The latest Market Talks covering Technology, Media and Telecom. Published exclusively on Dow Jones Newswires at 4:20 ET, 12:20 ET and 16:50 ET.
1123 ET - Dubai stocks lead major Gulf exchanges higher as easing geopolitical tensions lift investor sentiment. A sharp decline in crude oil prices over the past two trading sessions reflects signs of easing regional tensions, says Junaid Ansari at Kamco Invest. Better-than-expected corporate earnings have also supported regional markets, while defensive sectors including consumer staples, retail and telecom have outperformed across much of the GCC, says the head of investment strategy and research. The Dubai Financial Market General Index gains 1.0%, Qatar's QE Index rises 0.8% and Abu Dhabi's benchmark index is up 0.2%. (farhan.rafid@wsj.com)
1100 ET - Bitcoin is down 0.2% to $64,496, and a further slide could be in the cards, says Nicolai Søndergaard of Nansen in a note--to as low as $52k to $58k. "Onchain and derivatives signals show that strong buyers have not yet returned or confirmed a durable bottom," says Søndergaard. The Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later this week and commentary around it may set the tone for how bitcoin moves in the near future, he adds--along with Strategy's 2Q results also slated for this week. Should bitcoin fall to $52k, it would be the lowest it has traded since February 2024. Ethereum is up 0.5% to $1,922, XRP is down 1.3% to $1.09, and solana is flat around $75.28. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com)
0938 ET - The solid 0.9% gain in nondefense capital-goods orders excluding aircraft is consistent with the baseline forecast for business equipment investment to continue supporting growth in the second half of the year, according to a note from Oxford Economics. "The AI infrastructure buildout is showing no signs of slowing, which is driving up new orders of computers and electronic products and spilling over into other sectors such as machinery--namely, power transmission equipment--and metals," Oxford says.(jessica.coacci@wsj.com)
0921 ET - Shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding veer into negative territory after the Information reports that a Chinese state-backed company started manufacturing deep ultraviolet machines that are used in chip production. ASML's most advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography systems have been subject to export controls, but the company is free to sell less sophisticated deep ultraviolet machines in China. Chinese clients represented 29.1% of ASML's sales last year and 36.1% in 2024. ASML shares, which had been positive for much of the session, trade 1.3% lower at 1,540.60 euros. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0844 ET - Nvidia says it's partnering with other industry leaders to form a new group, dubbed the Open Secure AI Alliance, to build and share open tools that promote responsible use of and trust in artificial intelligence. "Open source software is a critical pillar of the global economy," Nvidia says on the company blog. "It underpins cloud computing, financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, government and internet services by making technology accessible and observable to communities of experts." The Open Secure AI Alliance will work to remediate and disclose vulnerabilities using open technologies. Nvidia says the world needs both closed and open models. "For cybersecurity, open models and open harnesses are essential because they democratize defensive capabilities, increase transparency for defenders, enable cyber defense while protecting data, and complement frontier closed models with customizable, localized controls." (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0750 ET - There is growing competitive tension between Uber and Waymo, after the two ended their relationship in Phoenix, Waymo's first partner market, after three years, Melius Research says in a note. Waymo has increasingly sought to operate alone as it scales, according to analysts Conor Cunningham and Patrick Coleman. While some investors think Uber can serve as an autonomous vehicle marketplace connecting demand to supply, others think Waymo is one of the few autonomous-vehicle models that has proven it can scale, the analysts say.(katherine.hamilton@wsj.com)
0734 ET - Comcast recently reported weaker attendance across its Orlando theme parks, Benchmark says in a research note, and the trend doesn't bode well for Disney. "Epic Universe's continued strength also highlights the competitive risk from Disney's lack of a meaningful near-term domestic addition capable of materially driving attendance," analyst Mike Hickey adds. Broader Orlando softness could delay Disney's expected attendance recovery and pressure hotel demand, potentially creating a negative read-through for the remainder of the year. The key test, Hickey says, is whether pricing and guest-spending trends can hold, as higher travel costs and consumer caution weigh on industry attendance. (connor.hart@wsj.com)
0615 ET - Vodafone Group's fiscal first-quarter performance shows further reassurance that the company is on the right track thanks to the CEO's recovery plan, AJ Bell's Russ Mould says. Over the past two years, the U.K. telecommunications group has implemented its transformation plan, which included the sale of its Spanish and Italian businesses, and the merger of its U.K. operations with those of rival Three, he notes. "The more focused arena of operations and cleaner balance sheet mean Vodafone is able to compete more effectively in its core target markets across Europe and Africa and the first-quarter results show the benefits," Mould says. Shares are up 4.6% at 1.20 pounds. (najat.kantouar@wsj.com)
0509 ET - Z.AI still faces pressure despite its recent revenue milestone and expanded compute plan, Jefferies analysts say in a research note. The latest compute plan should support frontier-model training and meeting customers' growing inference demand. Also, Z.AI's annual recurring revenue reached $1 billion, Jefferies says. However, the surging demand is mainly due to strong adoption of its latest model, and isn't clear whether the growth is sustainable. Rising supply-chain costs and price competition could weigh on margins, they note. Jefferies still favors internet players over standalone model labs, as "full stack platforms like Alibaba and ByteDance can sustain low token prices by reducing costs through proprietary infra, resource scheduling and model optimization." Jefferies has a hold rating and target price of 1,299.80 Hong Kong dollars. Shares last traded at HK$1,281.00. (tracy.qu@wsj.com)
0458 ET - Shares of European semiconductor companies started the week in green territory after the Trump administration paused plans to escalate its war in Iran, boosting stocks globally. In Asia, South Korean memory chip maker SK Hynix closed up 3.3%, while Samsung Electronics shares closed 1.8% higher. In Europe, shares of Dutch semiconductor-equipment maker ASML Holding and smaller rival ASM International are up 1.7% and 0.5%, respectively. German chip maker Infineon Technologies is up 2.1%. STMicroelectronics shares are up 1.9%. Meanwhile, the E-mini Nasdaq 100 futures contract is up 1.6%, pointing to a strong opening of tech stocks in the U.S. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0418 ET - SAP shares are gaining ground on Monday, extending a rally from last week after the German business-software group surprised investors with strong revenue figures that showed the resilience of its cloud business. The group's current cloud backlog--a closely watched measure of sales that SAP expects over the coming year based on existing contracts--grew 26% at constant currencies in the second quarter, above expectations of around 24%. Shares in Frankfurt closed 9.3% higher on Friday and are up 5.4% at 147.74 euros on Monday. (mauro.orru@wsj.com)
0401 ET - CXMT's spectacular debut shows that the strategic bid for chip exposure remains powerful, Tickmill Group's Patrick Munnelly says in a research note. CXMT's shares soared 466% in its Shanghai trading debut, making it the most valuable listed company in mainland China. The robust performance shows how aggressively domestic investors are chasing national semiconductor champions tied to the artificial-intelligence theme, Munnelly says, even as global investors continue to question whether AI capex could justify valuations. While this robust performance doesn't relieve concerns about AI spending, it shows that investors still want chip exposure, especially when national policy and the AI infrastructure build-out align, he adds. (sherry.qin@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 27, 2026 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)
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