Markets Hold Breath for Biggest Earnings Week of 2026

Earnings Barrage Begins

Over 140 S&P 500 companies report this week. Palantir kicks things off Monday after the bell. The AI data firm is up more than 200% over the past year. Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Marriott International also report today. Tuesday brings the heaviest industrial read of the quarter. Caterpillar and McDonald's both print at 12:30 ET. Their results will show how global demand and consumer spending are holding up under tariff pressure.

Bears Dig In

Short sellers are not waiting for results to arrive. HTZ short interest hit 84.6% of free float — up 10 points in a week. Borrow availability has dried to zero. Chewy is equally crowded at 82.4% short interest. Options flow tells a similar story across semiconductors. Micron and Sandisk top the negative bets leaderboard. Tesla sits near oversold territory with an RSI of 30.56, down 31% year-to-date, yet bears keep loading puts.

Global Currency Shock

The yen jumped 3% overnight — one of its biggest single-day moves in years. The New York Fed sold euros to buy yen following speculation that Tokyo intervened directly. Currency volatility of this scale typically ripples through equity markets, especially for exporters and Asia-Pacific stocks. South Korean equities surged 18% this month as AI chipmakers rebounded sharply.

Biopharma Gets a Boost

Analysts raised targets on Regeneron and Biogen today. Regeneron's consensus target moved to $832, with 17 buy ratings intact. The upgrades follow broad strength in the drug pipeline space heading into a data-heavy August calendar.