Weekly Market Commentary

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WEEK OF JUL. 27 THROUGH JUL. 31, 2026

The S&P 500 index rose 1.1% this week as hyperscalers showed the mega spend on the artificial intelligence buildout is being monetized.

The market benchmark ended the week at 7,489.72. The index is now down 0.1% quarter-to-date but up 9.4% year-to-date.

Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon.com (AMZN) rose this week as quarterly results from the tech giants showed revenue growth in areas related to AI products and services, helping calm worries surrounding hundreds of billions of dollars of investments earmarked for the AI buildout.

Microsoft reported triple-digit AI annual recurring revenue growth and an accelerating Azure trajectory into the end of 2026, Dan Ives, global head of technology at Wedbush Securities, said in a note to clients. The software behemoth's quarterly results, which included Azure's full-year revenue surpassing $100 billion for the first time, reinforced the idea that "any knee-jerk reactions to the elevated capex framework represent strong buying opportunities," Ives said.

Shares of Microsoft were up 22% this week.

The consumer discretionary sector in the S&P 500 had the largest percentage gain of the week, up 8.3%, followed by a 5.4% advance in communication services and a 1.2% rise in consumer staples.

Sales at Amazon's cloud computing unit delivered the fastest growth in 18 quarters, helping the e-commerce giant exceed market expectations for Q2 earnings and revenue. Shares jumped 17% this week even as the e-commerce behemoth expanded its capital expenditure by about $20 billion to $220 billion.

A consortium of banks led by Morgan Stanley (MS) is in talks to lend $15 billion to a data-center developer to build a campus and power plant for Anthropic in Texas, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Alphabet's (GOOG), (GOOGL) Google would provide financial guarantees and chips for the project. Shares of Alphabet are up 12% this week.

The three worst-performing S&P 500 sectors this week were utilities, real estate and materials, down 4.2%, 2.2%, and 1.7%, respectively.

C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) said a jury in Texas issued a $604 million advisory verdict against the firm and two other defendants in a lawsuit stemming from a trucking accident involving an independent motor carrier. Shares declined 21% this week.

Edison International (EIX) said Thursday that Southern California Edison believes it is likely its equipment was associated with the ignition of the 2025 Eaton Fire, according to a Thursday quarterly filing. Southern California Edison recorded $1.6 billion in settlement-related losses and said it expects to incur additional material losses related to the fire, per the filing. Shares of Edison slumped 8% this week.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR), Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Caterpillar (CAT), Walt Disney (DIS), SanDisk (SNDK), Uber Technologies (UBER) and Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO) are among the companies reporting their quarterly results next week.

Economic data due next week includes non-farm payrolls, job openings and labor turnover survey, and ISM manufacturing and services purchasing managers' indexes.

Provided by MT Newswires.