Market snapshot, not real-time
S&P 500 (SPY) $748.62 +0.88% Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) $708.90 +1.85% Dow (DIA) $522.55 +0.89% Russell 2000 (IWM) $295.82 +1.20% 10-Year Treasury (IEF) $93.32 −0.23% Crude Oil (USO) $128.37 +2.28% Gold (GLD) $373.85 +1.70% US Dollar Index (UUP) $28.45 +0.23% Volatility (VXX) $21.29 −3.77% Semiconductors (SMH) $583.24 +4.37% Silver (SLV) $53.36 +4.67% Emerging Markets (EEM) $65.45 +2.97% Bitcoin (BTC) $66,470.13 +1.90% Ethereum (ETH) $1,922.88 +1.00% S&P 500 (SPY) $748.62 +0.88% Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) $708.90 +1.85% Dow (DIA) $522.55 +0.89% Russell 2000 (IWM) $295.82 +1.20% 10-Year Treasury (IEF) $93.32 −0.23% Crude Oil (USO) $128.37 +2.28% Gold (GLD) $373.85 +1.70% US Dollar Index (UUP) $28.45 +0.23% Volatility (VXX) $21.29 −3.77% Semiconductors (SMH) $583.24 +4.37% Silver (SLV) $53.36 +4.67% Emerging Markets (EEM) $65.45 +2.97% Bitcoin (BTC) $66,470.13 +1.90% Ethereum (ETH) $1,922.88 +1.00%
AEACapital Research

Independent student research — not an investment firm or financial advice

July 2026 · Interim Note

Alphabet Jumps 6.7%, Micron and SanDisk Slide Again — No Trades

July 31, 2026 · Not a full monthly letter — a short check-in between them

Friday was a Big Tech earnings avalanche, and neither of the day’s two biggest headline movers — Amazon, up 15.32%, and Apple, down 7.35% — are names I hold. But the day still moved my book plenty, mostly through Alphabet and through the same memory-chip bucket that had a rough Tuesday just three sessions ago.

Alphabet did the heavy lifting

Alphabet, a Core holding at an average cost of $274.57, jumped 6.73% to $356.13 on its own earnings and confirmation that it isn’t pulling back on its roughly $200 billion 2026 AI-infrastructure budget. Read together with Berkshire Hathaway’s newly disclosed 8.1%-of-portfolio position in the stock, that’s about as strong a same-day vote of confidence in the AI-capex trade as I’ve seen from two very different types of investors. I go further into what Friday’s split verdict on Amazon versus Apple means for how I’m reading this earnings season in today’s Opinion piece.

Micron fell 5.90% and Sandisk, my largest position, fell 5.09% — a smaller echo of Tuesday’s CXMT-driven slide, this time tied to Treasury yields hitting 19-year highs and pressuring growth stocks broadly rather than any new competitive threat. Vertiv (+6.18%) and Fortinet (+4.99%) were the strongest gainers in the book; WhiteFiber fell 9.71% without a same-day catalyst I could find in the reporting, and I’m not going to guess at one. The full tape is in today’s News piece.

No trades today

The Blackout Rule and Holding Period exist so a day like this doesn’t turn into a decision made under stress. Nothing about Friday changes the thesis behind either SanDisk or Alphabet — one gave back a rate-driven pullback, the other got a genuine, dated confirmation of continued spend. Both are data, not decisions.

Sources: cited in full on the linked News and Opinion articles. Price data via Massive Market Data. This note is educational and reflects my personal views only. It is not investment advice.