The Nasdaq rose on Monday as oil prices fluctuated in response to the latest bout of military exchanges between the U.S. and Iran. Steve Liesman and Kelly Evans are joined on-set by Peter Mallouk (Creative Planning CEO) and David Spika (Turtle Creek Chief Market Strategist) to give their takes on the state of the markets as we head into a busy week of mega-cap tech earnings reports. Kpler’s Director of Commodity Research, Matt Smith, also joins the program to break down the latest headlines from the Middle East as the average price for a gallon of gas in the U.S. rises back above $4.00. Later on, Francis Gannon, Royce Investment Partners Co-CIO, joins the anchors in-studio to give his top small-cap stock picks and provide his long-term outlook for the Russell 2000 small-cap index. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Pivotal Week for Tech, Iran War’s Impact on Energy, Small Cap Stocks with Big Returns 7/20/26

Power Lunch

It is a big week for the markets and for your money. Welcome to Power Lunch alongside Steve Liesman. I'm Kelly Evans. Brian will be back tomorrow. Earnings are in full swing and the next test for the tech tree that's coming up, Alphabet, IBM and Intel on deck. Will the results further catalyze this rotation out of tech or jumpstart a rebound from a route that's run too far?

And I'm either here because it's a big week or Brian missed his had a late flight. I don't know which one. But plus, oil front and center is center again as tensions escalate in the Middle East. Gas prices topping $4 a gallon. What it means for inflation and your money is coming up. And small caps, big returns. The rest of 2000 outperforming the S&P 500 this year. Earnings are expected to grow 77% in the second quarter. The names that should be on your watch list.

Looking forward to all of that. Let's begin with this pivotal week as tech faces a major test. Alphabet headlines a very busy earnings season just as investors are growing a little nervous about the AI trade, maybe more than a little. Today we're learning the smart money, if they call it that, has been heading for the exits. According to Goldman, hedge funds have been dumping tech stocks at a record pace.

They were net sellers in six of the last eight weeks and have cut their exposure to the sector by about 10%. That's the largest pullback since Goldman began tracking the data more than a decade ago. Joining us now is creative planning president and CEO Peter Malouk and Turtle Creek chief market strategist David Spica. It's great to have you guys both here.

Pivotal Week for Tech, Iran War’s Impact on Energy, Small Cap Stocks with Big Returns 7/20/26

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Pivotal Week for Tech, Iran War’s Impact on Energy, Small Cap Stocks with Big Returns 7/20/26

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.