Analysis

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.

TradingKey - On August 19, according to a Financial Times report citing two people familiar with the matter, Nvidia's (NVDA) H200 AI chips have been approved to enter the mainland Chinese market in small batches.

TradingKey - On August 19, Asia-Pacific time, a key turning point emerged in SK Hynix's (SKHY) 2026 wage negotiations, which had previously been deadlocked over a record bonus allocation formula. According to South Korean media reports, the labor union and management have reached a tentative agreement, bringing a temporary end to the weeks-long tug-of-war.

TradingKey - On August 17, the VIX dropped to an intraday low of approximately 14.18, hitting its lowest level since 2026. Compared to the 31.65 recorded on March 27, the index has fallen by more than 50% in less than five months.

TradingKey - During Asian trading hours on August 19, the Nikkei 225 Index fell for the second consecutive day, with early losses widening to as much as 3%. As of writing, the Nikkei 225 traded near 65,734 points, down 2.56%. The TOPIX Index also weakened, falling 2.76%.

TradingKey - NVDA Q1: Revenue $81.6B (+85% YoY), Data Center $75.25B (+92%), networking +199% to $14.8B. Q2 guide $91B ±2%. Vera Rubin in production (Foxconn Q4 ramp). NEW: Financing $500B AI fund, $105B OpenAI guarantee. Technical: $221 retest, $229 resistance. Aug 26 earnings in 9 days.

TradingKey - INTC Q2: Revenue $16.1B (+25% YoY), DCAI $6.3B (+59%), margin 41.8%, EPS $0.42. $20B capital raise. 14A process: Tesla Terafab validation. Long-term CPU contracts (3-5yr). Q3 guide $15.8-16.8B. Technical: $95.68 support, $103 resistance, descending trendline. Aug 26 Deutsche Bank cataly

TradingKey - Pressure from the bond market sent U.S. stocks down for a third consecutive session, with the Nasdaq plunging more than 1%.

TradingKey - On August 19, Japanese and South Korean stock markets weakened in tandem during early trading. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell over 6%, prompting the Korea Exchange to activate the sidecar mechanism and suspend program sell orders for the KOSPI. Meanwhile, Japan's Nikkei 225 Index extended its decline to 2.82%.

Weighed down by the U.S. 30-year Treasury yield hitting a 19-year high and rising oil prices, the three major U.S. stock indexes all came under pressure. Semiconductor stocks led the losses, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling by around 5% and memory chip stocks tumbling. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.22% to 53,343.40 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 1.33% to 26,289.71 points; and the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.69% to 7,691.76 points.

Anthropic is reportedly planning to expand its revolving credit facility to over $10 billion to secure ample liquidity ahead of a potential initial public offering (IPO). Sources familiar with the matter said the company's original financing target was around $10 billion, but several banks are offering higher commitments to compete for prominent IPO underwriting roles, though the final facility size may still end up near or even below the initial target.

Nvidia (NVDA) recently announced a strategic partnership with SB Energy to provide a credit guarantee of up to $105 billion for the PORTS-Pike Technology Park in Ohio. The site will be developed into a hyperscale data center dedicated to Nvidia's AI computing infrastructure, with OpenAI serving as the sole tenant.

MSFT Q4: Revenue $90B (+18%), Azure +43% (45% cc), Cloud $54.9B, Copilot embedding. Strong but capex risk: billions/quarter on data centers. Margin/FCF pressure potential. Technical: $480 support (23.6% Fib), $511.80 resistance. Jackson Hole (Aug 21-22) tests capex confidence.

On August 18 Eastern Time, SanDisk (SNDK) shares fell back below $1,700, snapping a six-day winning streak. According to the latest NAND Flash industry research report by TrendForce, AI server procurement momentum remained steady in the second quarter of 2026. Robust demand for enterprise SSDs in pa

On August 18 Eastern Time, Home Depot (HD) released its second-quarter fiscal 2026 financial results before the US market open. During the period, Home Depot's net sales grew 5.7% year-over-year to $47.861 billion, exceeding market expectations of $47.24 billion. Following the earnings release, Home Depot's stock bucked the market trend to trade higher, rising 1.01% to $341.30 as of press time.