U.S. stock futures fell, Nasdaq futures fell 1%, chip stocks were generally under pressure: What to watch tonight
On Thursday, US equity index futures were lower, with the Nasdaq 100 index futures down 1%. The share price fell after TSMC announced its latest earnings report, which detracted from the overall performance of chip stocks. Major European indices were all down. (Source: Yingwei Business) Data released before the market showed that retail sales in the United States increased by 0.2% month-on-month in June, and the market is expected to grow by 0.2%. In pre-market trading, TSMC shares fell more than 4%. Although the company's second-quarter results were better than expected, the impact of its upward capex forecasts overshadowed positive earnings.
U.S. stock index futures were lower on Thursday, with Nasdaq 100 futures down 1%. TSMC's stock price fell after announcing its latest financial report, dragging down the overall performance of chip stocks. Major European indexes fell across the board. (Source: Yingwei Finance) Data released before the market opened showed that U.S. retail sales increased by 0.2% month-on-month in June, and market estimates were for a 0.2% increase. In pre-market trading, TSMC’s stock price fell more than 4%. Although the company's second-quarter results were better than expected, the impact of its upward revision of capital expenditure forecasts overshadowed the positive earnings report. TSMC expects capital expenditures this year to be between US$60 billion and US$64 billion, higher than its previous guidance range of US$52 billion to US$56 billion. As of press time, Micron Technology has fallen by more than 5% before the market opens, SanDisk has fallen by nearly 8%, and Intel and AMD have fallen by more than 3%. In the Korean market, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics closed sharply lower, dragging the South Korea Composite Stock Price Index down more than 6%. European chip stocks were also under pressure, with STMicroelectronics falling 3%, ASML and Infineon falling more than 2%. The chip sector has continued to fluctuate recently, and investors' focus has begun to shift to other factors, especially the earnings season and the rising tensions between the United States and Iran. Oil prices, which had surged earlier this week, have reacted relatively calmly to the latest news, including media reports that President Donald Trump is leaning toward expanding U.S. military action in Iran. [TSMC’s second-quarter net profit exceeded expectations, raised its full-year growth forecast and increased capital expenditures] TSMC’s second-quarter results announced on July 16 significantly exceeded market expectations. During the period, TSMC achieved a net profit of NT$706.6 billion (approximately US$22 billion), with a gross profit margin of nearly 68%. Due to extremely strong demand for AI, TSMC plans to invest more in capacity expansion and significantly raises its capital expenditure forecast for this year by US$8 billion to between US$60 billion and US$64 billion. At the same time, TSMC confirmed that it will invest an additional US$100 billion in Arizona, USA, further increasing its commitment to the US market. TSMC CEO Wei Zhejia said that driven by strong AI demand, he has raised the company's full-year sales growth forecast to more than 40%. Wei Zhejia pointed out that outside the field of AI, smartphone chip sales have declined and there is no shortage. Currently, almost all demand growth comes from AI and data centers serving AI. He is very optimistic that it will be "very good business" for TSMC in the next few years. [UnitedHealth Group releases second quarter financial report: revenue of US$112 billion, raising full-year performance guidance] UnitedHealth Group released its second quarter 2026 financial report on July 16. During the period, the group achieved comprehensive revenue of US$112 billion, operating profit of US$8 billion, and net profit margin of 4.9%. The group's second quarter earnings per share was US$6.04, and adjusted earnings per share were US$6.38. In light of the strong performance so far this year and the improved outlook for the second half of the year, UnitedHealth Group announced an increase in its full-year performance guidance for 2026. The group currently expects that full-year earnings per share in 2026 will be adjusted to a range of US$18.45 to US$18.95, and adjusted earnings per share are expected to be between US$19.50 and US$20.00. UnitedHealth rose nearly 7% in pre-market trading. [Japan plans to purchase 27,500 NVIDIA Rubin chips to create a local robot AI basic model] According to news on July 16, Japan plans to purchase 27,500 NVIDIA next-generation Rubin AI chips to build basic AI models for local robots. The newly established Noetra will be responsible for building large-scale data centers and plans to release its first AI model in March 2027. It will then continue to iterate and launch AI models for robotic applications in the next few years. Noetra has received 387.3 billion yen in financial support from the Japanese government as of March 2027, and is operated by dozens of companies such as Preferred Networks and Nippon Electric supported by SoftBank and Toyota Motor. The project aims to reduce dependence on overseas technology and promote Japan to occupy more than 30% of the global robot market of approximately 60 trillion yen by 2040.
[Apple is considering acquiring a chip company, but it is reported that it faces challenges due to the performance of its self-developed AI servers] According to reports, Apple has contacted some chip startups to inquire about their willingness to be acquired, with the intention of strengthening its ability to build server chips for running artificial intelligence. According to reports, Apple’s acquisition intention was due to challenges faced by the performance of its self-developed AI servers. People familiar with the matter said that Apple originally planned to launch a follow-up version of its AI server chip (internally codenamed "Baltra") this year, but the project has been delayed. [Merck’s oral PCSK9 inhibitor LIPFENDRA is approved by the US FDA] Merck announced on July 16 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the oral PCSK9 inhibitor LIPFENDRA for the treatment of adult hypercholesterolemia, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH). The drug is the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor approved by the FDA. The phase III CORALreef Lipids trial showed that LIPFENDRA reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by 56% compared with placebo after 24 weeks of treatment; in the CORALreef HeFH trial, the reduction was 59%. The company said it is still conducting cardiovascular outcome studies and has not proven that the drug can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. [Uber reaches a business merger agreement with German food delivery company Delivery Hero] On July 16, local time, Uber announced that it had reached a business merger agreement with German food delivery company Delivery Hero to expand its travel and delivery platform business to a total of 99 markets. Uber will provide Delivery Hero shareholders with a cash consideration of 41.50 euros per share, corresponding to an equity value of US$14.8 billion. If Uber’s previously held shares are deducted, the adjusted value will be US$13.7 billion. Delivery Hero has also reached an agreement with investment company SSW Partners to sell its business in 14 markets for a consideration of approximately US$1.6 billion, especially those that overlap with Uber Eats. [Novo Nordisk’s oral weight loss drug approved by European Commission] On July 15, local time, the Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk announced that the European Commission has approved the marketing of Wegovy® oral tablets (semaglutide 25 mg once daily) for the treatment of adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related comorbidity, as an adjunct to a low-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Wegovy® oral tablet also becomes the EU's first oral GLP-1 medicine for weight management. [The EU requires Google to open up Android AI functions and search data] On July 16, the European Commission issued two binding technical specification measures to Google in accordance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), requiring it to open key functions of the Android system to third-party AI assistants and share anonymized search data with third-party search engines to promote competition in the artificial intelligence and search markets. According to the requirements, Google needs to allow third-party AI assistants to call key Android system functions, support voice wake-up, cross-application task execution and other capabilities, and receive the same treatment as Gemini; at the same time, Google needs to open anonymized search data to qualified search engines and AI chat robots with search functions, and establish a transparent data acquisition and pricing mechanism. According to the timetable, Google will need to start sharing search data from January 2027, and Android-related interoperability features will be available to users from July 2027. Events worthy of attention during the US stock market time period (Beijing time) 22:00 US July NAHB housing market index, US May commercial inventory monthly rate, US June existing home contracted sales index monthly rate 00:30 2026 FOMC Voting Committee and Dallas Fed President Logan delivered a speech 01:25 2028 FOMC Voting Committee and Kansas Fed Chairman Schmid delivered a speech (
[Apple is considering acquiring a chip company, but it is reported that it faces challenges due to the performance of its self-developed AI servers] According to reports, Apple has contacted some chip startups to inquire about their willingness to be acquired, with the intention of strengthening its ability to build server chips for running artificial intelligence. According to reports, Apple’s acquisition intention was due to challenges faced by the performance of its self-developed AI servers. People familiar with the matter said that Apple originally planned to launch a follow-up version of its AI server chip (internally codenamed "Baltra") this year, but the project has been delayed. [Merck’s oral PCSK9 inhibitor LIPFENDRA is approved by the US FDA] Merck announced on July 16 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the oral PCSK9 inhibitor LIPFENDRA for the treatment of adult hypercholesterolemia, including heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH). The drug is the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor approved by the FDA. The phase III CORALreef Lipids trial showed that LIPFENDRA reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by 56% compared with placebo after 24 weeks of treatment; in the CORALreef HeFH trial, the reduction was 59%. The company said it is still conducting cardiovascular outcome studies and has not proven that the drug can reduce the risk of cardiovascular events. [Uber reaches a business merger agreement with German food delivery company Delivery Hero] On July 16, local time, Uber announced that it had reached a business merger agreement with German food delivery company Delivery Hero to expand its travel and delivery platform business to a total of 99 markets. Uber will provide Delivery Hero shareholders with a cash consideration of 41.50 euros per share, corresponding to an equity value of US$14.8 billion. If Uber’s previously held shares are deducted, the adjusted value will be US$13.7 billion. Delivery Hero has also reached an agreement with investment company SSW Partners to sell its business in 14 markets for a consideration of approximately US$1.6 billion, especially those that overlap with Uber Eats. [Novo Nordisk’s oral weight loss drug approved by European Commission] On July 15, local time, the Danish pharmaceutical manufacturer Novo Nordisk announced that the European Commission has approved the marketing of Wegovy® oral tablets (semaglutide 25 mg once daily) for the treatment of adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related comorbidity, as an adjunct to a low-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Wegovy® oral tablet also becomes the EU's first oral GLP-1 medicine for weight management. [The EU requires Google to open up Android AI functions and search data] On July 16, the European Commission issued two binding technical specification measures to Google in accordance with the Digital Markets Act (DMA), requiring it to open key functions of the Android system to third-party AI assistants and share anonymized search data with third-party search engines to promote competition in the artificial intelligence and search markets. According to the requirements, Google needs to allow third-party AI assistants to call key Android system functions, support voice wake-up, cross-application task execution and other capabilities, and receive the same treatment as Gemini; at the same time, Google needs to open anonymized search data to qualified search engines and AI chat robots with search functions, and establish a transparent data acquisition and pricing mechanism. According to the timetable, Google will need to start sharing search data from January 2027, and Android-related interoperability features will be available to users from July 2027. Events worthy of attention during the US stock market time period (Beijing time) 22:00 US July NAHB housing market index, US May commercial inventory monthly rate, US June existing home contracted sales index monthly rate 00:30 2026 FOMC Voting Committee and Dallas Fed President Logan delivered a speech 01:25 2028 FOMC Voting Committee and Kansas Fed Chairman Schmid delivered a speech (