WS #13143

The dominant narrative remains the Amazon surge versus Apple plunge, with Amazon's Q2 earnings beat (revenue +20% to $200.6B, AWS +37%, operating income $27.5B) driving a ~13-15% stock surge and lifting tech indices, while Apple's guidance miss on memory costs and supply constraints triggered a ~9-10% drop, erasing ~$460B in market cap. This is corroborated across multiple sources (Reuters, GDELT, 9to5Mac, TechCentral). The macro backdrop includes a Fed on hold (3.50%-3.75%) with three dissents favoring hikes, Treasury yields at cycle highs, and a muni market having its worst July since 2003. Geopolitically, the US-Iran conflict shows signs of de-escalation: oil prices are rolling back, the US SPR is at its lowest since 1983 (18th week of drawdown), and there are reports of a Hamas disarmament deal and possible ceasefire. However, maritime risks persist in the Strait of Hormuz and Black Sea, with India urging Iran to stop attacks on commercial vessels. In M&A, NXP is reportedly in talks to acquire Ambarella (AMBA spiked), and T-Mobile executives oppose the $300B Deutsche Telekom merger. Reddit beat earnings with revenue up 61% and raised Q3 guidance, while Western Union missed and cut outlook. Tesla faces a new NHTSA probe over suspension failures, and there are reports (denied) of selling its China business. The overall market is up on the day (S&P +0.5-0.6%, Nasdaq +0.9-1.2%), but the month is set to close lower for indices.