Preview of US Stock Market | The three major stock index futures fluctuated, with U.S. inflation data to be announced this week. Intel Corporation (INTC.US) fell more than 3% in pre-market trading.

Pre-Market Market Trends 1. On August 10 (Monday), U.S. stock index futures showed mixed results before the market opened. As of the time of this report, Dow futures were down 0.08%, S&P 500 futures were down 0.01%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.02%. 2. As of the time of this report, the German DAX index was up 0.11%, the UK FTSE 100 index was down 0.24%, the French CAC40 index was up 0.10%, and the European Stoxx 50 index was up 0.46%. 3. As of the time of this report, WTI crude oil was up 1.73%, trading at $79.53 per barrel. Brent crude oil was up 1.75%, at $85.01 per barrel. Market News Inflation data collides with AI infrastructure earnings reports, as U.S. stocks face a "double test" this week following new highs. The first week of earnings season for technology giants ended with market performance exceeding investors' expectations. Despite mixed initial results, overall sentiment turned optimistic as worries over AI capital expenditure gradually faded. After unexpected non-farm payroll data was released last Friday, the Federal Reserve's interest rate cut expectations were recalibrated, and U.S. stocks closed strongly higher over the weekend. As earnings season progresses into its latter half, market focus will continue to waver between two aspects: first, the ongoing earnings disclosures from more companies, and second, whether economic data can provide calibration insights for the Federal Reserve, which is on the edge of "raising rates or staying put." This Wednesday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been heavily marked by the market. Economists expect that both overall CPI and core CPI (excluding energy and food) will rise by 0.2% month-on-month. On Thursday, wholesale inflation data will be released, with the Producer Price Index (PPI) expected to also increase compared to last month. The week's economic data will conclude on Friday with retail sales and the University of Michigan consumer survey data. On the corporate front, this weeks earnings calendar is relatively mild: Cava Group (CAVA.US) on Tuesday, cloud infrastructure provider Nebius Group (NBIS.US) and Cerebras Systems (CBRS.US) on Wednesday, and Applied Materials (AMAT.US) on Thursday. South Korea invests 50 trillion won to establish a special fund targeting semiconductor materials and non-foundry companies. According to reports, South Korea's Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik announced on Monday that the country will launch a brand new 50 trillion won (approximately $35.2 billion) semiconductor fund focusing on investment in promising chip materials, components, and non-foundry businesses, which is also part of the government's plan to build a semiconductor cluster. Kang also announced that the government will provide an additional 50 trillion won in trade financing to support export-oriented suppliers and will strive to push for the passage of the "Super Large Special Industry Park Law" by the end of the year to expedite relevant regional licensing approvals, environmental assessments, and infrastructure construction. Furthermore, the government plans to ensure a water supply of 650,000 tons for semiconductor projects in the Hunan region by 2030, with the Yongin semiconductor cluster expected to receive 14.7 billion watts of planned electricity by 2041. U.S. Senators issue "ultimatum" to AI giants: Suspend development, or Congress will intervene. Reports indicate that U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has urged chief executives of leading AI companies to suspend AI development, warning them that lawmakers will intervene if no action is taken. The letter has reportedly been sent to OpenAI founder Sam Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, and Mark Zuckerberg. Sanders stated, "At a time when we have seen humans lose control and create potentially dangerous viruses, your companies are still racing ahead investing billions of dollars in a technology that no one can fully understand, predict, or control." Currently, AI legislation, especially efforts led by progressives like Sanders, is unlikely to garner enough support in Congress to become law. What can be expected now are symbolic bills and public pressure actionsshould the Democrats regain control of either chamber, congressional inquiries and subpoenas may follow to hold tech CEOs accountable. The Bank of Japan notes upward risks to prices, signaling a potential acceleration in interest rate hikes. The Bank of Japan's summary of the July meeting indicated that inflation upward risks are rising, with one member mentioning a possible acceleration in the pace of rate hikes. According to the summary released on Monday from the meeting held on July 30-31, one of the nine members stated: "Given that core CPI inflation has continuously approached 2% and that we should place greater emphasis on the upward risks to prices than in the past, it can be assumed that the pace of policy rate hikes will be faster than the market expectations." One member called for the Bank of Japan to display a commitment to preventing inflation from deviating upward from targets, suggesting more significant interest rate hikes if necessary, as central banks around the world enter a rate hike phase. This member emphasized that the Bank of Japan "needs to respond flexibly to changes in overseas financial environments and discuss the magnitude of rate hikes, rather than being tied to a specific pace of increases." AI investments spark a financing wave! Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.: U.S. company stock issuance is expected to reach an all-time high by 2026, but buybacks will create a strong hedge. As AI spending drives significant financing demand, American companies are issuing more stocks to investors. According to Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., U.S. companies raised $252 billion in Q2 this year through initial public offerings (IPOs), follow-on offerings, convertible securities, and SPACs, surpassing the previous quarterly record of $234 billion set in Q1 2021. Notably, the follow-on issuance figure in Q2 reached $70 billion; as of July, this years cumulative follow-on issuance was $105 billion, the highest level for the same period since 2021. However, Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. strategist Ben Snyder pointed out that the increase in equity supply is more of a return to normal than a market-threatening issuing frenzy. Despite large amounts of issuance, Snyder noted that the current stock issuance volume remains below historical averages relative to the total size of the stock market. Additionally, this years issuance activity is highly concentrated, with the top three IPOs and follow-on offerings accounting for nearly half of the cumulative issuance as of July. The outlook for navigation in the Strait of Hormuz remains unclear! Iran and Oman have not reached a new navigation agreement, and a Saudi refinery has been attacked. As Iran and Oman have yet to agree on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and following the claim of an attack by Yemen's Houthi forces on a Saudi refinery near the Red Sea, oil prices continue to trend upward. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated this past weekend that Iran and Oman are "very close" to reaching an agreement on establishing a shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz. However, he reiterated that the establishment of a new route does not mean the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. This reduces market expectations for a swift restoration of energy transport in the Middle East. Reports indicate that the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Jalali, stated that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed if the U.S. does not change its behavior. The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is contingent upon the U.S. meeting five conditions: a permanent cessation of military actions against Iran and its regional allies, halting threats or insults toward Iran, lifting maritime blockades and all sanctions against Iran, returning frozen Iranian assets, and compensating Iran for damages caused by military actions. Additionally, Houthi forces allied with Iran claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, a tanker operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was also attacked near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Wall Street's "8000-point camp" expands: JPMorgan raises S&P 500 target, AI profit realization rekindles bull market confidence. On Monday, JPMorgan raised its year-end target for the S&P 500 index from 7800 to 8000, citing robust corporate earnings prospects and AI investments from large cloud service providers that are expected to drive faster revenue growth, thereby continuously enhancing market confidence. The new target price implies approximately 3.1% upside from the indexs previous closing point of 7757.64, joining the increasingly optimistic waveat least seven brokerages now expect this benchmark index to reach the 8000-point level by the end of 2026. JPMorgan analysts stated: "As high backlogs convert into confirmed revenue, growth in cloud computing should receive strong support, helping to validate the growing capital expenditures on AI, strengthen order coverage, and further alleviate concerns over returns on invested capital (ROIC)." The brokerage also revised its S&P 500 index earnings per share expectations up from $350 to $365 for 2026, and from $390 to $420 for 2027. Individual Stock News Intel Corporation (INTC.US) plans to issue $15 billion in common stock, accelerating layout amid AI data center demand surge. Intel Corporation recently announced plans to issue $15 billion in common stock in order to capitalize on the market opportunities stemming from the surge in demand for AI data centers and to leverage the renewed confidence investors have in its business outlook. According to a statement from Intel Corporation released on Monday, the money raised will be used for general corporate purposes. Intel Corporation stated: "Continued breakthroughs in emerging fields such as physical AI, dedicated chips, advanced packaging, and external wafers are creating significant growth opportunities for Intel Corporation. This issuance aims to further enhance the company's ability to seize future growth opportunities while maintaining a strong balance sheet and adhering to investment-grade credit rating commitments." As a result, Intel Corporation's stock price fell over 3% pre-market on Monday. AI hardware demand proves resilient! Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US) saw July revenue surge by 45%, demonstrating resilience against market volatility. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR recently released its revenue data for July, indicating that demand for AI hardware remains strong and has not been significantly impacted by recent market fluctuations. As a core chip supplier for NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) and Apple Inc. (AAPL.US), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's revenue for the month reached NT$467.58 billion (approximately $14.5 billion), reflecting a year-on-year increase of 45%. Analysts forecast that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's quarterly revenue growth will be approximately 46.8%. The company had also raised its annual capital expenditure and revenue guidance last month, showcasing its confidence in the sustained high growth of AI chip demand extending to 2027 and beyond. The company currently expects capital expenditures to reach a record high of $60 to $64 billion in 2026, with annual revenue growth (in USD) projected to exceed 40%. Storage crisis worsening; will Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) raise iPhone 17 prices today? The fall launch event is likely to be scheduled for September 9. Reports indicate that due to a sharp rise in storage chip costs, Apple Inc. may preemptively raise prices for the iPhone 17 series before August 10 (Monday), breaking from previous practices of not increasing prices prior to new product launches. Additionally, renowned Apple Inc. "leaker" Mark Gurman revealed that Apple Inc. is most likely to hold its fall launch event on September 9 this year. Previously, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook had publicly warned of the industry's crisis, characterizing the current surge in storage chip prices as a "once in a century flood," indicating that product price increases are inevitable. This round of soaring storage chip prices is primarily due to the global AI infrastructure boom significantly squeezing the supply of chips in the consumer electronics domain, leading to continuous price hikes for core components such as DRAM and NAND flash memory, with Apple Inc.'s supply chain cost pressures sharply escalating. Apple Inc. has already increased prices for multiple product lines, including iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, Apple Vision Pro, and HomePods, but has kept the prices of iPhones, AirPods, and Apple Watches unchanged. However, recent media reports suggest that Apple Inc. will adjust the prices of the iPhone 17 series on August 10, and production capacity plans have also changed. The five major oil giants garnered a staggering $48 billion in Q2, attracting attention! Trump criticizes "earning too much," clouds of windfall taxes on the oil industry loom again. Major oil companies experienced explosive profits in the second quarter. A key question now is whether the industry will use this unexpected windfall to reward shareholders, bolster balance sheets, or invest for the futureall while striving to avoid escalating political backlash. Benefiting from rising fossil fuel prices amid U.S.-Iran tensions, the five oil giantsExxon Mobil Corporation (XOM.US), Chevron Corporation (CVX.US), BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR (BP.US), Shell (SHEL.US), and Total (TTE.US)generated profits as high as $48 billion in the April to June period. During the same timeframe, their cash generation also reached nearly $90 billion, setting a new historical higheven surpassing levels seen following the onset of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in early 2022. This significant profit has incited outrage from environmental activists, who are once again calling for a windfall tax on the industry; it has also sparked dissatisfaction from former President Trump. Massive investment! NVIDIA Corporation invests $3 billion in power supplier Lancium behind the Stargate project. Reports indicate that NVIDIA Corporation has agreed to invest up to $3 billion in Lancium, a power infrastructure developer backed by Blackstone Inc. (BX.US). Lancium is also the power supply service provider for Texans' OpenAI and Oracle Corporation's AI campus "Stargate." The agreement will include an initial commitment of $2 billion, with an additional $1 billion contingent upon Lancium achieving specific grid access milestones. This deal values Lancium and its land and power access assets at approximately $10 billion, including this investment and corporate debt. This means the initial $2 billion investment will allow NVIDIA Corporation to acquire about 20% of this power developer, with the ultimate ownership stake possibly rising to about 30%. Notably, NVIDIA Corporation's investment is purely equity, with no involvement in data center construction and leasing of credit guarantees. This is NVIDIA Corporation's direct measure to combat power shortages, which could hinder the deployment of its next-generation Vera Rubin architecture in locations designed for high energy consumption. Alibaba Cloud plans to more than double global data center capacity. Based on its innovative fully modular design architecture, Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) has shortened the delivery time for its large AIDC data centers to 100 days. In contrast, the traditional delivery timeline domestically ranges from 6 to 12 months, with the U.S. sees 12 to 18 months. While significantly reducing construction time, the overall construction cost of Alibaba Cloud data centers has decreased by over 10%. This year, Alibaba Cloud plans to more than double its global capacity for modular data centers. Earnings Forecast Tuesday morning: AST SpaceMobile (ASTS.US), Rocket Lab (RKLB.US) Tuesday pre-market: Tencent Music Entertainment Group Sponsored ADR Class A (TME.US), HUYA, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (HUYA.US)