Seven Takeaways From a Dizzying Week For Markets

Last week was one for the ages in terms of the number and magnitude of events and data points for investors to digest. A Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting, the monthly jobs report, and the peak week of earnings season would be enough to qualify as a busy week. But add in the U.S.-China negotiations, the August 1 tariff deadline, the U.S. Treasury Department quarterly refunding announcement, and the Fed’s preferred inflation metric, and last week gave investors as much to digest as any week in recent memory.

Here we share seven takeaways for investors based on last week’s news:

#1: Stage is Set for September Rate Cut from the Federal Reserve
Two committee members wanted to cut rates by a quarter point, but the majority prevailed as the Committee made no changes to the federal funds target rate.

#2: The U.S. Economy Is Clearly Slowing
The economy temporarily rebounded in the second quarter as businesses imported less than they did in the first. But with people spending less and job markets slowing it might be an indication of something else.

#3: The S&P 500 Has More Earnings Power Than We Thought
Strong tech earnings are driving S&P 500 profits up more than 10% this season.

#4: The Artificial Intelligence Dream is Alive
Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet are all pouring billions into AI and they plan to spend even more in 2026 to keep the momentum going.

#5: Trade and Tariff Risk Lingers
Several countries that failed to reach a trade agreement have been assigned higher tariff rates than the original rate and the apparent new baseline rate of 15%.

#6: Treasury Will Continue to Rely on T-Bill Issuance
Weak job data pushed Treasury yields down, and the Treasury confirmed it will keep issuing more short-term debt instead of long-term bonds.

#7: Technical Analysis Suggests the S&P 500 May Be Due for a Pullback
Volatility came back on cue last week as the S&P 500 fell close to 2% on Friday, ending a 32-trading-day streak without a 1% decline.

After a dizzying week, the dog days of August arrived. Click here to read the full breakdown from LPL.

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