Earnings Day Dominates as Fed and Chip Stocks Steal the Spotlight

The Big Picture

Friday, July 31 marks one of the heaviest earnings days of the season. Over 170 S&P 500 companies report this week. ExxonMobil and Chevron headlined the morning as oil majors face pressure from weaker crude. AbbVie updated investors on Skyrizi and Rinvoq with a fresh analyst target of $268.86. Eaton — a key AI infrastructure play — also reported. Power management demand tied to data centres is the metric everyone watched.

Fed Chair Warsh Makes Waves

The New York Times reported that Fed Chair Warsh is considering reducing the frequency of Fed policy meetings. That is a significant structural shift. Markets will watch whether fewer meetings means slower responses to economic data. Bonds and rate-sensitive stocks saw immediate moves on the news.

Chips Rebound, Korea Soars

South Korean stocks surged 18% as investors piled back into AI-linked names after a brutal stretch. The chipmaker rebound on Wall Street helped carry the move. Short interest in the uranium ETF URA jumped 29% in one week — a sign of growing doubt about nuclear energy demand despite the broader tech tailwind.

M&A and Corporate Moves

Chipmaker AMBA attracted attention after reports that NXPI is in talks to acquire the AI chip designer for around $3.3 billion. Options activity surged. Warner Music Group saw its CFO and COO step down with immediate effect, an abrupt leadership change that caught the market off-guard.

Short Sellers Stay Aggressive

Hertz and Chewy both sit above 82% SI of free float, up roughly 10 points week-on-week. Zero borrow availability on HTZ signals an extremely crowded trade. On the buy side, Goosehead Insurance GSHD saw over $8.6M in insider purchases, a cluster of buying from a board-level 10% owner.