Fidelis Capital LLC
07/24/2026 | Press release | Archived content
Investment Insights: Week Ending July 24
Originally published in "Investment Insights: Week Ending July 24"
By: Michael Sellers
Partner, Portfolio Manager
Happy Friday everyone! This has been an eventful week in markets. We are in the early days of second-quarter earnings season-roughly 16% of the S&P 500 reported this week. Earnings, again, continue to be solid. We'll take a deeper dive into earnings in August. Roughly 50% of the S&P 500 will be reporting in the next two weeks.
Over the weekend and into this week, the US has stepped up attacks after repeated Iranian strikes on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In an escalation of events this week, Iranian-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on two tankers in the Red Sea, with President Trump warning that he will hold Iran responsible for any further Houthi aggression.
In response to this escalation, crude oil climbed above $100 a barrel, moving the average US gas price north of $4 a gallon. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to approximately 4.7% on Thursday, reaching its highest intraday level since January 2025. As a result, investors have begun to reprice inflation and interest-rate expectations, just as earnings season enters its busiest stretch.
In short, geopolitical uncertainty and renewed inflation concerns have temporarily outweighed the otherwise strong earnings backdrop, leading to increased market volatility. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) moved into the 19-20 range as the week progressed, reflecting a more cautious market sentiment.
What does this mean for markets on a go-forward basis? A deeper dive on our perspectives and positioning for the back half of 2026 can be found in our latest quarterly market outlook webinar. Click here to watch.
By: Michael Sellers
Partner, Portfolio Manager
Happy Friday everyone! This has been an eventful week in markets. We are in the early days of second-quarter earnings season-roughly 16% of the S&P 500 reported this week. Earnings, again, continue to be solid. We'll take a deeper dive into earnings in August. Roughly 50% of the S&P 500 will be reporting in the next two weeks.
Escalating Tension In The Middle East
On the geopolitical side, tensions in the Middle East have once again come into focus. The on-again, off-again nature of the Iranian conflict appears to back on again.Over the weekend and into this week, the US has stepped up attacks after repeated Iranian strikes on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. In an escalation of events this week, Iranian-backed Houthis claimed responsibility for attacks on two tankers in the Red Sea, with President Trump warning that he will hold Iran responsible for any further Houthi aggression.
In response to this escalation, crude oil climbed above $100 a barrel, moving the average US gas price north of $4 a gallon. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to approximately 4.7% on Thursday, reaching its highest intraday level since January 2025. As a result, investors have begun to reprice inflation and interest-rate expectations, just as earnings season enters its busiest stretch.
In short, geopolitical uncertainty and renewed inflation concerns have temporarily outweighed the otherwise strong earnings backdrop, leading to increased market volatility. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) moved into the 19-20 range as the week progressed, reflecting a more cautious market sentiment.
What does this mean for markets on a go-forward basis? A deeper dive on our perspectives and positioning for the back half of 2026 can be found in our latest quarterly market outlook webinar. Click here to watch.
Fidelis Capital Welcomes Herb Achey
In other firm news this week, we welcomed Herb Achey to the Fidelis team. Herb joins us after a distinguished 30-year career with U.S. Trust/Bank of America Private Bank, where he was a widely recognized thought leader with a focus on consumer equity research and portfolio construction, specializing in equity concentrations. Learn more about Herb's hiring here.Closing Time
As always, we are here for you. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to a member of your Fidelis Capital team.
Fidelis Capital LLC published this content on July 24, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 28, 2026 at 16:12 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]