Tonight’s Highlights | U.S. July PPI Inflation Far Exceeds Expectations, U.S. Stock Futures Plunge Intraday  

On Thursday, during U.S. pre-market trading, a PPI inflation report that far exceeded expectations dashed hopes of a significant Federal Reserve rate cut, causing the three major index futures to plunge intraday.

 

 

As of press time, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 0.33%, Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.47%, and S&P 500 futures declined 0.39%.  

 

Data showed that the U.S. July PPI annual rate reached 3.3%, significantly above the market’s expected 2.5%, marking the highest level since February. The July PPI monthly rate recorded 0.9%, the largest increase since June 2022, against an expected 0.2%.  

 

Excluding the more volatile food and energy categories, the July core PPI annual rate was 3.7%, exceeding the expected 2.9%, while the monthly core PPI rate was 0.9%, against an expected 0.2%.  

 

Chris Rupkey, Chief Economist at FwdBonds, noted: “The tariff storm is starting to burn, and producers are feeling the scorching heat of inflation. It won’t be long before these tariff-driven costs are passed on to already exhausted consumers.”  

 

He added: “Today’s PPI data finally confirms that inflation is coming our way. What was once a slow simmer has now been brought to the forefront and is starting to boil.”  

 

Next, Friday’s retail sales data will further test the resilience of U.S. consumers, following signs of fatigue in the labor market.  

 

Traders have fully priced in a 25-basis-point rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting. Despite the PPI data far exceeding expectations, the CME FedWatch tool indicates that traders still estimate a nearly 95% probability of a rate cut at the September meeting.  

 

The previous day, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that, given recent weak employment data, the Fed might implement a significant 50-basis-point rate cut in September. “If we had seen these revised nonfarm payroll data in May or June, I suspect the Fed might have cut rates in June and July. This suggests a 50-basis-point cut in September is highly likely.”

 

However, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly argued that while a softening U.S. labor market might signal the time for a rate cut, a 50-basis-point cut in September is unnecessary.

Company News  

Google to Invest $9 Billion in U.S. to Expand Cloud and AI Infrastructure

 

On Wednesday local time, Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced a $9 billion investment over the next two years in Oklahoma, U.S., to expand cloud computing and AI infrastructure.

 

This investment will support the construction of a new data center campus in Stillwater and the expansion of existing facilities in Pryor, boosting U.S. domestic AI and cloud computing capacity, alongside education and training initiatives.  

 

JD.com Q2 Revenue Growth Hits 22.4%, a Three-Year High

 

JD.com released its 2025 Q2 earnings, reporting revenue of 356.7 billion yuan, up 22.4% year-over-year, surpassing market expectations and marking the highest revenue growth in nearly three years. The continued acceleration in Q2 revenue growth is primarily driven by the core retail business, which maintained its growth momentum.

 

Notably, new businesses including JD Delivery saw revenue surge 199% year-over-year. Benefiting from the strength of core retail and new ventures like delivery, JD.com’s quarterly active users and purchase frequency both grew over 40% year-over-year, with active users marking seven consecutive quarters of double-digit growth.

 

As of June 30, the total headcount across JD’s ecosystem was approximately 900,000.  

 

Google and NASA Jointly Develop “AI Space Doctor”

 

Google announced on its official blog that, in collaboration with NASA, it is developing an AI medical assistant for space missions, capable of providing real-time health diagnostics for astronauts when telemedicine is unavailable.

 

Media reports indicate that the “Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant” has been tested in three scenarios: ankle injury, flank pain, and earache. Results show high diagnostic accuracy, with a 74% success rate for flank pain assessments and treatments, 80% for earache, and 88% for ankle injuries.

 

Google and NASA are working with doctors to test and optimize the model, aiming to enhance astronauts’ autonomous health management in future space exploration. The “Crew Medical Officer Digital Assistant” could also benefit remote populations on Earth.