Welcome to Markets Desk, your end-of-week wrap on the stories moving money and markets.
Wall Street closed out a volatile July on a mixed note Friday. The S&P five hundred added seven tenths of a percent, the Nasdaq rallied one percent, but Apple weighed on sentiment while Amazon surged after earnings. Rising oil prices kept inflation concerns front and center throughout the session.
Speaking of oil, OPEC-plus is expected to lift production quotas for a sixth consecutive month when it meets Sunday, but analysts warn that broader conflict in the Middle East is choking export routes. That means more supply on paper may not translate to lower prices at the pump, leaving inflation risk stubbornly elevated heading into August.
And on the infrastructure security front, Michigan has become the latest state reporting cyberattacks on water systems, joining Minnesota where more than thirty facilities were targeted earlier this week. The FBI is now investigating, and while officials say all affected systems remain operationally safe, the incidents align with standing warnings from federal authorities about Iranian state-linked hackers targeting critical civilian infrastructure.
That's the tape. Markets Desk, signing off the floor.
