped +7%, riding the coattails of every hyperscaler panic-buying racks for LLM farms.
Hot Take: At this point, Nvidia’s valuation might hit Mars before SpaceX does.
😬 Biggest Losers: Oil Drillers & Dollar Bulls
WTI crude slid to $72/barrel, down -3.5% this week, as global demand data keeps spooking the patch.
ExxonMobil (XOM) fell -2.1%, while Chevron (CVX) slipped -1.8%.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) eased -0.9%, giving gold a slight lift.
Hot Take: Lower oil is great for your July road trip, but rough if your retirement account’s overweight Texas tea.
🔮 Looking Ahead: Earnings & Fed Flirtations
Next week kicks off with a monster earnings slate. Watch:
JPMorgan (JPM) & Goldman Sachs (GS) to test the financial sector’s resilience.
Netflix (NFLX) to see if password crackdowns turned freeloaders into subscribers.
Tesla (TSLA) always has the chance to implode or explode — there is no middle ground.
And yes, everyone’s eyes are glued to the Fed, hoping for a rate cut by September. Futures markets are pricing in a 65% chance of at least one cut by then. Inflation data dropping Thursday could either lock that in or blow it up.
Final Thoughts:
It’s a summer melt-up with an AI engine strapped to the back. Enjoy the ride — but maybe keep one hand on the eject lever. Because when everyone’s this bullish, Mr. Market loves to humble.
Keep your stops tight, watchlist spicy, and your iced coffee on tap.
— The Bandicoots 📉📈