Finance

Bond yields extended their recent upward trajectory following hawkish commentary and dissenting rate-hike opinions from Federal Reserve officials. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield closed the week at 4.743%, marking its highest level since January 2025. Concurrently, the 30-year yield advanced to a new 19-year peak of 5.274%, driven upward by a dramatic monthly climb and ongoing concerns over rising oil prices.

Diverging from the upward movement in equities, the broader cryptocurrency market experienced a risk-off downturn at the end of July. Bitcoin dipped below the $63,000 level, while Ethereum and Solana posted concurrent losses of over 2%. The digital asset ecosystem faced a mix of headwinds, including lower risk appetite, an earnings miss from a major exchange, and waning optimism for upcoming legislative updates.

The semiconductor market experienced substantial relief after robust financial performances from major tech players temporarily alleviated worries over artificial intelligence spending infrastructure. Prior to this rebound, high valuations and massive capital expenditures had generated heavy negative momentum for hardware makers. Despite late-week gains, the VanEck Semiconductor ETF still logged a steep decline of nearly 17% for July, marking its worst monthly performance since 2008.