Wall Street closed last week at record highs, driven by a wave of buying that investors made for fear of missing out after a string of comments from Bessent, Rubio and Trump about a deal with Iran, according to economist Michail Toutziaris, writing in a column for the newspaper Kefalaio.
Toutziaris said second-quarter earnings season supported the rally, with 80% of companies beating analysts' estimates. He said the US economy continues to show notable resilience, pointing to the ISM manufacturing index, which stayed at levels indicating expansion while new orders and production accelerated, reinforcing the view that growth is no longer confined to large technology companies.
Analysts at major firms have rushed to raise price targets for indices and individual stocks, Toutziaris wrote, arguing that the environment remains highly supportive, combining strong corporate profitability, steady economic growth and reduced inflationary pressure.
Investors entered the week bullish once again. Despite a Federal Reserve meeting, renewed geopolitical tensions, rising US Treasury bond yields and another sharp increase in oil prices, Toutziaris said comments posted on social media set the tone and drove the market to new highs.
AI stocks swing between crash and comeback
The biggest story of the week was the return of artificial intelligence stocks, Toutziaris wrote. He said semiconductor shares are going through one of the most volatile periods in their history, comparable only to the period during the 2008 financial crisis.
The SOX semiconductor index fell 21% in July, its worst monthly performance since October 2008, wiping out $2.2 trillion in market value, according to Toutziaris. The index's 60-day realized volatility jumped to about 66%, the highest level since the 2020 pandemic, when it had peaked at about 85%.
Toutziaris said this week will determine whether last week's rebound marks the start of a sustained rally or merely the latest trap rally that lures buyers before the market reverses lower.
Greek bank upgrades lift Athens Stock Exchange
The Athens Stock Exchange started last week on a positive note amid a wave of upgrades for Greek banks, Toutziaris wrote. Rating agencies Scope and Morningstar DBRS said Greek banks are entering the second half of 2026 from a position of strength.
Among individual stocks over the past year, Titan Cement gained 0.67% after acquiring cement storage and transshipment facilities in Alexandria, Egypt, which allowed the company to make its first export of a cement cargo from Egypt to the United States in the second quarter, Toutziaris wrote.
Mermeren Kombinat fell 24.14% after sales dropped 37% because of weaker demand from China and geopolitical tensions. Operating profit fell 41% to 3.30 million euros, and EBITDA dropped 36%, according to Toutziaris.
National Bank of Greece rose 25.69%, which Toutziaris said confirmed its position as the best-capitalized stock in the sector, with lower funding costs than the market and room for generous shareholder distributions. Optima Bank gained 42.28%, which he attributed to aggressive credit expansion and strong asset quality, including a 63% rise in commission income.
Insurance stocks rise but face 2026 pressures
Most insurance stocks are moving higher, Toutziaris wrote, benefiting from higher premium pricing amid inflation, improved investment income from rising markets and, for now, favorable risk outcomes because of fewer large-scale catastrophic events.
He said the challenges for 2026 are greater, as insurers face pressure from persistently higher inflation and market swings, while natural disasters remain at critical levels. Toutziaris said the sector is entering a period of intense uncertainty, with margin pressure remaining a key challenge for general insurance companies because of rising competition and operating costs.
A slowdown in the growth of group insurance policies, caused by reduced employment and higher healthcare costs, could limit group employee benefit programs, Toutziaris wrote. He said electric vehicle insurance is typically more expensive than for conventional cars: in 2026, the average monthly cost of insuring a conventional car is about $185, compared with about $263 for an electric vehicle, making EV coverage 42% more expensive on average.
Internationally, insurers face growing difficulty attracting and retaining skilled staff and are struggling to fully meet customer expectations, according to Toutziaris. He said cooperation with technology providers, reinsurers and banks is now essential so insurers can share risk, develop new products and services more efficiently, and take preventive steps that reduce losses and strengthen resilience.
Big Tech earnings and Cathie Wood's bets
Toutziaris also cited a series of corporate results and investment moves. Apple's iPhone sales reached $109.4 billion, with revenue growth topping 15% for a third straight quarter. Meta's total revenue rose 28% year-on-year to $61 billion for the quarter, which Toutziaris said reflected the company's use of artificial intelligence to target advertising.
Google disclosed sharp increases in its future financial commitments tied to investment in artificial intelligence and data centers, which rose by about $500 billion, Toutziaris wrote. Amazon is trying to absorb pressure on free cash flow for some time as it works to build multiple data centers at once, aiming for a future payoff, he said.
Cathie Wood's flagship Ark Innovation ETF fell 6.38% by July 30, while the S&P 500 rose 8.65% over the same period, according to Yahoo Finance data cited by Toutziaris. He said Wood bought $14.3 million worth of Nvidia shares, with Ark's funds purchasing 73,166 Nvidia shares on July 28.
