Up for a challenge? Test your knowledge on the biggest events in the investing world over the past week. Take the latest Seeking Alpha News Quiz and see how you stack up against the competition.
Wall Street Breakfast
Up for a challenge? Test your knowledge on the biggest events in the investing world over the past week. Take the latest Seeking Alpha News Quiz and see how you stack up against the competition.
Top News
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Wall Street ended the week higher as the Fed held rates steady while Amazon surged and Apple dropped after key earnings, and Treasuries shot higher as the bond market sell-off continued.

The Federal Reserve held its key interest rate at 3.50%-3.75% for the fifth straight meeting on Wednesday. Also, three FOMC members dissented, all preferring a 25-basis-point hike.

Amazon (AMZN) rallied after delivering a strong second-quarter earnings report, with the stock climbing over +15% on Friday. At the other end, Apple (AAPL) shares dropped more than -7% after its earnings print.

The bond market sell-off intensified this week as Treasuries popped after the Federal Reserve’s latest policy decision. The longer-end U.S. 30-year Treasury yield (US30Y) climbed to its highest recorded level in nearly two decades as a result.

For the week, the S&P (SP500) advanced +1.05%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (COMP:IND) climbed +1.59%, and the blue-chip Dow (DJI) added +1.04%. Read a preview of next week's major events in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.

Global
Seeking Alpha
Europe has faced hotter than usual temperatures this summer, with countries experiencing heatwaves, followed by raging wildfires in France and Spain. Last month was the hottest June recorded for Western Europe, and that was after a particularly intense heatwave in May. This has led to billions of euros in GDP losses for certain countries - with more expected in the coming years as extreme heat becomes the norm. Read more.
Seeking Alpha's Calls Of The Week
Buying SK Hynix's (SKHY) Drop Is The Easiest Call Ever.

Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI): A 60% Reset Opportunity.

PureCycle Technologies (PCT) Is Firing On All Cylinders.

Intel (INTC) Beat Its Own Guidance For The Seventh Time.

PDI's Yield Is Not Sustainable, But It Deserves An Upgrade.

PayPal's (PYPL) Takeover Chatter Is A Selling Opportunity.

Ares Capital (ARCC) Q2: My Downgrade Is Aging Well.

CoreCivic (CXW): It's Time To Take Profits And De-Risk.

Downgrading Capricor (CAPR) As FDA Concerns Mount.

Three Reasons To Sell This High-Yield Bond ETF (HYG).
Weekly Movement

U.S. Indices
Dow +1.0% to 52,485. S&P 500 +1.1% to 7,490. Nasdaq +1.6% to 25,374. Russell 2000 +0.1% to 2,932. CBOE Volatility Index -13.9% to 15.99.

S&P 500 Sectors
Consumer Staples +1.2%. Utilities -4.2%. Financials +1.1%. Telecom +5.4%. Healthcare flat. Industrials -1.6%. Information Technology -0.1%. Materials -1.7%. Energy -0.2%. Consumer Discretionary +8.3%. Real Estate -2.5%.

World Indices
London +1.2% to 10,868. France +1.6% to 8,510. Germany +2.1% to 25,629. Japan -0.4% to 64,362. China +0.5% to 3,832. Hong Kong +3.7% to 25,884. India +2.7% to 78,095.

Commodities and Bonds
Crude Oil WTI +1.9% to $86.8/bbl. Gold +0.7% to $4,098.6/oz. Natural Gas -2% to 2.831. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 4.745.

Forex and Cryptos
EUR/USD +1.41%. USD/JPY -3.83%. GBP/USD +1.19%. Bitcoin -2.1%. Litecoin -4.3%. Ethereum -0.3%. XRP -3%.

Top S&P 500 Gainers
Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) +22%. Microsoft (MSFT) +22%. Garmin (GRMN) +21%. Workday (WDAY) +18%. Charter Communications (CHTR) +18%.

Top S&P 500 Losers
Lennox International (LII) -23%. C.H. Robinson Worldwide (CHRW) -21%. Vertiv Holdings (VRT) -17%. Sandisk (SNDK) -15%. NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXPI) 15%.

Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section.

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