Pre-market snapshot: U.S. stock index futures are trading higher on Thursday, July 30. As of writing, Dow Jones futures are up 0.57%, S&P 500 futures are up 0.74%, and Nasdaq futures are up 1.50%.
European markets are also in positive territory, with the German DAX up 0.34%, the UK FTSE 100 up 0.37%, and the French CAC 40 gaining 1.06%.
In the commodities space, West Texas Intermediate crude oil is down 1.31% to $83.35 per barrel, while Brent crude is trading 1.18% lower at $87.05 per barrel.
Bond market sends a clear signal: 30-year Treasury yields surge to 19-year high.
Despite hawkish rhetoric from Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh on curbing inflation, the bond market is expressing doubt that he will act swiftly. After the Fed held rates steady for the seventh consecutive month, investors aggressively sold 30-year Treasury bonds, pushing yields up 14 basis points to nearly 5.23%, the highest level in 19 years. This move reflects growing concern that Warsh will struggle to contain inflation, which has remained above the Fed's target for five consecutive years. The yield curve has steepened dramatically, with short-term yields falling as rate-hike bets are pared back, while long-term bonds demand a higher premium for inflation uncertainty.
Bank of England holds rates amid energy risk concerns.
The Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.75%, in line with market expectations. The decision comes despite renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, which could push energy prices higher and add to inflationary pressures. Although UK inflation has been below expectations in recent months, policymakers are increasingly concerned that persistent energy supply disruptions will weigh on economic growth and widen price pressures. The BoE's decision follows the Federal Reserve's rate hold, and the European Central Bank also held rates earlier this month while hinting at a possible September hike.
OpenAI executives reassure staff amid competition from Anthropic and open-source models.
OpenAI management moved to boost employee confidence amid a competitive landscape. CFO Sarah Friar and Chairman Brett Taylor highlighted the company's revenue growth during an internal meeting, noting that OpenAI's annualized recurring revenue (ARR) for July surpassed its total revenue for the entire second quarter. The growth is attributed to the launch of the GPT-5.6 series, the new enterprise agent ChatGPT Work, and rising usage of the AI coding tool Codex. OpenAI's annualized revenue recently surpassed $25 billion, according to a March report.
Pakistan says US-Iran talks ongoing to normalize situation.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andabi stated that negotiations between the US and Iran to restore stability, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, are "ongoing." He stressed that dialogue and diplomacy are the keys to a solution. The comments come as the US launches a new round of strikes against Iran in retaliation for attacks on American forces. The US Central Command stated it struck dozens of targets in a two-hour operation aimed at degrading Iran's ability to threaten US forces, allies, and commercial shipping.
South Korea exchange reportedly reviews temporary ban on short selling, sources say it's just a discussion.
South Korea's stock exchange is said to be examining the feasibility of a "temporary ban on short selling" and "narrowing price limit ranges" as potential high-intensity measures to counter market volatility. The exchange reportedly held an internal review on the technical feasibility of a short-selling ban. A source familiar with the matter, speaking to Yonhap Infomax, confirmed that the technical feasibility has been verified but stressed that the review is part of an effort to identify available tools to stabilize the market, not necessarily a prelude to implementation.
EU launches AI supercomputer factory initiative, aiming to unlock over 30 billion euros in investment.
The European Union has launched a tender to build up to seven AI supercomputing factories across Europe, a key part of its ambition to become an "AI continent." The industry-led initiative, backed by up to 10 billion euros in EU and member state funds, is expected to unlock at least 20 billion euros in private investment. The plan aims to expand Europe's AI computing capacity to provide infrastructure for training, inference, and fine-tuning of advanced AI models for startups, enterprises, academia, and the public sector. These factories will integrate advanced AI processors, software stacks, high-speed connectivity, and energy-efficient data centers, complementing the existing network of 19 AI factories in Europe.
Amazon's AI bet faces its big test as Q2 earnings approach.
Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is set to report its second-quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday. Investors are focused on three key signals: whether AWS cloud growth is accelerating, if retail margins remain stable, and whether massive AI-related spending is driving future growth. Analysts expect Amazon to report Q2 revenue of $196.2 billion, up 17% year-over-year, near the midpoint of its guidance. Operating profit is expected to exceed $23 billion, with EPS of $1.81. AWS revenue growth could break above 30% for the first time since 2022, with AI cloud services as the primary driver. Key topics for the earnings call will include 2026 capex guidance, AI investment ROI, operating margin outlook, progress on Trainium and chip capacity, and Prime Day trends.
Apple's "light-capital" AI strategy faces earnings test.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) will report its fiscal third-quarter earnings on Friday. This is a key test of its earnings resilience and AI strategy, and it will be Tim Cook's final earnings call before handing over the CEO role to John Ternus. With the stock near all-time highs and a market cap approaching $5 trillion, the options market is signaling caution. The implied post-earnings move is around 3.5% to 3.8%, significantly higher than the historical average. Wall Street expects Apple to report Q3 revenue of approximately $108.96 billion, up 15.87% year-over-year, and EPS of $1.89, up 20.38%. Apple has beaten revenue estimates for 13 consecutive quarters.
Amazon engineers scramble to control runaway AI project costs.
Some of Amazon's AI projects are facing severe cost overruns, described by employees as "catastrophically high." The issues stem from improper deployment and a lack of cost control measures. Senior engineers noted that migrating traditional programming tasks to AI models has generated significant "unplanned" expenses, and teams are now building automated safeguards to curb further cost growth. The challenges highlight the financial uncertainty of AI implementation, even for a global tech giant like Amazon, which is also cutting jobs and allocating a $200 billion capex budget, mostly for AI and data centers.
Samsung's AI storage demand fuels record earnings.
Samsung (OTC: SSNLF) reported a blockbuster quarter, with operating profit surging 1,814% to 89.5 trillion won ($62 billion) on record revenue of 171.5 trillion won. Net profit jumped 1,299.9% to 71.62 trillion won. The Q2 profit alone exceeded Samsung's total net profit for 2024 and 2025 combined. The strong results follow record earnings from SK Hynix, with the two Korean memory giants generating a combined operating profit of 150 trillion won ($104 billion) in the quarter.
Micron CEO's stock sale adds to pressure on memory chip stocks.
Regulatory filings show that Micron Technology's (NASDAQ: MU) CEO Sanjay Mehrotra sold approximately $37.3 million worth of company stock last week. The sales, conducted under a pre-arranged plan, come as the stock has fallen about 34% from its June peak. Mehrotra's largest disclosed transaction was in late June, when he sold 28,506 shares. The insider selling at Micron comes amid a broader trend of semiconductor executives, including those at Nvidia, engaging in significant stock sales.
Disney shifts AI strategy, adopts OpenAI Codex, signaling a move from compute to application.
Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) has reportedly stopped using Microsoft's GitHub Copilot in favor of OpenAI's Codex and other AI tools, according to sources. The change, set for August, also includes retaining tools like Claude Enterprise and Cursor AI. The move is seen as a sign that the AI investment theme is shifting from spending on computing infrastructure to generating revenue from applications.
Key economic data and events:
20:30 Beijing time: US June personal spending, US June PCE price index, US Q2 GDP annualized initial estimate, and weekly jobless claims.
Earnings calendar:
Friday morning: Apple, Amazon, Coinbase, Rivian.
Friday before the open: ExxonMobil, Chevron, AbbVie.
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