Silver slides 0.8% as war fails to spark traditional crisis rally

source:

[1] Silver's missing crisis trade: Why a war keeps pushing it down (https://www.fxstreet.com/analysis/silvers-mis ...)[2] Gold price above USD 4,000 and central bank rally: Barrick Mining, Lahontan Gold, Newmont—time to buy now? (https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/investment/go ...)[3] Silver and gold prices stage a cautious rebound — but analysts see slim hopes for a sustained rally (https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/silve ...)[4] Gold eases from two-week high; silver slips ahead of Fed meeting (https://www.cnbctv18.com/market/commodities/g ...)[5] World in Brief: Oil prices surge as tensions grow in the Middle East; America signs a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia (https://www.economist.com/the-world-in-brief/ ...)

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Jul 24 2026, 00:37

First Trust's DGJL ETF offers fixed 9.37% return with 10% buffer

**First Trust's latest defined-outcome ETF pays a fixed 9.37% return as long as the S&P 500 doesn't fall more than 10% — a structure that rewards flat markets but caps gains in rallies.** First Trust launched a buffer ETF July 20 that pays a fixed 9.37% digital return if the S&P 500 rises, stays flat, or falls as much as 10% over the next year, while absorbing the first 10 percentage points of losses on any decline beyond that threshold. The FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer & Digital Return ETF – July (NYSEARCA:DGJL) began trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange at about $29.81 a share, according to price data from the first two trading days. The fund uses options on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) to engineer a specific payout pattern over its Target Outcome Period, which runs through July 16, 2027. If SPY finishes the year higher, flat, or down by as much as 10%, DGJL aims to deliver a fixed return of 9.37% before fees and expenses — a "digital" payoff that does not vary with the index's actual performance. A 25% drop in SPY, by contrast, would translate to roughly a 15% loss for DGJL holders before fees, since the first 10 percentage points are absorbed by the buffer and the remainder passes through. The fund charges total annual operating expenses of 0.85%, or about $85 a year on a $10,000 investment. That fee sits in line with most defined-outcome buffer ETFs from Innovator and BlackRock, though plain-vanilla buffer products that pass through capped upside rather than paying a digital return sometimes charge less. **How the Digital Structure Differs From Traditional Buffers** Traditional buffer ETFs give investors the market's return up to a predetermined cap — if the S&P 500 rises 5%, the fund returns roughly 5%; if it rises 15%, the fund returns the cap. DGJL's digital structure breaks from that model by paying the same 9.37% whether the index squeaks out 1% or climbs 9%. That makes the fund most advantageous in flat or mildly declining markets, where the fixed payout exceeds what a traditional capped buffer would deliver. In strong bull runs, however, DGJL holders will trail the market by a wide margin. The defined outcomes apply only to investors who buy on day one and hold through the full period. Investors who buy mid-period receive whatever protection and upside remain at that price, which the issuer discloses on the fund's daily website update. Selling early can produce results that bear little resemblance to the prospectus graphic. **Who the Fund Targets and the Risks** First Trust and Vest Financial LLC, the sub-advisor behind most of the firm's buffer product family, already offer defined-outcome funds across every calendar month. DGJL slots into the July series, expanding the lineup with a structure that financial advisors often use as a substitute for structured notes. The VIX stood at 17.05 at launch, inside its normal range, after spiking to 31.05 in late March 2026 — exactly the kind of volatility episode the buffer is built to cushion. Yet the caveats are real. DGJL has no performance history, and new ETFs often start with limited assets and wider bid-ask spreads. Funds that fail to attract durable inflows sometimes close. Losses beyond the 10% buffer are fully absorbed by shareholders, and because a new digital return and buffer are struck each July, any losses below a prior buffer get locked in at reset. For investors weighing DGJL against a plain S&P 500 position, the trade-off is straightforward: a known best-case return of 9.37% and a 10% cushion in exchange for missing any rally that exceeds that fixed payout. Whether that trade appeals depends largely on the market's direction over the next twelve months — and on whether the fund can attract enough assets to trade efficiently. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Jul 24 2026, 00:30

Dow plunges 500 points as oil surge, tech selloff grip Wall Street

The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled about 500 points Thursday, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite also closed sharply lower as a surge in oil prices, escalating Middle East tensions, and disappointing reactions to tech earnings weighed on investor sentiment. "The combination of an energy supply shock and a reassessment of AI spending timelines is creating a volatility regime we haven't seen since early 2026," said Michael Wilson, chief equity strategist at Morgan Stanley. Technology and consumer discretionary stocks led the decline, with the S&P 500 information technology sector falling 2.8% and communication services dropping 2.1%. Energy was the sole relative outperformer, declining just 0.3%, as crude prices surged. The Cboe Volatility Index jumped 4.2 points to 22.8, its highest level in three months, as declining issues outnumbered advancing ones by more than 3-to-1 on the New York Stock Exchange. The selloff marks a sharp reversal from the previous session, when the S&P 500 hit a three-month high. Traders pointed to three primary factors: Brent crude approaching $98 per barrel as Middle East tensions escalated, disappointing market reactions to earnings from Alphabet and Tesla, and growing concerns that massive AI infrastructure spending may pressure margins across the technology sector. **Oil Surge Reshapes Macro Outlook** Brent crude rose nearly 4% to approach $98 per barrel, its highest since the Strait of Hormuz closure earlier this year pushed prices above $120. The latest leg higher followed Iran-backed Houthi militant attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, renewing fears of supply disruptions. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose 6 basis points to 4.32% as traders priced in the inflation implications of sustained energy costs, while the dollar index edged higher. The oil shock is rippling through corporate earnings. easyJet reported a 70% decline in third-quarter profit, citing weaker travel demand and higher fuel costs. Heathrow Airport also reported lower first-half core earnings, attributing the decline to higher tax expenses and uncertainty surrounding travel demand. **Tech Earnings Disappoint as AI Spending Questions Mount** Alphabet shares fell 4.5% after the company reported higher-than-expected infrastructure spending plans, triggering a broader retreat in mega-cap tech shares. Tesla dropped 3.8% as investors weighed margin pressure against delivery targets. The selloff extended to European markets, where the FTSE 100 slipped 0.14% to 10,702.23 and the STOXX 600 fell 0.6% as investors awaited the European Central Bank's interest rate decision. The AI infrastructure buildout remains a key debate. BlackRock Energy and Resources Income Trust noted in its half-year report that the four largest hyperscalers — Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft — have raised their 2026 AI capital expenditure forecast to approximately $800 billion, roughly 10 times the annual capital spending of the top 20 global mining companies. While this spending supports demand for energy and data center infrastructure, it also raises questions about near-term returns on investment. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.

Jul 24 2026, 00:22

Edwards Lifesciences raises sales outlook after 13.6% Q2 revenue beat

Edwards Lifesciences reported second-quarter revenue of $1.74 billion, up 13.6% from a year earlier and above the $1.70 billion analysts had expected, as its transcatheter mitral and tricuspid therapies business nearly doubled its growth rate from the prior quarter. "We delivered stronger-than-expected second-quarter sales growth of 12.5%," Chief Executive Officer Bernard Zovighian said. "Our results increasingly reflect the strength of our comprehensive portfolio and agile execution, with growth supported by therapies across TAVR, mitral, tricuspid and surgical." The TMTT product group generated $195.9 million in sales, a 47% jump from a year earlier, driven by the PASCAL repair system and the EVOQUE replacement platform for tricuspid regurgitation. The company's core transcatheter aortic valve replacement business, or TAVR, grew 11% to $1.26 billion, benefiting from the exit of a competitor in the second quarter of 2025 and long-term durability data from the SAPIEN platform. Surgical sales rose 6.5% to $284 million. The Irvine, California-based company raised the bottom end of its full-year sales forecast, now expecting $6.6 billion to $6.9 billion, compared with a prior range of $6.5 billion to $6.9 billion. It increased its constant-currency sales growth guidance to 10% to 11% from 9% to 11% and lifted its TAVR growth outlook to 8% to 9%. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.78, beating the $0.74 consensus, and the company reaffirmed its full-year adjusted EPS guidance of $2.95 to $3.05. **TAVR Momentum Builds on Clinical Data and Regulatory Tailwinds** Edwards' TAVR business, which accounts for about 72% of total revenue, is benefiting from a convergence of clinical evidence and policy shifts. At the New York Valves conference, a seven-year sub-analysis of the PARTNER 3 trial reinforced the durability of the SAPIEN platform, while five-year data from the EARLY TAVR trial supported earlier intervention in aortic stenosis. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is expected to issue a final decision on its national coverage determination for TAVR in September, which could expand the addressable patient population for Medicare beneficiaries. The PROGRESS trial, which examines TAVR in patients with moderate aortic stenosis, is scheduled to present results at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference later this year. Positive data could further broaden the therapy's reach beyond the current severe aortic stenosis indication. **TMTT Emerges as a Second Growth Engine** The TMTT segment is scaling rapidly as Edwards commercializes a portfolio of repair and replacement devices for the mitral and tricuspid valves. The PASCAL system, used for transcatheter edge-to-edge repair, continues to gain adoption, and the company expects U.S. approval for a tricuspid indication in the fourth quarter. The next-generation PASCAL with Capture Clarity technology is also on track for U.S. and European approvals in the same period. The EVOQUE tricuspid replacement system is expanding into new centers, and early experience with the SAPIEN M3 mitral replacement system has validated demand among patients who are not candidates for repair. Edwards now expects full-year TMTT sales of $760 million to $780 million, up from a prior range of $740 million to $780 million. **Investment Implications** Edwards shares have benefited from the company's diversified structural heart portfolio, which reduces reliance on any single product line. The TMTT segment's 47% growth rate, if sustained, could shift the revenue mix meaningfully over the next two to three years, reducing the company's dependence on TAVR. Adjusted operating profit margin is expected to reach the high end of the 28% to 29% guidance range, representing roughly 150 basis points of constant-currency expansion for the full year. The company held $2.9 billion in cash against $600 million in debt, with $1.5 billion remaining under its share repurchase authorization. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.