Wall Street Breakfast July 25: What Moved Markets This Week

What Moved Markets This Week (WMMTW) is a weekly podcast with a panel of Seeking Alpha editors.Hosted by Nathaniel E. Baker, Contributing Editor, and featuring:Aaron Task, VP Contributor Content and co-host Seeking Alpha's Alpha Trader podcast;Bradley Olesen, VP News;Stephen Alpher, Managing Editor News, co-host Alpha Trader.Watch the Alpha TALKS video of this podcast.(Spotify users can skip to individual segment sdirectly by clicking on the timestamps below)Big Picture (0:52)It was not a sleepy summer type of week. The S&P 500 topped its June 8 post-COVID high on Monday, breaking out of a trading range and making a new five-month high on Wednesday. A large selloff followed on Thursday after initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose. U.S.-China tensions emerged, with U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo piling on some powerful rhetoric that spooked markets.Winners & Losers (4:56)Correlations are starting to break down as earnings season ramps up. It's no longer all about "virus on/virus off." Company- and industry-specific events were bigger drivers of share prices. Microsoft (MSFT) sold off after earnings. Apple (AAPL) fell due to antitrust concerns. Shares of casino companies and cruise lines were among the biggest losers of the week, including Wynn Resorts (WYNN), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCLH), and Royal Caribbean (RCL).Homebuilders were among the winners (6:29): PulteGroup (PHM), NVR (NVR), and TRI Pointe Group (TPH) rallied after new home sales blew out expectations. The SPDR Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is up 3.4% this week at the time of this writing. That gauge has outperformed the S&P 500 over the last week, month, six months, year-to-date, and year.Silver prices had a massive rally, with the iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) up 18% this week. The SPDR Gold ETF (GLD) gained 5%.Corporate Highlights (8:28)Some interesting news out of the Discover Financial Services earnings call: Data for chargeoffs and delinquencies is holding up, but is expected to increase in the fourth quarter and persist through 2021. American Express earnings reported improved spending in May and June after bottoming in April.Stimulus payments have helped, but with the "fiscal cliff" due to expire on July 31 there is a lot of uncertainty.Seeking Alpha Articles & News Coverage That Caught Our Eye This Week (14:28):Nat: These 9 Silver Miners Are A Basket Of Opportunity, by Harrison Schwartz;Stephen: Bill Ackman's blank check company raises $4B - becomes largest in the sector;Bradley: Tesla (TSLA) coverage;Aaron: Sentiment Speaks: If You Own Gold, Look Out Below, by Avi Gilburt and Tesla: Excuse Me, 1999 Is Calling, by Louis Stevens.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices