Stock Market
As of Jul 28, U.S. stock index futures performed as follows: Dow contracts advanced 0.76%, S&P 500 futures inched up 0.03%, while Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.79%. The pattern points to a tentative rotation away from growth-heavy technology toward more defensive or value-oriented segments, leaving overall sentiment balanced ahead of the opening bell.
Notable Stock Movers: Memory giant MU down 6.24% at $844.00 and foundry leader TSM down 3.63% at $384.59 led semiconductor weakness, joined by designer AMD down 4.42% at $473.05 and GPU heavyweight NVDA down 0.46% at $195.60.
By contrast, megacap software maker MSFT up 1.48% at $394.85 and iPhone parent AAPL up 0.49% at $338.56 enjoyed modest buying after product-focused headlines.
Consumer-staples bellwether KO up 3.72% at $87.20 drew support following upbeat earnings.
Corning plunged more than 17% in pre-market trading. While its Q2 revenue and EPS both beat consensus estimates, the top end of its Q3 performance guidance only matched market expectations, with the midpoint coming in slightly below forecasts.
Taken together, the divergence between semiconductor decliners and selective strength in software, consumer goods, and logistics suggests a market recalibrating expectations as earnings season highlights both cyclical headwinds and pockets of resilience.
02 Other Markets
• 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 0.27%, to 4.63%.
• U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.06% to 101.55.
• WTI crude oil futures fell 1.16% to 81.65 USD/barrel; COMEX gold futures fell 1.31% to 4023.50 USD/ounce.
03 Key News
1. GlaxoSmithKline reported higher core earnings and sales, reaffirming multi-year growth targets. The pharmaceutical group’s latest quarter saw core earnings per share rise while turnover expanded, prompting a more than 5% pre-market share uptick after management maintained guidance for continued EPS and revenue expansion through the medium term.
2. Boeing booked a larger core loss but delivered positive free cash flow, maintaining full-year targets. A fresh charge on its Air Force One program deepened the loss, yet stronger customer advances lifted cash generation, and the planemaker reiterated expectations for up to $3 billion in 2026 free cash flow, nudging the stock higher before the open.
3. Core Scientific and AMD signed an agreement to develop up to 2.5 GW of AI-focused data-center capacity. The collaboration includes joint facility design and grants AMD warrants to purchase Core Scientific equity, positioning both firms to scale high-performance computing infrastructure as demand for AI accelerates; Core Scientific shares gained about 3% pre-market.
4. Corning’s quarterly core EPS rose 30%, yet shares slid on outlook concerns. Robust growth in optical-communications and solar glass lifted revenue, but investors focused on management’s tempered guidance, sending the glassmaker’s stock down more than 16% in early trading and dragging peer optical-network names lower.
5. Coca-Cola topped profit and revenue expectations, fueling a pre-market climb. Higher pricing and steady demand lifted adjusted EPS and sales above consensus, reinforcing the beverage leader’s status as a defensive play amid macro uncertainty.
6. United Parcel Service surpassed earnings estimates and signaled cost headwinds are easing. The logistics giant’s profit beat and commentary on improving revenue trends lifted shares almost 3%, suggesting operational efficiencies are beginning to offset prior inflation and volume pressures.
7. Meta Platforms and BlackRock agreed to co-fund a $14 billion, 1 GW data-center campus in Texas. BlackRock funds will hold an 80% stake while Meta retains 20% and will be the site’s initial tenant, underscoring ongoing hyperscale investment despite recent AI spending scrutiny.
8. TSMC temporarily evacuated its Kumamoto facility after elevated seismic activity triggered safety protocols. The chipmaker emphasized employee safety and reported no damage, easing immediate supply-chain fears but highlighting the industry’s geographic risk exposure.
9. Amazon is consolidating in-house AI efforts into a single Frontier Model Research unit. The restructuring retires several text, image, and video models and reallocates engineering talent and compute resources to a new flagship foundation model slated for debut at an upcoming developer conference, signaling a streamlined strategy in the generative-AI race.
10. Microsoft unveiled MAI-Cyber-1-Flash, its first AI model tailored for cybersecurity, aiming to halve detection costs. Integrated with the company’s MDASH security suite, the multi-agent system triages routine vulnerabilities while reserving advanced models for complex threats, bolstering Microsoft’s cloud-security value proposition and lifting its stock in pre-market trade.
Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, MT Newswires, Benzinga, public market data
Disclaimer: For informational purposes only; not investment advice.
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