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| This Week's Gainers & Losers |
Up: Okta +23.01%: The identity management software company reported quarterly results that benefited from new cybersecurity needs, particularly as artificial intelligence agents become more widespread. Salesforce +22.39%: The customer relationship management software company reported results and guidance above expectations, supported by the growth of its artificial intelligence business and a $2.6 billion gain on its stake in Anthropic. CrowdStrike +13.78%: As a major cybersecurity player, CrowdStrike is benefiting from rising demand linked to the development of AI. The company reported second-quarter earnings and revenue above expectations. Synopsys +11.24%: The company behind chip-design software is benefiting from the AI investment boom. It reported strong quarterly results and raised its full-year revenue and profit forecasts while easing concerns about disruption in the software industry. Strategy +6.76%: Shares in the company with the world's largest corporate Bitcoin treasury benefited from the cryptocurrency's rebound, which followed tensions in the US bond market and growing concerns about the economy. Dick's Sporting Goods -26.27%: The sporting goods retailer was hurt by second-quarter earnings estimate cuts, with UBS citing excess inventory, aggressive discounting, and expected losses at Foot Locker as the main sources of pressure. The bank also described the sporting goods market as structurally challenging. Dycom -25.09%: The telecommunications network services provider reported quarterly results above expectations on Wednesday, with revenue of $2.01 billion versus the $1.98 billion forecast. Investors nevertheless punished the stock over disappointing third-quarter guidance, which called for adjusted EPS of between $4.33 and $4.79. A $150 million share buyback program approved at the same time failed to reassure the market. Everpure -13.96%: Shares in the data-storage solutions provider plunged despite solid quarterly results, including revenue of $1.19 billion, adjusted EPS of $0.70, and guidance raised well above consensus expectations. Investors focused instead on margin compression and negative free cash flow during the period, which they viewed as incompatible with the stock's still-demanding valuation. |
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| Commodities |
Oil ended a three-week rally, although prices remain far from levels that would ease inflationary pressure. Brent is trading at around $89, down 5% for the week but still up 45% since the beginning of the year. The main driver is both geopolitical and structural: negotiations between the Trump administration and Caracas over a US stake in Venezuelan oil fields weighed heavily on prices. However, the continuing conflict in the Persian Gulf limited the decline in crude. Among metals, gold remained relatively stable after its recent surge, trading at around $4,600 an ounce. In industrial metals, copper gained 0.4% to $6.60 per pound. It is on track for an eighth consecutive weekly advance, driven by heavy withdrawals from London Metal Exchange warehouses that are fueling concerns about the physical availability of the metal. Wheat dominated agricultural commodity news this week, supported by a combination of geopolitical tensions along export routes and mixed supply signals. Wheat reached its highest level in several years, propelled by disruptions to Black Sea exports. A series of retaliatory attacks brought grain loading at Russian and Ukrainian ports almost to a complete standstill, reviving concerns about global supplies. The rally also spread to corn. |
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| Macroeconomics |
Macro: After keeping investors guessing since the beginning of his term, Kevin Warsh faced high expectations ahead of his first major appearance at Jackson Hole. In his speech, he indicated that the Fed might not be finished fighting inflation, saying that financial conditions did not appear restrictive and that the latest inflation figures, despite being fairly reassuring, had not fully convinced him that inflation would return to 2%. Warsh therefore opened the door to a rate hike in the coming months. Investors immediately revised their bets for the Fed's next meeting. According to the CME FedWatch tool, there is now a 50% chance that the Fed will raise rates in September. Crypto: After jumping 23% last week, Bitcoin (BTC) has gained another 2% since Monday. BTC has risen from $62,000 to nearly $80,000 in two weeks, providing some relief to crypto investors after a prolonged slump that began in October 2025, during which Bitcoin fell from $126,000 to $60,000. The rally was fueled in part by the US Treasury's announcement that, starting September 9, it will double the maximum size of certain long-term bond buybacks. The measure temporarily pushed some bond yields lower, weakened the US dollar, and revived demand for liquidity-sensitive assets such as Bitcoin. The move was also strongly supported by spot Bitcoin ETFs, which recorded more than $3 billion in net inflows over two weeks, lifting their total assets from $73 billion to $100 billion during the period. The rally also spread to other major cryptocurrencies: Ether (ETH) surged 33% over two weeks to $2,500, Solana (SOL) climbed 40% to around $105, and BNB gained 17% to $704. |
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| Things to read this week | ||||||
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*The weekly movements of indexes and stocks displayed on the dashboard are related to the period ranging from the open on Monday to the sending time of this newsletter on Friday. The weekly movements of commodities, precious metals and currencies displayed on the dashboard are related to a 7-day rolling period from Friday to Friday, until the sending time of this newsletter. These assets continue to quote on weekends. |
