ADDX GO Market Morning Wrap - 8th Aug

Stock Market  

On Thursday (August 7), U.S. stocks opened higher but ended with mixed results across the major indices.  

 

By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.51% to 43,968.64 points, the S&P 500 dropped 0.08% to 6,340 points, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.35% to 21,242.70 points, having gained over 1% intraday.  

Hot tech stocks showed mixed performance: AMD rose over 5%, Apple gained more than 3%, Meta fell over 1%, and Intel declined nearly 3%.

 

Precious metals, industrial metals and mining, and semiconductor equipment and materials led the gains, with Hecla Mining up over 13%, Pan American Silver up more than 7%, and ASML and KLA Corporation up over 3%.

 

Weight-loss drugs and cybersecurity concepts saw the largest declines, with Eli Lilly dropping over 14% and Zscaler falling more than 5%.

 

On Wednesday (August 6), Apple announced an additional $100 billion investment in the U.S. and advanced its “Made in America” plan. U.S. President Trump stated at the event that Apple would be exempt from chip and semiconductor tariffs.  

 

Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise, said, “There are many factors around tariffs and trade to digest,” noting that the market is currently focused only on digestible factors, such as economic backdrop and corporate earnings.  

 

Traders believing inflation is under control are heavily betting on two Fed rate cuts this year, one as early as next month. However, some strategists warn that Trump’s tariffs could upend this outlook.  

 

Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Management, wrote in a report: “The market is clearly anticipating imminent rate cuts, but upside inflation risks are significant. Ultimately, the stagflation theme in the market is intensifying.”  

 

Late in the session, reports indicated that Trump has selected Stephen Miran, current chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, to fill the vacant Fed governor seat, with a term ending January 31, 2026.  

 

Joe Gilbert, portfolio manager at Integrity Asset Management, said Miran “wasn’t an expected choice but fits within the market’s anticipated framework.” He believes Miran will support Fed easing.

 

Gilbert added: “This reinforces expectations of continued rate cuts for the rest of the year, given three dissenting governors, making it unlikely the Fed will hold rates steady.”  

Global Hotspots  

Trump to Sign Executive Order Allowing Pensions to Invest in Crypto and Alternative Assets  

 

A senior White House official revealed that U.S. President Trump will sign an executive order on Thursday, formally allowing private equity, real estate, cryptocurrencies, and other alternative assets to be included in 401(k) retirement savings plans, marking a significant policy shift in U.S. pension investments.  

 

Israeli PM Plans Military Control Over Entire Gaza Strip, Hamas Condemns Strongly  

 

On August 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “Israel intends to impose military control over the entire Gaza Strip but does not want to ‘own’ it, instead aiming to hand it over to an Arab force capable of proper governance, ensuring Gaza poses no threat to Israel.”  

 

Trump Orders New Census Excluding Illegal Immigrants  

 

Trump announced on the 7th that he has instructed the government to launch a new census excluding individuals without legal status in the U.S. Analysts see this as a political move to secure more House seats for the Republican Party.

 

In a post on the Truth Social platform, Trump said he directed the Commerce Department to immediately begin a new census based on current data and, more importantly, results and information from the 2024 presidential election. He emphasized that those illegally residing in the U.S. will not be counted.  

 

Trump Nominates Stephen Miran as Fed Governor  

 

Trump announced on the 7th that he has selected Stephen Miran, current chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, to fill the vacant Fed governor seat, with a term until January 31, 2026.

 

Trump also said he will continue seeking long-term Fed position replacements. Miran previously served as a senior economic policy advisor at the U.S. Treasury during Trump’s first term and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.  

 

Switzerland to Continue Tariff Negotiations with U.S.  

 

On August 7, the U.S. imposed a 39% tariff on Swiss products, effective immediately.

 

The Swiss Federal Council held a press conference, affirming its commitment to ongoing negotiations with the U.S. to lower the tariff rate swiftly.  

 

U.S. Continuing Claims for Unemployment Hit Highest Since Late 2021, Signaling Cooling Labor Market  

 

The number of Americans continuing to claim unemployment benefits surged to the highest level since November 2021, further evidencing a cooling labor market.

 

The U.S. Labor Department reported that continuing claims rose by 38,000 to 1.97 million for the week ending July 26.  

 

“Near Trade Embargo”? Trump Tariffs Hit India, Analysts Warn of 1% GDP Drop  

 

Analysts warn that the latest U.S. tariffs imposed by President Trump will further dampen India’s already slowing economic growth, potentially reducing its GDP by up to 1%.

 

Trump announced on Thursday a doubling of tariffs on Indian goods to 50% to penalize its purchase of Russian oil, a move that could render exports from multiple Indian sectors uncompetitive in the U.S. market.  

Company News  

Microsoft to Integrate OpenAI’s GPT-5 into Consumer, Developer, and Enterprise Products  

 

Microsoft will integrate OpenAI’s GPT-5 into its Copilot ecosystem, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, Azure AI Foundry, and Copilot Studio. The new intelligent mode supports dynamic model switching to enhance reasoning and task-specific responses.

 

Microsoft 365 Copilot now offers improved context understanding and handling of complex queries, while GitHub Copilot users gain access to GPT-5’s advanced coding capabilities.

 

GPT-5 comes in four versions, optimized for logic, multi-step tasks, and multimodal enterprise applications. Developers can leverage GPT-5 via Azure AI Foundry, using its model router for task-specific precision in AI-driven apps.  

 

Tesla Disbands Dojo Supercomputer Team, AI Projects Stumble  

 

Insiders reveal that Tesla is disbanding its Dojo supercomputer team, with leader Peter Bannon set to leave. Some team members have joined DensityAI, while others will be reassigned to Tesla’s internal data center and computing projects.

 

Tesla plans to increase reliance on external tech partners, including Nvidia and AMD for computing and Samsung for chip manufacturing.  

 

GLP-1 Drug Sales Surge, Eli Lilly Q2 Beats Expectations, Raises Guidance  

 

On Thursday (August 7), U.S. pharma giant Eli Lilly reported Q2 2025 earnings, surpassing market expectations driven by strong demand for its weight-loss and diabetes drugs.

 

However, disappointing clinical trial results for its oral GLP-1 drug led to a stock drop on Thursday.  

 

Swedish Bankrupt Firm Northvolt to Be Acquired, Reviving Europe’s Battery Independence Hopes?  

 

U.S. lithium-sulfur battery maker Lyten announced on Thursday a binding agreement to acquire all remaining assets of Swedish battery maker Northvolt in Sweden and Germany.

 

Lyten, a Silicon Valley startup focused on eco-friendly lithium-sulfur batteries as an alternative to lithium-ion, is backed by Stellantis (Jeep’s parent) and FedEx.  

 

AI-Driven Growth Explodes! Duolingo Reports Stellar Q2, Stock Surges Nearly 30%  

 

U.S.-listed AI app standout Duolingo surged nearly 30% on Thursday, fueled by AI-driven growth. The company issued strong financial forecasts and raised its full-year revenue guidance.

 

Highlighting shareholder excitement, Duolingo reported 47.7 million daily active users by Q2-end, up 40% from 34 million last year, with 10.9 million paid subscribers, a 37% increase from 8 million.  

Forex & Commodities  

COMEX gold futures rose 1.44% to $3,482.7 per ounce. COMEX silver futures gained 1.66% to $38.53 per ounce.  

 

WTI crude futures fell 0.73% to $63.88 per barrel. Brent crude futures dropped 0.69% to $66.43 per barrel.  

 

The U.S. Dollar Index declined 0.15% to 98.077.

Key Events  

Oil: Prices Fall, Traders Eye Trump-Putin Meeting  

 

Oil prices hit their lowest close in over two months as traders await a potential meeting between Russian President Putin and U.S. President Trump, which could impact Russian crude supplies.  

 

WTI fell below $64 per barrel, marking its lowest close since early June and the sixth consecutive decline, the longest losing streak since December 2023.  

Cryptocurrency  

Major digital assets rose on Thursday.  

 

The CoinDesk Market Index, tracking dozens of assets including Bitcoin, rose nearly 1.6% in the past 24 hours.  

 

Bitcoin gained 2% to $117,388, with 24-hour trading volume up 6.8% to $60.9 billion.  

 

Ethereum (ETH-USD) climbed 5.6% to $3,877.  

 

XRP (XRP-USD) rose 2.8%, BNB (BNB-USD) up 1%, and Solana (SOL-USD) gained 2.2%.  

 

Dogecoin (DOGE-USD) rose 5.3%, and Cardano (ADA-USD) added 3.2%.  

 

The total market value of the crypto industry rose 2.3% to $3.85 trillion in the past 24 hours, with trading volume up 12.5% to $147.91 billion.  

Key Events  

Institutions Debate Bitcoin in Reserves  

 

Amid rising global macroeconomic uncertainty, more institutions and nations are discussing including crypto assets, especially Bitcoin, in strategic reserves.

 

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan recently noted that Bitcoin is in the “early stages of exponential demand,” with its role in national and institutional asset allocation steadily increasing.