OVERVIEW
The Weekend Rip: July 14, 2024

It was another wild week in the markets, with the latest inflation data causing large-cap volatility and a small-cap breakout. 😵‍💫

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

What Happened?

🤖 On Monday, semiconductors continued their surge led by Advanced Micro Devices. Boeing pled guilty to a criminal fraud charge linked to its 737 MAX crashes. And investors flocked to bond funds, with the asset class raking in nearly $400 billion of inflows during the first half of 2024.

😎 On Tuesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell kept it cool and stuck to the script, explaining that inflation’s progress remains modest as the labor market softens. Silver’s breakout rolled onwards as commercial hedgers (aka the “smart money”) loaded up on precious metals.

🤑 On Wednesday, the major indexes charged higher ahead of the latest inflation data, with semiconductors at the front of the pack. AMD paid $665 million to buy Europe’s biggest private artificial intelligence (AI) lab, Silo AI. A bipartisan group of senators rolled out a proposal to ban Congress members and their related parties from trading individual stocks.

🧊 On Thursday, June’s CPI report came in lower than anticipated, raising rate cut hopes and causing a major rotation from big tech and into small-cap stocks. PepsiCo and ConAgra are the latest consumer brands to signal continued pressure on demand.

🏦 On Friday, buyers spread the love across all market segments, though banks fell as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and others kicked off the latest earnings season.

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

🔥 Certain symbols were on the Stocktwits trending tab for most of the week, including $TSLA, $DJT, $QS, $MAXN, and $KZIA.

Here are the closing prices: 

Bullets From The Weekend

🗞️ Donald Trump survives assassination attempt at his Pennsylvania rally. Despite many questions remaining about how a 20-year-old-man carrying an AR-15-style rifle managed to get close enough to shoot at the 45th President from a rooftop during his campaign rally, Donald Trump assured his supporters that he would push on to the Republican convention and November election. Reuters has more.

❌ The European Union says Elon Musk’s X deceived its users. Regulators’ preliminary view alleges that X has broken several rules regarding dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers. If these early views are confirmed, the social media giant could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual revenue. Meanwhile, Elon Musk says the latest crackdown follows his refusal of “an illegal secret deal” offered by the commission that would allow it to avoid a fine if it “quietly censored speech.” More from CNBC.

🏭 VinFast Auto delays its U.S. EV plant for three years. The Vietnamese electric vehicle (EV) maker is delaying the launch of its $4 billion North Carolina factory until 2028 as it cuts its 2024 global delivery forecast by 20,000 units, citing market uncertainties. High borrowing costs and prices have caused buyers to shift their attention toward cheaper gasoline-electric hybrids, causing many automakers to pivot their near-term strategies. Reuters has more.

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