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Amazon's Historic Week, Tech Volatility, & Emerging Markets Chatter

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On today’s episode of the Zacks Friday Finish Line, Associate Stock Strategist Ryan McQueeney and Editor Maddy Johnson recap Amazon’s busy and historic week, discuss what caused semiconductor volatility, and highlight the ongoing emerging markets currency crisis.

Make sure to subscribe and leave the show a rating on Apple Podcasts!

It has been a rough week for technology stocks, with internet companies feeling pressure on the back of Congressional testimony from Facebook and Twitter executives and the semiconductor industry tanking on sluggish sentiment and outlooks.

Notably, analysts seem to be shifting their tone on Micron (MU - Free Report) , which tanked as a pair of tepid notes were published. Chips also felt pressure after equipment supplier KLA-Tencor (KLAC - Free Report) hinted that it has a new outlook which is not quite as positive as previous guidance was.

In the show’s first segment, Maddy and Ryan recap this move from the semiconductors and speculate as to where the industry is heading out.

Tech’s volatility couldn’t stop Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) from joining Apple (AAPL - Free Report) in the $1 trillion club earlier in the week. This historic moment for the e-commerce company came on the same day that it unveiled a new Hindi language website in India, and later in the week, Amazon said it was partnering up with J.Crew to build a digital storefront for the upscale apparel brand.

The hosts touch on all of these happenings and acknowledge how Amazon’s moves in foreign markets are likely aimed at familiar foes like Walmart (WMT - Free Report) .

Finally, the Finish Line team wraps up the show by highlighting the ongoing currency crises in emerging markets. The Turkish lira has been slumping for the better part of the year, but this week saw currencies from markets such as Indonesia and Argentina also slump to historic lows.

Make sure to check out the show to hear Maddy and Ryan explain why a strong U.S. dollar, rising interest rates, and unexpected recessions are to blame!

As a reminder, if you feel that we missed something, or if you want us to cover a different story, shoot us an email at podcast@zacks.com. Make sure to check out all of our other audio content at zacks.com/podcasts, and remember to subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts.

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