Monday, July 27, 2026

Wall Street saw a mixed start to the week on Monday as a sharp plunge in oil prices shifted market leadership toward blue chips and small caps. The Dow Jones gained 0.51% to finish at 52,210.08, and the Russell 2000 climbed 0.62% to 2,948.035, while the S&P 500 ended virtually flat at +0.02% (7,413.18). The tech-heavy Nasdaq slipped 0.18% to 24,932.082 as investors trimmed semiconductor positions ahead of a massive earnings week, keeping the VIX slightly elevated at 18.67 (+0.48%).

Sectors in focus:

• Energy plunged, retail soared: A weekend announcement pausing hostilities between the U.S. and Iran triggered a massive -8.21% drop in WTI Crude to 81.98. This hammered energy-related laggards like Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas (-3.80%) and Drilling Oil & Gas Wells (-3.65%), while the lower energy costs helped Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses lead all industries with a 4.83% surge.
• Tech and Software diverged: Services-Prepackaged Software jumped 4.46% on the back of SAP's strong Q2 results (+7.4%). Conversely, Computer Storage Devices lagged (-3.71%) as Nvidia dropped 5% to $196.56 amid Chinese competition fears and pre-earnings profit-taking.
• Blue-chip strength: Falling oil and lower Treasury yields (with the 10-year falling to 4.65%) boosted sentiment for broader equities, lifting defense industries like Guided Missiles & Space Vehicles & Parts (+3.70%, aided by RTX Corp's 2.6% gain). Safe-haven Gold also ticked up 0.19% to 4,078.7.

On the radar:

• Jul 28: Consumer Confidence, Case-Shiller Home Price Index, and earnings from Coca-Cola and UPS.
• Jul 29: The FOMC interest rate decision and press conference with Chair Kevin Warsh, plus tech earnings from Microsoft and Meta.
• Jul 30: Advance Q2 GDP (estimated at 2.3%), June PCE inflation data, and heavyweight results from Apple and Amazon.
• Jul 31: Employment Cost Index (ECI) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) policy decision.