Monday, July 27th, 2026
Pre-market futures are improving this morning, after closing out last week’s trading on weaker footing. The blue-chip Dow is presently up +580 points, +1.1% and the S&P 500 +60 points, +0.81%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq leads the way +357, +1.26%, while the small-cap Russell 2000 is +2 points at this hour, +0.06%. Tensions in and around Iran cooled over the weekend, bringing down spot oil prices as well.
We also see the latest publicly traded memory chip company this morning: CXMT Corp., formerly ChangXin Memory Technology, is setting records as the newest entrant on the Shanghai STAR exchange. The Chinese AI play rose +466% in its first day of trading, making it the largest semiconductor company in the history of the Shanghai market. Compare this with South Korea’s SK Hynix SKHY, which is up +3.8% today, and Micron Technologies MU, +1% in today’s pre-market.
Durable Goods Orders Mixed for June
Headline Durable Goods Orders for June came in a small fraction of expectations: +0.3% from a consensus estimate of +2%. Technically, this is the third positive print in the last four months, and comes off the lowest month of the year: -4.5% in May. These are preliminary numbers that will smooth out in a couple weeks, but its clear durable goods orders are seeking equilibrium.
Ex-Transportation, its +0.6% reached only a third of the prior month’s upwardly revised +1.8%. Non-Defense, ex-aircraft (a proxy for normal enterprise spending) came in at +0.9%, 20 basis points (bps) higher than projections, and rose half a point on the May revision to +1.9%. Shipments roared ahead +1.9% — the highest tally we’ve seen since 2021.
What to Expect from the Stock Market This Week
Q2 earnings season shifts to a higher gear this week, with “Mag 7” stocks Meta Platforms META and Microsoft MSFT releasing quarterly results Wednesday after the close. Apple AAPL and Amazon AMZN report on Thursday afternoon — and Apple should be interesting, as it has begged off the AI race and thus will not see a considerable hit to free cash flow. Will this make a difference to investors?
Besides these important earnings reports, we’ll see Q2 results for Boeing BA Tuesday morning, with Exxon Mobil XOM and Chevron CVX Friday ahead of the bell. These are but a smidgeon of the more than 900 companies scheduled to report quarterly earnings this week alone.
FOMC Meets This Week, Interest Rate Decision Wednesday
Commencing tomorrow and concluding Wednesday afternoon, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets on monetary policy this week. Odds are strong that the 3.50-3.75% Fed funds rate will remain in place, where it has been all year. Biases had been for a downward move on the Fed’s next policy shift, but in recent months with the Iran war ongoing, high oil prices (Brent crude rose above $100 per barrel last week) are turning the tide in FOMC sentiment toward a rate hike sometime this year.
Questions or comments about this article and/or author? Click here>>
Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"
Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.
This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
The Boeing Company (BA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Apple Inc. (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT): Free Stock Analysis Report
Chevron Corporation (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report
ExxonMobil Holdings Corporation (XOM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU): Free Stock Analysis Report
Meta Platforms, Inc. (META): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).