S&P 500 Earnings Growth Remains Narrow as Energy and Technology Lead
2026-07-14 18:21
•Louis Navellier •Investing.com
••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••• Axe Capital view
Tech and Energy Drive Earnings, But SA Banks Stay Cautious
US tech and energy lead earnings gains while South African banks face mixed prospects amid a weaker rand and global caution.
The S&P 500’s latest earnings season is a reminder that energy and technology still dominate growth, boosted by strong chip sales from Taiwan Semiconductor and rebounding oil prices. This bodes well for global risk appetite, which could support a softer rand. However, the wind is less favourable for South African banks. Despite US banks beating expectations, local lenders like Standard Bank and FirstRand face challenges from a sluggish domestic economy and rising credit costs. Inflation trends in the US point toward fewer rate hikes by the Fed, trading off some pressure on emerging market currencies like the rand. For local investors, this means tech exposure via Prosus or global dollar tech names may be appealing, but banks warrant caution until there’s clearer guidance on loan impairments and local economic momentum. If the rand unexpectedly weakens due to global risks or local instability, even defensive banks could suffer. this is just my opinion and not financial advice
Buy Prosus for global tech exposure while trimming exposure to South African banks like Standard Bank until the domestic economic picture improves.
- Prosus
- Standard Bank
- USD/ZAR
- Rand depreciation due to global risk-off
- Local economic slowdown impacting banks’ loan books
7/10
S&P 500 earnings season shows strong performance with major banks beating expectations, though IBM missed due to data center competition. Energy, technology, and semiconductors are leading earnings growth. Positive analyst revisions suggest stronger underlying earnings ahead. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing reported record June sales of $13.99 billion, signaling strong AI and semiconductor momentum. Cooling inflation data with June CPI declining 0.4% reduces Fed rate hike expectations.
This article was originally published by Investing.com and has been adapted here for Axe Capital Trading News.
Publisher: Investing.com
Author: Louis Navellier
Categories: Macro, Central Banks, Inflation, Equities, Earnings, Technology, AI, Semiconductors, Financials
Tickers: GS, GSPA, GSPC, GSPD, AMJB, JPM, JPMPC, JPMPD, JPMPJ, JPMPK, JPMPL, JPMPM, VYLD, C, CPN, CPR, IBM, TSM, WDFC
Sentiment: Mixed - Major bank beat earnings expectations during earnings season Missed earnings expectations due to losing market share to data centers
Keywords: earnings season, S&P 500, energy stocks, technology stocks, semiconductors, inflation, CPI, AI stocks
Insights:
- GS: Positive: Major bank beat earnings expectations during earnings season
- GSPA: Positive: Major bank beat earnings expectations during earnings season
- GSPC: Positive: Major bank beat earnings expectations during earnings season