Analysis

Market sentiment weakened following reports that Fed Chairman Warsh is considering a September rate hike and ahead of the non-farm payrolls report scheduled for release on August 7 ET. The three major indices all declined, with memory stocks suffering losses while oil stocks gained. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.85% to 53,885.10 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 0.06% to 26,348.35 points; and the S&P 500 Index declined 0.18% to 7,709.96 points.

According to a report by *The Information*, Nvidia (NVDA) is considering an aggressive move to address the shortage of high-end high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips. The company is exploring the adoption of memory configurations for its next-generation Rubin Ultra GPU that are lower than originally planned. According to three people familiar with the testing efforts, Nvidia has tested at least three versions of the Rubin Ultra over the past several weeks, with some versions featuring memory capacities below the specifications initially announced by the company.

On August 6, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices collectively trended lower. As of press time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.57% to 54,037.33; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.12% to 26,332.09; and the S&P 500 Index declined 0.16% to 7,710.84. The market held back from making

According to the Financial Times, individuals close to new Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh stated that Warsh has admitted to those around him that there were indeed missteps during his first ten weeks at the helm of the world’s most important central bank. He acknowledged failing to effectively reinforce the core message of maintaining price stability and allowing confusion to arise regarding whether his long-term Fed reform plans would influence short-term decision-making.

Datadog beat on Q2 revenue and earnings and raised full-year guidance, yet DDOG fell ~17% to the mid-$230s after nearly doubling in 2026. Here’s why the stock dropped.

On August 6, Eastern Time, the largest post-listing insider cash-out window for SpaceX (SPCX) opened. Despite the unlocking, SPCX shares rebounded from an initial drop of over 2% to rise more than 6% at one point. The stock hit an intraday low of $105.11, remaining above its historical low of $104.83. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas noted in a client report on Wednesday that this lock-up expiration involves approximately $100 billion worth of SpaceX shares, characterizing it as an entry opportunity to purchase this "potential multi-generational compounding asset."

Cloudflare reports Q2 after the close Aug 6. A beat is expected (~$665M, $0.27 EPS), but with NET at a record ~$300 above most price targets, guidance is what matters.

TradingKey - The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the July non-farm payrolls report at 8:30 AM ET on August 7. Current market focus is centered not only on employment growth but also on the unemployment rate, average hourly earnings, and whether data from the previous two months will be revised downward again. These indicators will directly impact Federal Reserve rate hike expectations for September, as well as the trajectory of U.S. stocks, the U.S. Dollar, and gold (XAUUSD).

Airbnb reports Q2 after the close Aug 6. Wall Street expects $3.58B revenue (+15.6%) and ~$1.22 EPS, with a Middle East travel headwind in focus. ABNB trades near $152.

SpaceX shares rose by more than 3% even as the first batch of shares released from the lock-up period is set to enter the public float.

SanDisk shares tumbled 11% following its earnings report, as the $1,000 mark faces another test.

SpaceX’s revenue rose 92% to $7.8B in its first public quarter, but heavy AI capex and an Aug 6 lockup of ~911M shares have pushed SPCX below $135 to near $110.

TradingKey - As of Thursday (August 6) ET, futures for the three major US stock indices showed mixed performance in pre-market trading. Dow and S&P 500 futures edged higher, while Nasdaq 100 futures remained under pressure as the market continued to digest pullback pressures following AI capital expenditures, chip stock valuations, and earnings reports in the memory sector. Investors are also awaiting data on initial jobless claims, Q2 non-farm productivity, and unit labor costs to assess the latest shifts in US employment and inflationary pressures.

SanDisk and Western Digital reported earnings that exceeded expectations, but weak guidance led to a sharp decline in their share prices, weighing on other storage stocks.

TradingKey - On August 5, ET, OpenAI filed a motion in federal court to dismiss a trade secret theft lawsuit filed by Apple (AAPL), calling the allegations "baseless." In court documents, OpenAI's attorneys stated that the company "did not use, nor did it need to obtain, any of Apple's trade secrets."

TradingKey - SoftBank Group reported a net profit of 347.33 billion yen (approximately $2.2 billion) for the first fiscal quarter ended June 30, down about 18% year-on-year but well above the market expectation of approximately 166 billion yen.

TradingKey - Due to persistent global DRAM memory supply constraints, market reports indicate that TSMC (TSM) is facing packaging delays for Apple processor orders valued at approximately $1 billion. The primary cause is a shortage of supporting memory supply, which has prevented some chips from completing final packaging as originally scheduled. This news once again underscores how the supply-demand imbalance in memory chips driven by the AI wave is spreading across the entire semiconductor supply chain.

Strong demand for Nvidia's chips continues to drive a rally in its stock price, which is poised to challenge all-time highs in August.

TradingKey - As of August 5, Eastern Time, SanDisk (SNDK) released its fourth-quarter fiscal results after the U.S. market close. Although the company’s fourth-quarter performance significantly exceeded market expectations and its AI data center business maintained high-speed growth, SanDisk's shares experienced profit-taking, plunging 8% in after-hours trading. The decline follows a period where the market had already priced in expectations for AI storage growth, leading to excessive cumulative gains, while next-quarter guidance failed to fully meet the expectations of some investors.

TradingKey - On August 5 ET, South Korean memory giant Samsung Electronics and memory module manufacturer Netlist (NLST) reached a strategic alliance, ending a nearly decade-long patent dispute and establishing a new business partnership. Boosted by the news, Netlist's share price surged over 60% intraday and closed up 58.32%, marking the largest single-day gain since the company's listing.