Tonight's Highlights: Soft U.S. PPI Boosts Futures; ASML Earnings Lift Chip Sector

U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Wednesday, led by chip stocks, while major European indices turned in a mixed performance.

Pre-market data showed U.S. June PPI rose 5.5% YoY (vs. 6.2% exp) and fell 0.3% MoM (vs. flat exp). Core PPI increased 4.7% YoY (vs. 5.2% exp) and rose 0.2% MoM (vs. 0.4% exp).

Led by the semiconductor sector, Nasdaq 100 futures paced pre-market gains after lithography giant ASML delivered an impressive quarterly report. ASML’s net bookings hit a record high, and the company raised its sales guidance for the second time this year, signaling that advanced chipmaking capex remains robust.

At press time, ASML’s U.S.-listed shares jumped over 3% pre-market, Intel rose over 2%, and AMD, Arm, and Qualcomm all gained more than 1%.

International crude prices climbed, with Brent futures rising past $85 per barrel after the U.S. Central Command announced additional military strikes against Iran.

Softer-than-expected inflation data released Tuesday bolstered investor confidence that the Federal Reserve will not need to aggressively hike interest rates this year. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, the implied probability of a July rate hike plummeted to 17% from 42% the prior day.

However, markets still price in a rate hike later this year, with traders currently implying a 63% probability of a 25 or 50 basis point hike following the September meeting.

On the earnings front, BlackRock reported a record high for assets under management in the second quarter, while Morgan Stanley followed its mega-cap peers to post robust quarterly results.

Pre-Market Earnings Summary

Morgan Stanley: Q2 net revenue reached $21.35B. Wealth management brought in $8.86B, equities trading generated $6.30B, and FICC trading booked $2.46B. Advisory fees stood at $798M, while equity and debt underwriting brought in $851M and $788M, respectively, delivering an EPS of $3.46.
ASML: Q2 net sales reached €9.3B (up from €8.8B in Q1) with a gross margin of 54.0%, net profit of €2.9B, and EPS of €7.59. Backed by solid Q2 performance, ASML raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to €43B–€45B and gross margin expectations to 54%–56%. Q3 net sales are projected at €11B–€12B, alongside an interim dividend of €1.88 per share.
BlackRock: Q2 revenue rose 31% YoY to $7.08B, while net profit grew 20% YoY to $1.91B. Assets under management (AUM) surged 22% YoY to a record $15.34T.
BASF: Q2 sales hit €17.2B (vs. €16.38B exp), with adjusted EBITDA of €2.4B (vs. €2.11B exp). BASF raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA forecast to €6.9B–€7.7B (up from €6.2B–€7.0B prior).

Corporate News

Goldman Sachs: Launched a three-tranche euro-denominated bond offering, aiming to raise at least €1.5B ($1.7B) to follow its massive $10B U.S. dollar debt sale.
Samsung Electronics: Is reportedly considering outsourcing backend design work for Google's TPU I/O chips to local partners like AD Technology, Gaonchips, and Alphachips due to growing foundry demand.
LG Energy Solution: Reportedly supplying ESS batteries worth hundreds of billions of won to a mega solar-plus-storage project in the U.S. backed by Google, which recently committed to a 2.5GW solar development.