TradingKey

In July 2026, Nvidia maintained its position as the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization of $4.86 trillion. Apple, Alphabet, and Microsoft followed closely behind, with all top five companies driven by AI-related businesses and cloud computing. However, capital did not continue to flow unilaterally into chip stocks in July: the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) dropped 20.61% in a single month, putting upstream names such as TSMC, SK Hynix, and Micron under visible pressure. This demonstrates that the market is shifting from "AI investment expansion" to scrutinizing returns on capital expenditure and the sustainability of supply chain profitability.

The Federal Reserve released the minutes of its July meeting on August 19, Eastern Time. At the meeting held on July 28–29, the FOMC decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50%–3.75%. The minutes noted that some Fed officials believed monetary policy might need to be tightened if inflation fails to decline. Some participants noted that the current monetary policy rate was not sufficiently restrictive to bring inflation down to 2%.

On August 19, Eastern Time, Broadcom (AVGO) fell for the fourth consecutive trading session, dropping near a key support level of $360. Meanwhile, Marvell Technology and Google today announced a custom chip partnership, issuing warrants to Google to purchase up to 58.97 million shares at an exercise price of $206.58 per share, representing a total value of approximately $12.18 billion. The two parties signed a commercial agreement on July 29 under which Marvell will supply custom chip products to Google, with the subsequent vesting of the warrants tied to revenue generated from the partnership products.

Micron stock fell 7% during a broader chip sell-off, but record earnings, HBM4 shipments and multiyear customer agreements support its AI-memory outlook.

On August 19 Eastern Time, Apple (AAPL) rose for the second consecutive trading day, with its stock price returning to near $315. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index extended its weakness, showing a renewed short-term divergence between Apple and the chip sector.

Supermicro’s Q4 revenue rose 93% to $11.1 billion as new AI orders exceeded $60 billion. FY2027 guidance reaches $72 billion, but cash flow and inventory remain key risks.

Ahead of Nvidia's earnings report, selling pressure emerged, with technical analysis indicating a potential 18% drop to around $180.

TradingKey - Marvell Technology (MRVL) shares surged more than 13% in U.S. pre-market trading on Wednesday. Market reports indicate that the company has reached a custom chip partnership agreement with Google (GOOGL), signaling substantial progress in collaboration negotiations that had been ongoing for months. Marvell is poised to further participate in Google's AI infrastructure development and expand its share in the custom AI chip market for major cloud computing providers.

Home Depot’s Q2 sales rose 5.7% to $47.9 billion as Pro demand, online growth and faster delivery improved. HD stock now faces resistance near $342.56.

TradingKey - Moderna (MRNA) and Merck (MRK) announced on Wednesday that their jointly developed personalized mRNA cancer vaccine achieved positive results in a large-scale Phase 3 clinical trial. This marks the first time a personalized mRNA cancer vaccine has succeeded in a large Phase 3 clinical trial. While mRNA technology was previously best known for its application in COVID-19 vaccines, the latest results signify a major step forward toward commercialization in the field of cancer treatment. Driven by the news, Moderna's stock surged over 100% at one point in U.S. pre-market trading, while Merck's stock also traded higher.

TradingKey — On Wednesday (August 19) Eastern Time, futures on the three major U.S. stock indexes fluctuated in a narrow range in pre-market trading as market sentiment stabilized somewhat following a sell-off in AI and chip stocks in the previous session. Today, investors are focused on the minutes of the Federal Reserve's July meeting, earnings reports from U.S. retail giants, and the impact of the Middle East situation on oil prices and inflation expectations.

The U.S. SEC approved a crypto regulatory proposal, sending Bitcoin surging toward $65,000.

Walmart reports Q2 FY2027 earnings on August 20. Digital sales, advertising growth, consumer demand and guidance will determine whether WMT can justify its premium valuation.

Selling pressure triggered by SpaceX's second wave of lock-up expirations has stalled the stock's push toward $150, escalating the risk of a drop toward the $100 mark.

TradingKey - Walmart (WMT) is scheduled to report its second-quarter fiscal 2027 financial results before the market open on August 20 ET. The market currently expects Walmart's Q2 revenue to range between approximately $186.3 billion and $186.9 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of about 5% to 6%, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) estimated at $0.73 to $0.74. Walmart's previously issued quarterly guidance projected net sales growth of 3.5% to 4.5% and adjusted EPS of $0.72 to $0.74.

TradingKey - On August 18, Eastern Time, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI's second-quarter revenue reached $6.7 billion, up 18% quarter-on-quarter. However, its operating loss expanded from $9.3 billion in the first quarter to $12.3 billion, with the growth rate of losses far outpacing revenue growth.

TradingKey - SK Hynix (SKHY) announced on August 19 that its board of directors has approved a share repurchase plan worth 40 trillion won (approximately $28.4–28.6 billion). The company plans to repurchase a total of 24.07 million common shares in the open market over the next three months, aiming to cancel the shares and enhance shareholder returns.

TradingKey - As of the Asian session on August 19, gold (XAUUSD) maintained a modest intraday rebound, rising about 0.2% on the day to trade near $4,340. Gold had dropped nearly 2% on Tuesday, primarily suppressed by a global bond market sell-off and a sharp surge in U.S. Treasury yields. Today, as U.S. Treasury yields pulled back from their highs, gold regained buying interest, though the overall market remained cautious ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes.

TradingKey - On August 19, Japanese and South Korean stock markets suffered a new round of sell-offs. South Korea's KOSPI index closed down 5.80% at 6,471.17 points, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell 3.16% to 65,326.42 points, declining for a second consecutive day to hit its lowest closing level in nearly two weeks.

Micron shares plunged over 7%, triggering selling pressure, with technical analysis warning of a potential 20% downside risk.