Bonds & Stocks
Technology stocks rallied as a rebound in chipmakers carried into Friday, ending a month marked by a steep derating in this year’s most popular trade on an upbeat note. Amazon.com Inc. jumped 10%. The late-week recovery is offering traders a reprieve after worries over lofty valuations pummeled a key gauge of chipmakers in July.
Economy
Two of the Federal Reserve officials who dissented against Wednesday’s decision to hold interest rates steady warned that waiting too long to act against inflation could risk the need for even more aggressive policy moves later. Fed officials voted 9-3 this week to leave their benchmark rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting.
World
China’s factory activity unexpectedly contracted for the first time in five months and construction slumped to the lowest since the start of the pandemic, pointing to a further loss of momentum in the economy after a slowdown last quarter. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slipped to 49.2 in July, below the 50 threshold separating growth from contraction.