It was a whiplash week. Softer U.S. inflation reignited risk appetite, AI earnings hopes pulled $49 billion back into equities, and Bitcoin clawed back toward $65k — but a semiconductor selloff and a new U.S.-Iran escalation kept traders on edge.
1. STOCKS: Inflation relief rally, then chip rout
US: The big catalyst was CPI. The U.S. Consumer Price Index increased by a lower-than-expected 3.5% in the 12 months through June after surging 4.2% in May. MSCI's global equities index rose on Tuesday after the softer data and strong bank earnings, while oil prices gained on supply concerns as the U.S. and Iran exchanged strikes.
JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citi all beat profit estimates, with JPM hitting an all-time high on record trading revenue. The Dow rose 0.02% to 52,508, S&P 500 +0.38% to 7,543, Nasdaq +0.90% to 26,107 on Tuesday.
But the AI trade wobbled hard later in the week. The Philadelphia semiconductor index tumbled 4.3%, its second straight daily loss, South Korea's KOSPI fell more than 6% and Japan's Nikkei closed nearly 3% lower as investors questioned whether the AI rally was priced for perfection.
By Friday, MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.53% and was set for a 2% loss for the week.
Flow picture: Before the selloff, global equity funds attracted their largest weekly inflow in three weeks — a net $49.23 billion in the week to July 8 as strong demand for AI-linked products and cooling Fed hike fears boosted risk appetite.
U.S. funds led with $24.97 billion, Europe drew $13.67 billion and Asia $6.95 billion. Tech funds alone took $11.49 billion.
Europe: Pan-European STOXX 600 finished up 0.17% Tuesday, recovering from -0.9% intraday. For Q2, Europe posted its strongest quarter in four years for venture-backed exits, but public markets were choppy with mining and industrials leading losses during the chip-led selloff.
Asia: MSCI Asia Pacific jumped 2.3% Wednesday — its biggest advance in a month — led by tech. South Korea's Kospi jumped 8.2% on the day, retaking its position as the world's best-performing major benchmark this year after SK Hynix surged.
2. CRYPTO: Bitcoin back to $65k as rate-hike bets collapse
Crypto moved exactly with the inflation print.
Bitcoin jumped about 3.6 percent to near $64,800 after U.S. inflation cooled more than expected, sharply reducing market odds of a near-term Fed rate hike.
June headline inflation slowed to 3.5% and core eased to 2.6%, lifting both crypto and equities as traders rotated back into risk. Implied odds of a Fed hike collapsed from 43% to 13%
.• Bitcoin: $63,100-$64,800 range this week, up 10% so far in July, testing $65,200 three-week high
• Ethereum: The standout. ETH at nearly $1,880, up 5.3% on the day and 7.1% over seven sessions, outperforming BTC. On Thursday, ETH news showed Ether up about 11% over seven days as most majors were flat or negative, driven by BlackRock's ETHA ETF taking almost all ETF inflows
• Others: HYPE +6.4% to $67, XRP +3.7% to $1.10, Solana +3.6% to $78
Analysts warn the rally remains rate-sensitive. "Bitcoin remains a rate-sensitive risk asset rather than a macro hedge," said CoinEx's Jeff Ko, pointing to the Fed's September meeting as the next test.
3. STARTUP FUNDING: The mature market
Africa — $1.5bn but fewer deals: African startups raised $1.44-$1.5bn in H1 2026 across just 137-146 deals vs 250+ a year ago. Investors are writing bigger checks to profitable companies.
The largest round was Spiro, the pan-African e-mobility firm, with a $215m equity round in June plus a $55m follow-on. Egyptian lender Blnk ($37.1m), Moroccan proptech Agenz ($5m) and AI support platform AethexAI ($3m) also closed.
Record consolidation: Flutterwave acquired Mono for $35m, Paystack acquired Brass.
US — AI still dominates: US led the week's biggest rounds — Together, Luxonis, CarbonSix, and consumer AI startup Monogram ($40m Seed led by DST Global and Lux). Q2 Global VC First Look data shows AI and semiconductors taking over 50% of US VC dollars. Aramco Ventures and Samsung Catalyst co-invested alongside Silicon Valley VCs, showing cross-border appetite.
Europe — Strongest quarter in 4 years: Crunchbase reports Europe startups raised $24bn in Q2, its best in four years. This week Spanish plant-based unicorn Heura Foods added funding, while Index Ventures and Balderton stayed active in London, Berlin and Paris.
Asia — China back in focus: Chinese AI champion DeepSeek is weighing raising new funds just one month after its first-ever round and has begun IPO preparations. In South Korea, chip funding rebounded after the KOSPI correction, while Japanese investors increased their Africa exposure to 13% of deals — double recent years — via bets on Dodai and Sora Technology.
The takeaway: Money is back, but it's picky. Public markets rewarded real earnings (banks) and punished "perfect" narratives (chips). Crypto rewarded cooler inflation. And private markets — from Lagos to London to Los Angeles — are rewarding profitability over hype.