Tonight’s Highlights: U.S. Pre-Market AI Stocks Rally Broadly; U.S.-Iran Conflict Continues

Driven by a strong rebound in Asian tech equities earlier today, U.S. AI-related stocks staged a long-awaited collective pre-market rally on Tuesday.

 

As of press time, Nasdaq 100 index futures (Sep '26 contract) were up 1.22%, S&P 500 futures gained 0.35%, and Dow Jones futures rose 0.19%.

 

Among the U.S. "Big Five" memory chipmakers, SK Hynix jumped 5.8% pre-market, Micron Technology rose 5.7%, SanDisk advanced 7%, Seagate Technology gained 5.68%, and Western Digital climbed 7.19%. During Asian trading hours, Kioxia rebounded 17.18%, Samsung Electronics gained 6.15%, and SK Hynix's South Korea-listed shares surged over 4%.

 

Prominent semiconductor and chip equipment gainers—Intel, Marvell Technology, Applied Materials, and Teradyne—all advanced over 5% pre-market.

 

AMD gained nearly 4% ahead of its annual flagship AI conference scheduled for Wednesday through Thursday, where investors will closely watch the company's technology roadmap and potential updates on hot topics like CPO (Co-Packaged Optics).

 

Optical communications stocks—Lumentum, Applied Optoelectronics, Credo, Nokia, Coherent, and Corning—all recorded pre-market gains of around 5%.

 

Emerging cloud provider Nebius surged over 6% pre-market, while IREN and CoreWeave posted gains of over 3%.

 

The move followed an Nvidia regulatory filing disclosing its 9.3% ownership stake in Nebius. Although Nvidia's holding of Nebius warrants was not breaking news, the disclosure nevertheless provided a boost to market sentiment.

 

Whether the current pullback in momentum trades is nearing an end remains to be seen as earnings season unfolds. According to the calendar, Google/Alphabet, IBM, and Tesla are set to report financial results after Wednesday's close.

 

Major AI spenders including Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta will reveal their latest quarterly results next week. Wall Street will scrutinize trends around "AI monetization" to evaluate whether trillion-dollar capital expenditures remain sustainable.

 

Meanwhile, ongoing geopolitical friction in the Middle East continues to overhang markets. Amid reports that multiple nations have proposed a ten-day ceasefire to both Washington and Tehran, the U.S. launched strikes against Iran for a tenth consecutive day.

 

Iran claimed it struck the U.S. Sheikh Isa Air Base in Bahrain, while Kuwait reported that Iranian attacks targeted its power and desalination facilities for a fourth straight day.

 

The U.S. Department of Defense confirmed Monday that nearly 100 American service members have sustained injuries of varying degrees—mostly mild traumatic brain injuries—from Iranian strikes since July 7. Since the outbreak of the current conflict, 17 U.S. service members have been killed in action, with one remaining unaccounted for.

Other Corporate & Market News

• TSMC Price Hike Rumors

  According to latest supply chain reports on Tuesday, industry sources revealed that TSMC plans to raise chip manufacturing prices by up to 10% starting in 2027. The price adjustment will cover both advanced and mature nodes to reflect rising costs for materials, manufacturing equipment, and new fab construction. Boosted by the news, TSMC's U.S.-listed ADRs rose over 3% in pre-market trading.

• GM & 3M Post Quarterly Results

  As of press time, General Motors shares edged up 0.7% pre-market following second-quarter results that beat Wall Street estimates. Revenue came in at $48.03 billion versus $46.61 billion expected, while adjusted EPS hit $3.57 compared to the $3.19 consensus. GM also raised its full-year adjusted EBIT guidance to a range of $14 billion to $16 billion—$500 million higher than its April forecast—marking its second guidance boost this year.

  3M jumped over 6% pre-market after posting Q2 profits that topped market expectations. The company lifted its full-year EPS guidance from a previous cap of $8.70 to a new range of $8.80 to $8.95.

• Novo Nordisk Sues Eli Lilly Over Alleged Misleading Ads

  Novo Nordisk filed a lawsuit against Eli Lilly on Tuesday, alleging that Lilly engaged in intentionally misleading advertising campaigns for its obesity and diabetes drugs to convince consumers its treatments are superior. Novo Nordisk claims Lilly deliberately cited "outdated" clinical data and compared the highest dose of Lilly's drug against lower doses of Novo Nordisk's treatment. The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against the ads and requests corrective disclosures.

• SpaceX Sets Date for Inaugural Earnings Report

  SpaceX announced it will release its Q2 2026 financial results after the U.S. market close on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. This second-quarter report marks the first official window for the market to inspect the company's financial fundamentals following its Nasdaq listing. The earnings release will also trigger a massive unlock period for internal restricted stock units (RSUs).