OP Wire 7/30 (OP – Lite)

Fed Starts Policy-Setting Meeting

The Federal Reserve kicks off its July policy meeting today, with investors keenly watching for any indications of a September rate cut. The central bank is expected to maintain its benchmark overnight interest rate in the 5.25%-5.50% range, continuing its stance since last July.

Investors will scrutinize the policy guidance and Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s statements for hints about future rate cuts. While Fed officials have emphasized the need for more evidence of inflation returning to 2% before cutting rates, Powell hinted that the central bank might act before reaching this target. Futures markets are betting on a quarter-point cut in September and have priced in up to 66 basis points of easing by the end of the year.

Futures Edge Higher with Corporate Results in Focus

U.S. stock futures inched higher on Tuesday as the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting begins, and key corporate earnings loom.

Notable earnings reports include Microsoft (MSFT) post-market, and Merck (MRK), Pfizer (PFE), PayPal (PYPL), Procter & Gamble (PG), Starbucks (SBUX), and AMD (AMD) throughout the day. So far, over 40% of S&P 500 companies have reported, with 79% exceeding Wall Street expectations according to LSEG.

Microsoft’s Azure Sales in Spotlight

Microsoft (MSFT) will release its quarterly results after the close, kicking off a series of tech earnings that includes Meta (META) on Wednesday and Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN) on Thursday. Investors are particularly interested in the performance of Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing business, which is crucial to justifying the heavy investments in AI infrastructure.

Azure’s growth is expected to stay steady at around 31% quarter-over-quarter, while capital spending is projected to surge by 53% year-over-year to $13.64 billion.

BP Lifts Its Dividend After Q2 Results

BP (BP) posted strong second-quarter results, beating profit forecasts and raising its dividend by 10%. The energy giant reported an underlying profit of $2.76 billion, up from $2.59 billion a year ago, and announced a $1.75 billion share buyback. The company’s cash flow of $8.1 billion enabled it to reduce net debt to $22.6 billion.

BP shares rose 2.5% to £4.65 in early trading, despite trading largely flat year-to-date.

Crude Prices Remain Weak

Crude prices stabilized near two-month lows amid ongoing concerns over demand in China, the world’s largest crude importer. By 04:00 ET, U.S. crude futures (WTI) edged up 0.1% to $75.88 a barrel, while Brent also rose 0.1% to $79.09 a barrel.

Traders seemed to discount the risk of escalating conflict in the Middle East after Israeli officials indicated they were not seeking all-out war with Lebanon. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets later this week to discuss output levels, with recent weaknesses likely to prompt the cartel to downplay any production cuts.

Pro Tip

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There have been many new folks that have joined OP over the last two weeks because of the difficult market and discord gambles not working. Each of you have been emailed a welcome email with very important instructions yet NONE of you have replied as instructed with your goals and past results. If you are not willing to listen or follow then there is no point in being here – you will just lose our gains on your original bad habits and lack of foundation. Stop scamming yourself by taking short cuts or not caring. Make today the day you commit to excellence. Ask chat what difference it makes. See you all in chat later with the news and upgrades/downgrades plus any scalps I plan to play as the market continues to stay range bound.

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