Key Takeaways

• Fed shifts focus to include employment with inflation.
• Cramer suggests consumers need rate cuts amid inflation.
• BOJ rate hike could be undermined by Fed moves, impacts yen.
• Nvidia’s market cap surges despite July’s volatility.
• Meta shares soar with Q2 earnings and ad revenue beating expectations.
• Arm Holdings sees licensing revenue miss, stops reporting chip shipments.

I. Market Report

S&P 500 futures rose Thursday as investors weighed the latest corporate earnings reports, including strong results from Meta Platforms.

As of 08:41 am, EST (or 08:41 pm in Malaysia), futures tied to the broad-market index gained 0.49%, while Nasdaq-100 futures climbed nearly 0.49%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 53 points, or 0.13%.

II. Market Movers

As of 08:41 am, EST (or 08:41 pm in Malaysia), top pre-market movements are as follows:

Note: We are pleased to inform you that our app now supports pre/after-market trading for US stocks. The trading hours for these sessions are as follows:

• Pre-market: 16:00 to 21:30 in Malaysia
• After-hours market: 04:00 to 08:00 the next day in Malaysia

Please note that regular trading hours are from 21:30 to 04:00 UTC.

III. Flash Headlines

Fed September Rate Cut Door Opens, First 'Test' Coming Soon

Powell described the labor market as solid but slowing, with hiring slowing and the unemployment rate rising to 4.1%, the highest level since 2021 but still historically low. Layoffs remain rare. But he said the labor market does not need to soften further for the Fed to achieve its 2% inflation goal. Read in detail>>

Fed Shifts Focus from Just Inflation to Also Prioritizing Employment, One of Its Dual Mandates

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said central bank officials will cut interest rates in September unless progress on inflation stalls, and mentioned the risk of further weakness in the labor market. Read in detail>>

Cramer: Consumers Strapped for Cash, Rate Cuts Could Be Imminent

CNBC's Cramer detailed on Wednesday why he thinks the Federal Reserve will soon cut interest rates. He said the earnings season so far has made it clear that consumers continue to feel the pinch of inflation. Read in detail>>

Analyst: Fed May 'Undermine' BOJ Plans, Narrowing Yield Spreads to Benefit Yen

The Bank of Japan unexpectedly raised interest rates to the highest level since 2008 and said it may raise interest rates further. The yen hit a four-month high against the dollar on Wednesday. Valeria Bednarik, chief analyst at FXStreet, wrote an article on Wednesday to analyze the outlook for the yen after the Bank of Japan's rate hike. Read in detail>>

IV. Stocks to Watch

Nvidia Stock Soars, Adds US$329 Billion Market Cap Amidst July Volatility

On Wednesday, Nvidia ($NVIDIA Corporation NVDA$) saw its stock price surge nearly 13%, increasing its market capitalization by US$329 billion. Nvidia’s stock price has been volatile, with the stock undergoing 4 of the 8 largest market cap crashes just in July. Deutsche Bank stated on Wednesday that Nvidia’s stock price, which has fallen back after explosive gains in the past few months, will mainly depend on the profitability of this artificial intelligence chip manufacturer going forward. Deutsche Bank pointed out that Nvidia’s stock price has fallen about 25% from its peak in June, with a market value evaporation of more than US$800 billion, and is currently receiving more attention.

Meta Shares Surge Nearly 8% Pre-Market as Q2 Earnings Soar Over 70% Year-Over-Year, Ad Revenue Exceeds Expectations

Meta Platforms ($Meta Platforms META$) reports Q2 revenue of US$39.071 billion, a 22% year-over-year increase marking the fourth consecutive quarter with revenue growth above 20%; earnings per share of US$5.16, up 73% year-over-year and better than the expected US$4.74. During the period, advertising revenue was US$38.33 billion, a 21.7% increase year-over-year and higher than the market expectation of US$37.57 billion. Meta claims a significant contribution from AI technology to the boost in advertising revenue. Meta anticipates Q3 revenue to be between US$38.5 billion and US$41 billion; capital expenditures for the full year are projected to be between US$37 billion and US$40 billion, previously expected to be US$35 billion to US$40 billion.

Arm Falls 9% Pre-Market on Q1 Licensing Miss, Stops Reporting Chip Shipments

Arm Holdings ($Arm Holdings Ltd. ARM$) reports Q1 revenue for fiscal year 2025 at US$939 million, up 39% year-over-year, beating analyst expectations of US$905.4 million; non-GAAP adjusted earnings per share at US$0.40, up 67% year-over-year, surpassing analyst expectations of US$0.34. Licensing revenue for the period was US$467 million, with year-over-year growth slowing to 17%, below analyst expectations of US$492 million. Arm also announced that starting this quarter, it will no longer report shipment numbers for chips based on the Arm architecture.

Carvana Jumps Over 10% Pre-Market as Q2 Revenue Exceeds Expectations, Unexpectedly Swings to Profit

US online used car retailer Carvana ($Carvana Co. Class A CVNA$) reports Q2 revenue of US$3.4 billion, up 15% year-over-year, beating market expectations of US$3.26 billion; net profit of US$48 million, or US$0.14 earnings per share, compared to a loss of US$105 million, or US$0.55 per share, in the same period last year, with market expectations of a US$0.12 loss per share. During the period, used car sales exceeded 100,000 units, a 33% increase year-over-year, with a market share of only 1%, and the company expects retail sales to grow sequentially in Q3.

V. Calendar

Earnings:

$Apple Inc. AAPL$
$Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN$
$ConocoPhillips COP$
$Intel Corporation INTC$
$Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated VRTX$
$Booking Holdings Inc. BKNG$
$Cigna Corporation CI$
$Motorola Solutions, Inc. MSI$
$Coinbase Global, Inc. COIN$
$Monster Beverage Corporation MNST$
$Microchip Technology Incorporated MCHP$
$Dominion Resources, Inc. D$
$Hershey Company HSY$
$Block SQ$
$Snap SNAP$

Expected IPO:

$OS Therapies Inc. OSTX$
$M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. MBAVU$
$AA Mission Acquisition Corp. AAM$

Please note that the timing of IPOs is subject to change at any time (including being advanced or delayed). Investors should therefore keep up-to-date with relevant news.

Events:

Finally, just a little reminder:

The regular trading hours for US stocks in the Daylight Saving Time (DST) are from 21:30 to 04:00+1 GMT+8, with pre-market trading available from 16:00 to 21:30.

Have a nice trading day!