Alan Long

TradingKey - On Friday (July 31) Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock index futures rose collectively in pre-market trading, with Nasdaq 100 futures leading the gains. Amazon's (AMZN) earnings report strengthened market confidence in AI cloud demand and the earnings resilience of tech stocks, driving a rebound in chip stocks and AI infrastructure plays. However, Apple's (AAPL) sharp post-earnings decline, coupled with a rising U.S. dollar and Treasury yields, continued to limit the further expansion of market risk appetite.

TradingKey - Pre-market on July 31, ET, the U.S. semiconductor sector saw a significant rebound, with Micron Technology (MU), SanDisk (SNDK), SK Hynix ADR (SKHY), Nvidia (NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Intel (INTC) all rising across the board. However, despite month-end fund inflows driving a technical recovery in chip stocks, the overall semiconductor sector is still set to record its worst monthly performance since 2002 in July, indicating that market sentiment toward the AI industry chain has not yet fully recovered.

TradingKey - Japanese NAND flash manufacturer Kioxia reported its first-quarter fiscal 2026 results on Friday. Driven by demand from AI data centers, the company’s profit saw significant growth but fell slightly short of the market expectation of 1.37 trillion yen. Additionally, its second-quarter operating profit guidance of 1.89 trillion yen was lower than the Bloomberg consensus estimate of 1.95 trillion yen. However, the company expects NAND flash prices to continue rising in the second quarter, indicating that the memory industry's upcycle is likely to extend into the third quarter.

TradingKey - On July 30, Eastern Time, Amazon (AMZN) announced its second quarter fiscal 2026 financial results. Boosted by the accelerating growth of its AWS cloud computing business, continued high growth in its advertising business, and overall performance that exceeded market expectations across the board, Amazon's stock price surged over 9% at one point in after-hours trading. This earnings report not only alleviated previous market concerns regarding a slowdown in AWS growth but also reaffirmed that demand for AI infrastructure remains in a phase of rapid expansion.

TradingKey - Data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Thursday showed that the U.S. Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index rose 3.7% year-on-year in June, down from 4.1% in May. On a month-on-month basis, the index declined 0.1%, marking the first monthly drop since April 2020 and indicating that a retreat in energy prices has driven a significant cooling in overall inflation.

TradingKey - On Thursday, July 30 (ET), the three major US stock index futures rose collectively in pre-market trading. Microsoft's strong earnings report alleviated market concerns regarding returns on AI capital expenditure, leading the gains in Nasdaq 100 futures. However, individual stocks such as Meta (META) and Qualcomm (QCOM) weakened following their earnings releases, while long-term US Treasury yields remained elevated and the situation in the Middle East continued to keep the market cautious.

TradingKey - As of July 29 Eastern Time, Meta (META) released its second-quarter earnings for fiscal year 2026. While revenue grew 28% year-over-year to $60.8 billion, exceeding market expectations, Meta shares tumbled 7% in after-hours trading due to earnings missing expectations, a significant decline in free cash flow, and the continued increase in AI capital expenditure.

TradingKey - As of the Asian session on July 30, gold prices (XAUUSD) surged and then retreated following the Federal Reserve meeting, dipping to as low as $4,028.62 during the session. From a technical perspective, gold prices briefly climbed to $4,116.28 after the Fed announced its interest rate decision but failed to hold the $4,100 level. As the market reassessed internal divisions within the Fed regarding rate hikes and U.S. Treasury yields rebounded, short-term bullish momentum for gold has significantly weakened.

TradingKey - A recent research report from J.P. Morgan indicates that the large-scale deleveraging in the South Korean market, triggered by leveraged ETFs, is nearing its end. As passive selling pressure gradually subsides, the South Korean stock market is poised for a phased recovery, with the technology and semiconductor sectors likely to be the primary beneficiaries of the rebound.

U.S. stock index futures were mixed in pre-market trading on Wednesday ET. Market focus is centered on the Federal Reserve's July interest rate decision and after-hours earnings from Microsoft and Meta. Meanwhile, escalating tensions in the Middle East have pushed oil prices higher, and a slight uptick in Treasury yields has kept risk appetite cautious.

TradingKey - As of July 29 ET, Micron Technology (MU) shares have seen a cumulative correction of over 30% from the all-time high reached in late June. Although the company previously announced record-breaking fiscal 2026 third-quarter results and fourth-quarter guidance, the market opted for profit-taking rather than continuing to chase the rally. With AI memory demand remaining robust, why does Micron's stock price continue to pull back? Can it still rise in the future?

TradingKey - On July 29, it was reported that Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that the U.S. maintains a leading position in artificial intelligence and should not rely on restricting or banning Chinese AI models. Instead, it should consolidate its competitive advantage through continuous innovation and the enhancement of its own technological capabilities. These remarks have once again drawn market attention to the global AI competition landscape and U.S.-China tech competition.

TradingKey - As of July 27, Eastern Time, SpaceX (SPCX) shares were priced at $113.50, down 1.4%, after hitting an intraday low of $108.66, marking a new low since its listing. Compared to the all-time high of $225.64 reached on June 16, SPCX has seen a cumulative drawdown of nearly 50% and is down

TradingKey - On Tuesday Eastern Time, the three major US stock index futures were mixed in pre-market trading. The market is awaiting the Federal Reserve's July interest rate meeting and earnings reports from tech giants, while concerns over AI infrastructure financing models and intensifying competition from Chinese semiconductor companies have led to a continued sell-off in chip stocks, significantly weighing on Nasdaq index futures.

TradingKey - Microsoft (MSFT) will release its fourth-quarter results for fiscal year 2026 after the market close on July 29, Eastern Time. As of July 27, ET, Microsoft's latest stock price stood at $389.1, rising 1.94% on the day; however, the stock has seen a cumulative decline of 19.54% year-to-date. The pressure on the share price is attributed to factors including the company's high AI capital expenditures, intensifying competition in the software industry, and a slower-than-expected pace of AI commercialization.

TradingKey - On July 28 ET, U.S. semiconductor stocks continued to face pressure in pre-market trading. Micron Technology (MU) fell over 5%, while AMD (AMD) and Intel (INTC) both declined by more than 4%, signaling that capital continues to withdraw from memory chip and AI concept stocks that saw significant recent gains.

TradingKey - On July 28, Arm (ARM) announced the signing of a strategic cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Unity China. The two companies plan to combine Arm's strengths in mobile computing and graphics technology with Unity China's capabilities in real-time 3D engines and local developer services to jointly enhance the development and operating experience of games and interactive content on the Arm platform.

TradingKey - The Federal Reserve will hold its monetary policy meeting on July 28-29 Eastern Time and announce its interest rate decision at 14:00 on July 29, with Chairman Kevin Warsh holding a press conference thirty minutes later. The current target range for the federal funds rate is 3.50% to 3.75%. As this meeting will not include the release of new economic projections or the interest rate dot plot, market attention will be focused on the policy statement, the voting results, and Warsh’s comments on inflation and the policy path for September.

On Monday Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock index futures rose collectively in pre-market trading. The pause in mutual attacks between the United States and Iran over the weekend drove a significant drop in international oil prices, easing market concerns over energy inflation and further pol

TradingKey - On July 27, international crude oil prices fell sharply, ending a previous strong rally driven by Middle East supply risks. As of the European session, Brent crude (UKOIL) fell over 13% to trade near $85.23 per barrel, while WTI crude (USOIL) declined more than 8% to around $83.08.