Daily News 8th July 26
Daily News
Nasdaq Drops 1% as Chip Stocks Tumble and Oil Spikes; Crude Surges Above $72 After U.S. Strikes on Iran; Gold Holds Near $4,100; Asia-Pacific Markets Mostly Fall as Kospi Sinks 2%
08 July 2026
Today in Brief
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Wednesday — Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.44% and the Topix declined 0.24%, South Korea's Kospi fell 2.19% with the small-cap Kosdaq down nearly 4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng bucked the trend to rise 2.38% and mainland China's CSI 300 added 0.61%. In the U.S., the Dow pulled back from record levels on Tuesday, losing 130.76 points to close at 52,925.15 after hitting a fresh all-time intraday high, while the Nasdaq fell 1.16% to 25,818.69 and the S&P 500 slid 0.45% to 7,503.85 as investors rotated out of AI-linked names; Micron closed down 4.7%, with KLA, Marvell, Broadcom, and AMD also lower, and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF fell more than 3%. Gold traded around $4,100 an ounce on Wednesday after dropping over 1% in the prior session, while crude surged above $72 per barrel — up more than 5% this week — after the U.S. military launched fresh air strikes on Iran and revoked a waiver allowing Tehran to sell crude on global markets.
In other news: Centcom said U.S. forces struck over 80 Iranian targets in retaliation for attacks on three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz; President Trump renewed his Greenland threats at the NATO summit in Ankara and suggested pulling U.S. troops from Europe; Reform UK leader Nigel Farage quit parliament amid a finance scandal to fight a special election; Ukrainian drones struck Russia's largest oil refinery in Omsk, nearly 2,500 kilometers from Ukrainian territory; Apple began testing DRAM chips from China's CXMT for devices sold in China; Meta released its Muse Image AI model to court advertisers and subscribers; Alibaba ADRs surged 12.5% after-hours after a U.S. federal court temporarily blocked the Pentagon's lobbying ban; and Google backed nuclear fusion startup Proxima Fusion in a €411 million round targeting Europe's first commercial fusion power plant.
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fall Wednesday as Kospi drops 2%; Hang Seng bucks the trend
Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 0.44%, while the Topix declined 0.24%. South Korea's Kospi fell 2.19%, and the small-cap Kosdaq dropped nearly 4%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index extended early gains to rise 2.38% higher Wednesday, while mainland China's CSI 300 added 0.61%.
Nasdaq drops 1% as chip stocks tumble and oil spikes; Dow slips below 53,000
The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back from record levels on Tuesday as investors once again appeared to rotate out of names tied to artificial intelligence and as oil prices advanced. The 30-stock index lost 130.76 points, or 0.25%, after earlier hitting a new all-time intraday high. Ultimately, the Dow closed at 52,925.15. The Nasdaq Composite fell 1.16% to 25,818.69. The S&P 500 slid 0.45% to end at 7,503.85. Shares of Micron closed down 4.7%, with KLA, Marvell Technology, Broadcom and AMD also posting declines. The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) fell more than 3%.
Gold traded around $4,100 an ounce on Wednesday after dropping more than 1% in the previous session
Gold traded around $4,100 an ounce on Wednesday after dropping more than 1% in the previous session, as the US military launched fresh air strikes on Iran following recent attacks on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The renewed escalation threatened the interim US-Iran peace deal and drove oil prices higher, stoking inflation fears and raising prospects for interest rate hikes. The US also revoked a waiver allowing Iran to sell crude on global markets, while the latest hostilities discouraged shipowners and regional producers from using Hormuz, raising the risk of renewed disruptions to global energy supplies. Meanwhile, investors awaited the minutes of the Federal Reserve's June meeting for further clues on the policy outlook.
Crude oil surged above $72 per barrel on Wednesday and was up more than 5% so far this week
Crude oil surged above $72 per barrel on Wednesday and was up more than 5% so far this week, after the US military carried out fresh air strikes in Iran and revoked a waiver that had allowed the country to sell crude on global markets. The actions followed a series of recent attacks on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including a Qatari LNG carrier and a Saudi oil tanker. The renewed conflict has put the interim US-Iran peace agreement at risk and raised the prospect of fresh disruptions to global energy supplies by deterring shipowners and regional producers from using the vital waterway. The escalation marks a sharp reversal from earlier expectations of a supply glut, after OPEC+ increased production quotas and Middle Eastern producers moved to ramp up output.
U.S. completes strikes on multiple Iranian targets after Hormuz Strait ship attacks, Centcom says
The U.S. completed strikes against Iran on Tuesday in retaliation for Tehran's attacks on three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command said. In a post on X, Centcom said U.S. forces hit over 80 targets including air defense systems, command and control networks, as well as anti-ship missile capabilities. It added that more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' small boats were hit, so as to degrade Iran's ability to attack international commerce. While it was unclear if Iran had retaliated, Bahrain's interior ministry urged civilians to head to "the nearest safe place." In an earlier post, Centcom said that the strikes were "to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway."
Trump renews Greenland threats at NATO summit, says U.S. could remove troops from Europe
President Donald Trump on Tuesday resurrected his push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, and suggested the U.S. could pull all of its armed services members out of Europe in response to the Continent's continued pushback on the issue. The island territory "should be controlled by the United States," Trump said shortly after he arrived in Ankara, Turkey, for a NATO summit. The 32-member alliance — which includes Denmark, of which Greenland is a part — fell into a crisis in January, as Trump demanded that the U.S. must take control of the island territory on national security grounds. In a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday afternoon Ankara time, Trump vented that Europe's refusal to go along with his expansionist desire is "what hurt my relationship with NATO."
Trump ally Nigel Farage quits UK parliament amid finance scandal to fight special election
Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain's right-wing Reform UK party, announced Tuesday that he will step down from parliament to fight a "people versus the establishment" special election. Farage — an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump and a high-profile figure in British politics — resigned as a lawmaker amid growing criticism of his financial arrangements. Farage has been subject to an investigation by the U.K. Parliament's standards commissioner since May, after he failed to declare a £5 million ($6.7 million) gift from Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency investor and Reform party donor, before his election to parliament in 2024. At the weekend, The Sunday Times reported that the Reform leader also received financial support from George Cottrell, a political ally who was convicted of wire fraud in the U.S. in 2017.
Ukrainian drones hit Russia's largest oil refinery as Zelenskyy says Siberia now 'within reach'
Ukrainian drones struck a major oil refinery in the city of Omsk in western Siberia, in what appears to be one of Kyiv's deepest attacks on Russian territory since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's military general staff said Monday that the strike caused a fire at the facility, which is situated nearly 2,500 kilometers (1,553 miles) from Ukrainian territory and close to Russia's border with Kazakhstan. The attack, which was confirmed by local Russian officials, provides further evidence of Kyiv's enhanced long-range drone capabilities and comes on the eve of a crunch NATO summit. Heads of state from 32 countries are expected in Turkey's capital from Tuesday for the two-day conference.
Apple begins testing CXMT chips for devices sold in China, FT says
Apple has begun testing DRAM chips from China's state-backed ChangXin Memory Technologies for devices sold within China and is lobbying the U.S. government to permit broader use of CXMT's products, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The company's decision comes as its involvement with Chinese suppliers becomes a sensitive geopolitical issue amid growing U.S. efforts to contain China's tech ambitions. CXMT is poised to become central to Beijing's efforts to build a self-sufficient AI supply chain and is expected to become one of the most profitable technology companies to list in Shanghai, the FT said. It reportedly plans to raise at least 29.5 billion yuan ($4.3 billion) in an upcoming IPO.
Meta enters AI image model race in bid to court advertisers and subscribers
Meta on Tuesday released Muse Image, a new artificial intelligence model for creating images as the company seeks to attract creators and advertisers to its offerings. Originally codenamed Mango, the AI technology marks the second major release from Meta Superintelligence Labs led by Alexandr Wang, who oversaw the April unveiling of the Muse Spark large language model that succeeded the company's previous Llama family of models. Muse Image will be available for consumers to access for free via the Meta AI app and site, WhatsApp direct messages and Instagram Stories. Power users and creators must sign up for one of Meta's new monthly subscription plans that debuted in May to create many AI-generated images and access certain features. If users hit their free limit, they can purchase a Meta One subscription or wait until their limit resets, the company said.
Alibaba surges in after-hours trading as U.S. court temporarily blocks Pentagon lobbying ban
Alibaba ADR stock surged 12.5% in after-hours trading today to reach $105.66, after a U.S. federal judge issued a temporary order blocking the Pentagon from enforcing a lobbying ban that had effectively silenced the Chinese tech giant in Washington. The ruling, granted on July 5 by District Judge Eumi K. Lee of the Northern District of California, prevents the Department of Defense from treating Alibaba as a Chinese military company under the lobbying restriction until the court resolves the company's constitutional challenge — or until 60 days after a hearing scheduled for the week of August 31. The Pentagon had added Alibaba to its Section 1260H list of alleged Chinese military companies on June 8, triggering a provision that forced Washington lobbying firms to choose between representing Alibaba and retaining access to Pentagon contracts.
Google backs nuclear fusion startup targeting Europe's first commercial power plant
Google has backed Germany-based Proxima Fusion, which is looking to build Europe's first commercial fusion power plant, in a 411 million euros ($468 million) round, the company announced on Tuesday. Nuclear fusion is the process of combining two hydrogen atoms to form one helium atom, releasing huge amounts of energy. While it promises an abundance of energy, the technology has not been deployed commercially, with the industry racing to overcome technical challenges. All current nuclear power plants use fission, which involves splitting atoms. Google's investment underscores its continued interest in fusion as a potential source of abundant, carbon-free, firm energy over the long-term, Proxima, which hit a $2.7 billion valuation, said.
