The Weekend Rip
Happy Weekend!
Markets surged early in the week on AI chip announcements and blockbuster earnings, while the Fed delivered a cautious rate cut midweek. Meta and Chipotle dragged, but Alphabet and MicroStrategy rallied on strong cloud and crypto performance. Microsoft beat but investors held back the praise; Apple missed some iPhone estimates. A tentative U.S.–China trade pact and Amazon’s AWS breakout helped October end green across all major indexes. Happy Halloween and happy weekend!
Let's recap and prep you for the week ahead.
Monday: Qualcomm Joins the AI Chip Race, Dow Climbs Ahead of Fed Week
Markets rose Monday as traders looked ahead to tech earnings and the FOMC decision, with Qualcomm stealing the spotlight by announcing datacenter AI chips to rival Nvidia and AMD. Gold slipped on easing U.S.–China trade tensions, while rare earths fell after Beijing delayed export licensing plans. After the bell, Google and Nextera unveiled a nuclear power revival in Iowa, and Confluent, Avis, and Whirlpool posted mixed earnings results.
Tuesday: Chips Rip, Fed Preps Cut, AI Deals Dominate
Markets climbed Tuesday as Nvidia hit $4.65T and Microsoft crossed $4T on blockbuster AI partnerships: Nvidia with Uber and Lucid, Microsoft with OpenAI. The S&P 500 broke 6,900 ahead of Wednesday’s FOMC decision, with traders pricing in a 25bps rate cut despite limited data from the shutdown. Visa beat earnings, Enphase guided lower, and EA suspended guidance amid a $55B go-private deal.
Wednesday: Rate Cut Lands, Big Tech Stumbles, Google Shines
Markets hit record highs before reversing Wednesday as the Fed cut rates 25bps but signaled caution ahead. Meta plunged 11% on a $15.93B tax hit despite strong revenue, Microsoft beat estimates but fell on Azure growth skepticism, while Alphabet surged 5% after its first-ever $100B quarter. Carvana and Chipotle dropped sharply post-earnings, and traders now brace for Apple, Amazon, and Coinbase reports Thursday.
Thursday: Soybeans Secured, Tech Rebounds, Trade Truce Teased
Markets dipped Thursday as investors digested Mag 7 spending and a tentative U.S.–China trade pact. Trump and Xi agreed to resume rare earth exports and soybean purchases, while Amazon and Apple climbed post-earnings on strong AWS and holiday guidance. Reddit, Coinbase, and MicroStrategy rallied after hours, and Nvidia slipped as chip talks stayed vague.
Friday: Amazon Lifts Tech, Fed Hawks Push Back, October Ends Green
Markets closed higher Friday, capping a strong October with Amazon leading gains after a blowout earnings report and record AWS growth. Apple edged lower on weak China sales, while MicroStrategy continued to surge on a $2.8B crypto-driven profit. Fed officials pushed back on further rate cuts, citing sticky inflation and labor market concerns, as consumer goods makers like Newell Brands warned of tariff-driven cost pressures.
This week's Stocks Top 25 showed outperformance vs. the indexes.
Here are the closing prices:
THE BRIEF
Need a concise summary of what's going on this week? Look no further. Here’s a rundown of this week’s earnings and economic data.
Earnings This Week
Earnings season is chugging along, with over 1517 stocks reporting this week.
Above is a quick summary. Check out the full Stocks earnings calendar for the other names reporting this week.
Economic Calendar
In addition to the above, check out this week's complete list of economic releases.