OVERVIEW
The Weekend Rip: August 04, 2024

It was another rough week in the markets, with investors racing to protect their portfolios after recession fears kicked into high gear. 😱

Let's recap and prep you for the week ahead. 📝

What Happened?

😳 On Monday, buyers stepped aside ahead of a busy week of earnings and economic events. McDonald’s reported its first comparable sales decline since Q4 2020, causing investors’ sentiment to sour even as prices popped. ON Semiconductor’s sentiment hit one-year highs, and Tilray topped estimates.

😐 On Tuesday, earnings led to a mixed market ahead of the Fed’s decision. Microsoft slipped while AMD ripped, Pinterest shares popped (in a bad way), and Starbucks received treatment similar to McDonald’s after its earnings report.

😮 On Wednesday, Meta’s earnings and Fed commentary added to tech’s upward momentum. Guest author Stock Market Nerd shared his analysis of what he called a “Flawless Quarter” for Meta. The Bank of Japan hiked while the Fed held steady; Nancy Pelosi bought the dip in Nvidia, and Taco Bell parent Yum Brands bet big on AI.

🙃 On Thursday, buyers were battered amid big tech’s results. iPad kids saved Apple’s quarter, but Amazon’s core business slowed again. The Bank of England ended its tightening cycle, and retail bet on a turnaround in Intel, Arm Holdings, and Snap.

😭 On Friday, the unemployment rate ticking up to 4.30% raised recession fears and accelerated the selloff. Markets braced for a “not-so-soft” landing; volatility vaulted the most since the pandemic, and AMC “Apes” were left without answers.

🤩 This week's Stocktwits Top 25 showed mixed performance vs. the indexes.

Here are the closing prices: 

Bullets From The Weekend

💰 Warren Buffett raises cash levels to record $277 billion. Investors raised red flags as they speculated about what Berkshire Hathaway is preparing for. The conglomerate has been a net seller of stocks for seven straight quarters, but that accelerated during the second quarter with it selling more than $75 billion in shares. Additionally, it cut its Apple stake in half, suggesting Buffett and his team aren’t able to find attractive places to put money to work in the current environment. CNBC has more.

🤖 Google takes another AI startup out of the race. Big tech continues to swallow up the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. This time, Google has hired back the AI leadership of Character.AI, which was co-founded by two men who left Google in 2021 due to the company’s bureaucracy. Now, they’re returning to work in Google DeepMind, along with their research team of roughly 30 people. More from The Verge.

🤔 Why some homeowners are giving up their low mortgage rates. An expensive housing market can’t stop young families running out of bedrooms or Baby Boomers who are tired of cleaning an empty house. They plan to refinance if rates drop but aren’t willing to continue waiting to meet their individual needs. First-time homebuyers who can afford it are also jumping on the low inventory of homes for sale as mortgage rates drop below 7%. Axios has more.

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