Stocks drifted lower to end the week as economic uncertainty overshadowed strong Magnificent Seven earnings. On July 31, the latest Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index showed a slight uptick in the rate of inflation growth. Then on Friday, the August Jobs report came in lighter than expected.
However, that number looked bullish compared with massive downward revisions to the May and June numbers. Investors are also weighing the impact of tariffs now that the August 1 deadline has come and gone.
On a more bullish note, reports from several mega-cap technology companies reinforce the reality of the artificial intelligence (AI) trade. Many of these companies will spend billions of dollars over several years to build out an AI infrastructure, creating opportunities in several sectors.
