The Fed Decides

The Fed and Big Tech are about to test how much optimism is already priced into the market.

Author

Josh Banuelos
July 29, 2026

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Sip and Swing: UpSlide Happy Hour

Market Snapshot

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Market News

Markets Pause as Investors Await Fed Decision and Big Tech Earnings

Stocks finished Tuesday with a mixed performance as investors took a cautious approach ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting and a wave of major earnings reports. The S&P 500 finished little changed, while the Nasdaq slipped as semiconductor stocks remained under pressure. Meanwhile, the Dow outperformed, helped by gains in industrial and defensive companies. Investors also welcomed another decline in oil prices, easing concerns that higher energy costs could reignite inflation. Rather than making big moves, markets spent the day waiting for clearer direction from the Fed and several of the market's largest companies.

Attention is now shifting to earnings from Microsoft, Meta, Apple, and Amazon, which are expected to provide a better picture of whether AI spending continues to translate into stronger business results. Investors are also watching Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement for clues about when interest rate cuts could begin. While recent inflation data has improved, Fed officials have continued to signal they want more evidence before changing policy. For now, the market remains in a holding pattern, with investors balancing encouraging economic data against uncertainty surrounding corporate earnings and monetary policy.

Peel Take: The market feels like it's in "wait-and-see" mode. Investors have already priced in a lot of good news this year, so the next few days will likely come down to whether Big Tech can justify those expectations and whether the Fed sounds any more confident that inflation is under control. If earnings continue to beat expectations and the Fed keeps the door open for future rate cuts, stocks could have room to move higher. But with so much optimism already priced in, even a few disappointing headlines could quickly change the mood.

What's Ripe

Boeing Co (BA) 4.76% 

  • Shares rose after the aerospace giant reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter revenue, driven by increased aircraft deliveries and improving commercial demand.

  • Investors were encouraged that Boeing continues to make progress on production and cash flow despite posting a quarterly loss.

  • Peel Take: Boeing didn't need a perfect quarter, it just needed to show it's moving in the right direction. Investors are focusing less on short-term losses and more on whether the company can keep increasing deliveries and generating cash.

Visa (V) 1.12% 

  • Shares gained after the company announced AI-driven efficiency initiatives, including workforce reductions aimed at lowering costs.

  • Investors also looked ahead to Visa's earnings report, expecting consumer spending to remain relatively healthy.

  • Peel Take: Cost-cutting is becoming just as important as revenue growth. Investors like seeing companies use AI to improve efficiency, especially if it helps protect profit margins in a slower economic environment.

What's Rotten

Micron Technology Inc 8.85%

  • Micron fell along with the broader semiconductor sector as investors continued rotating out of AI chip stocks ahead of several major tech earnings reports.

  • Concerns that AI valuations have become stretched also weighed on chipmakers across the board.

  • Peel Take: This looks more like investors taking profits than abandoning AI altogether. Expectations for chip companies have become extremely high, so traders are reducing risk before hearing from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta later this week.

SanDisk (SNDK) 14.25%

  • Shares declined as semiconductor stocks remained under pressure during another weak day for the sector.

  • The selloff reflected broader concerns about AI-related spending and rich valuations rather than company-specific news.

  • Peel Take: Sometimes good companies get pulled down simply because they're in the wrong sector at the wrong time. Until investors gain more confidence from this week's Big Tech earnings, chip stocks may continue to see choppy trading.

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Banana Brain Teaser

Previous

A company’s revenue increases by 20%, but its profit margin falls from 25% to 20%. Compared with the previous period, by approximately what percentage does the company’s total profit change?

Answer: - 4%

Today

An investor buys a bond for $950. Over the next year, the bond pays $50 in interest and is then sold for $980. Approximately what was the investor’s total return for the year?

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The big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting.

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Happy Investing,
Chris, Elie, Mitchell, Fernanda, Nick, & Patrick