NextFin News -
1) Pre-Market Performance
U.S. index futures were mixed, with rotation out of high-valuation technology offset by relative strength in blue-chip value names. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 298.00 points, or 1.00%, to 29,643.00; S&P 500 futures slipped 12.25 points, or 0.16%, to 7,579.30; and Dow Jones futures rose 147 points, or 0.28%, to 53,519.
European markets were mixed: the FTSE 100 gained 48.37 points, or 0.45%, to 10,700.14 (range: 10,651.17–10,724.03), France’s CAC 40 edged up 3.64 points, or 0.04%, to 8,483.51, while Germany’s DAX fell 181.33 points, or 0.70%, to 25,636.56.
In commodities, crude oil recovered modestly after the previous session’s sharp decline: Brent crude rose $0.28, or 0.39%, to $72.29 a barrel, and WTI crude gained $0.29, or 0.26%, to $68.84 a barrel. Gold was weaker as yields and the dollar firmed, with spot gold down 0.6% at $4,140.88 an ounce and U.S. gold futures down 0.3% at $4,153.19. The U.S. Dollar Index held near the 101.00 level after earlier trading below that threshold.
2) Hot News
- AI-chip rally faces a pre-market stress test: Nasdaq futures weakened as investors questioned whether the AI semiconductor rally has become stretched. Samsung’s forecast for a 19-fold jump in second-quarter operating profit failed to reassure the market, while U.S. memory and AI-linked chip names came under pressure before the open.
- Oil steadies after Saudi price cut and supply normalization concerns: Crude prices edged higher but gains were limited as traders focused on supply recovery, demand prospects and Saudi Arabia’s sharp August official selling price cut for Arab Light crude to Asia, reinforcing expectations that producers are competing for market share.
- SpaceX enters Nasdaq 100, creating a major index-flow event: SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq 100 just 15 days after its June 12 market debut. JPMorgan estimated the inclusion could draw roughly $4.3 billion in passive inflows, and several major banks began coverage after the IPO quiet period ended.
- Payments infrastructure returns to the spotlight: Large U.S. banks including JPMorgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and PNC have reportedly explored acquiring a Fiserv debit-card network, highlighting renewed strategic interest in payment rails and debit-routing economics.
- Gold softens as dollar and yields pressure haven demand: Gold slipped despite cautious equity sentiment, with traders balancing a firmer dollar, higher Treasury yields and lower expectations for further rate hikes, keeping precious metals under pressure.
3) U.S. Stock Focus
- Nvidia — DeepSeek chip report pressures shares: Nvidia traded lower in pre-market action after Reuters reported that China’s DeepSeek is developing its own AI semiconductor for inference workloads. Nvidia shares were reported down about 1.6% in pre-market trading.
- Micron Technology — Memory stocks hit by profit-taking: Micron fell about 6.03% to $925.37 in pre-market trading as high-beta semiconductor names sold off following a strong run in AI-linked memory shares.
- Advanced Micro Devices — Valuation sensitivity weighs on AMD: AMD shares were down 4.08% at $529.50 before the open as investors reduced exposure to high-valuation technology stocks, weakening short-term momentum.
- SpaceX — Nasdaq 100 debut meets early selling: SpaceX shares were down about 1.2% in early pre-market trading even as the company entered the Nasdaq 100 and drew broadly bullish initial coverage. The stock has gained more than 6% since its June 12 debut but remains volatile.
- Rivian Automotive — Share offering overshadows operating update: Rivian fell sharply after announcing an underwritten public offering of 75 million shares of common stock. The stock dropped 8.4% in after-hours trading Monday amid dilution concerns.
- Fiserv — STAR Network sale talks lift sentiment: Fiserv rose after reports that it has held talks with major U.S. banks about selling its payments infrastructure business that handles debit-card transactions, a strategically important asset.
- Vertex Pharmaceuticals and Crinetics — $10 billion biotech deal: Vertex agreed to acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for $85.00 per share in cash, valuing the target at approximately $10.0 billion in equity value (about $8.8 billion net of estimated cash acquired). Crinetics shares surged nearly 99% in pre-market trading.
- Fluor — Aramco selects company for long-term project agreement: Fluor announced that Saudi Aramco selected it as a Program Management Consultancy contractor under a long-term agreement supporting Aramco’s global capital projects portfolio, covering pre-FEED, FEED, engineering, project management, procurement oversight and construction management services.
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