Tonight’s Highlights | U.S. Stock Futures Show Mixed Performance, Market Focuses on Trump-Putin Summit
On Friday, during U.S. pre-market trading, the three major index futures showed mixed performance. The U.S. July retail sales monthly rate met expectations and did not significantly impact the market.
As of press time, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.60%, Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.09%, and S&P 500 futures gained 0.13%.
Data showed that U.S. retail sales for July grew 0.5% month-over-month, in line with market expectations, with the prior value revised from 0.6% to 0.9%.
U.S. stocks have rebounded strongly since a sharp drop in April due to Trump policies and have accelerated upward in recent weeks.
A cooling labor market and easing inflation pressures have further solidified expectations for a rate cut. The CME FedWatch tool indicates that the probability of a 25-basis-point Fed rate cut in September has risen to about 90%, up from 85% earlier this week.
On the stock front, Intel’s pre-market gain narrowed to 2.2%, with reports suggesting the Trump administration is negotiating with the struggling company to take a stake and improve its financial health.
UnitedHealth surged over 10% in pre-market trading after Berkshire disclosed it built a position of 5.039 million shares in the U.S. healthcare company during Q2, valued at $1.57 billion at quarter-end.
Meanwhile, the market is cautiously eyeing Friday’s U.S.-Russia summit, viewing it as a first step toward mediating the Russia-Ukraine conflict and easing tensions.
On Friday morning local time, Trump departed Joint Base Andrews aboard Air Force One, heading to Anchorage for the U.S.-Russia summit scheduled for that day.
According to the known meeting arrangements, the two leaders will first hold a one-on-one meeting, followed by delegation-level talks accompanied by a working lunch.
Jefferies International’s Chief European Strategist Mohit Kumar noted: “While a true peace agreement is still far off, we expect today’s meeting to make some progress and pave the way for future negotiations.
If a peace process begins, it will be a clear positive for stocks.”
Company News
WeRide Secures Tens of Millions in Investment from Grab, Plans Southeast Asia Robotaxi Deployment
WeRide announced on Friday that Southeast Asian ride-hailing and food delivery platform Grab (NASDAQ: GRAB) will invest tens of millions of dollars in an equity stake.
According to official statements, this investment is part of a strategic partnership, with both companies planning to deploy L4-level Robotaxis and other autonomous vehicles on a large scale in Southeast Asia.
Apple Joins Xiaohongshu: Rumored September 10 Fall Event
On Friday, netizens discovered that Apple has officially joined Xiaohongshu, with its profile stating: “Hello, this is Apple, here to share technology, creativity, and the future with you.”
The official account has yet to post any content. Rumors suggest the iPhone 17 series launch event is set for 1:00 AM on September 10.
Typically, Apple sends media invitations a week before major events, meaning confirmation invitations could be issued as early as September 2.
Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen: Multiple Product Upgrades, Qwen-Image Editing Model to Launch Soon
Tongyi Qianwen announced on Friday upgrades including an expanded Qwen3 1-million-token context, an enhanced Qwen Chat Deep Research, and the launch of ComfyUI with Qwen-Image distilled. Additionally, the Qwen-Image editing model is set to launch soon.
Ford Recalls 41,875 Lincoln Corsairs in U.S. Due to Rear Camera Display Issue
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) disclosed that Ford is recalling 41,875 Lincoln Corsair models from the 2020-2022 model years due to a rear camera display malfunction.