Slight increases in Europe; South Korea’s stock market fell 6%

11:45

Ford shares surge in early trading following strong reports and raising annual forecasts. Ford beat analysts’ forecasts in the second quarter and raised its full-year forecast, joining a trend led by rival General Motors (GM). The revenue of the automotive sector was 44.89 billion dollars (compared to an expectation of 44.72 billion dollars), and the adjusted earnings per share reached 0.42 dollars (compared to an expectation of 0.36 dollars). Adjusted operating profit totaled $2.5 billion (above expectations for $2.15 billion), which led Ford to raise its annual adjusted EBIT forecast to $10-11 billion (compared to $8.5-10.5 billion in the previous forecast). The company attributes the increase in the forecast to an improved pricing policy, a more profitable model mix (led by SUVs) and a reduction in the net costs of tariffs.

However, Ford ended the quarter with a net loss due to huge write-offs of $4.2 billion in the electric vehicle division, most of which were not in cash as part of a restructuring of operations, alongside an operating loss of $919 million in this division in the past quarter. Following the results, Ford stock climbed about 4% in early trading (after peaking at over 8%).

11:05

Trading in Asia closed in a mixed trend, with the technology and chip indices suffering heavy selling pressure. The Kospi index in South Korea fell by about 6% led by SK Hynix which lost 9.6%. Although the company reported a 557% jump in operating profit and tripled in revenue, the results missed high analysts’ forecasts and ignited a wave of redemptions. The declines were also recorded in Samsung shares, which fell by about 5.2%. The Nikkei index closed down about 1.5%, with the pressure in the chip sector also echoing in Tokyo with sharp declines in Tokyo Altron (-10.6%) and Softbank (-7%). The rest of the continent closed in a positive trend, the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong climbed by 1.9%, and the Shanghai index added 0.4%.

In Europe, stronger-than-expected financial results in the banking sector provide support for indices on the continent. The Potsi in London rises by 0.5%, the Dax in Germany And the Kac in France Add 0.1% ca.

The European banks show strong results in the reports. UBS Posted a pre-tax profit of $3.6 billion in the second quarter, raised $36 billion in net assets under wealth management, and announced a $3 billion share buyback plan. Deutsche Bank Exceeded forecasts with a record profit for the second quarter of 1.9 billion euros (up 10%). Standard Chartered posted a 9% increase in pre-tax profit to $4.8 billion and announced a $1 billion share buyback.

In the commodity sector, energy prices jump sharply following the renewal of fighting in the Middle East and reports of a missile attack by Iran against US forces in the region. A barrel of Brent climbs by 3.97% to $87.43, while American oil (WTI) rises by 3.79% to $82.26. 1.07% to the level of 64,392 dollars.

10:10

European stock markets open the day with price increases. The DAX index rises by about 0.25%, the FTSE advances by about 0.6% and the KAC adds to its value by about 0.4%.

The cyber security company and Ronis It published reports yesterday (Tuesday) after trading, and surpassed analysts’ forecasts when it recorded revenues of 180 million dollars, a growth of 18.3%. According to the generally accepted accounting rules, Veronis presented a net loss of 46.8 million dollars, compared to a loss of 35.8 million dollars in the corresponding quarter. However, excluding various accounting items, Non-GAAP net income increased by 37.8% to $5.3 million, which is 4 cents per share. The company updates the annual revenue forecast slightly upward, from $731-737 million to $735-739 million, a growth of 18%-19% compared to 2025. Net profit per share will reach 14-15 cents this year ($18.4-19.7 million), an increase from a previous forecast of 11-12 cents.

8:35

Trading in the Isa stock exchanges is conducted in a mixed trend. Sharp declines are recorded in the Kospi index in South Korea, which falls by 7.8%, and in the Nikkei index in Japan, which loses 2.1%. On the other hand, the other leading markets on the continent are recording increases. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong leads the green trend with an increase of 1.4%, and the Shanghai index in China registers a moderate increase of 0.20%.

Among the stocks that stand out in decline in South Korea, the SK Hynix share falls by about 10.8% to the level of 1.38 million won, while the Samsung Electronics share loses about 6.1% and trades around 206.5 thousand won.

The sales pressure in South Korea affected the entire sector across the continent: in Japan, the shares of Kioxia (-10%), Tokyo Altron (-8.5%) and Softbank (around 7%) fell. In China, declines of about 5% were recorded in the index of memory chips in Hong Kong, while Taiwan’s TSMC lost about 1.3%.

In the commodity arena, oil prices are showing sharp increases amid the resumption of mutual attacks between the US and Iran after a short lull. The Brent crude futures contract rose 3.52% to $87.05 per barrel, while US crude (WTI) rose 3.33% to $81.9 per barrel.

In the European financial reporting sector, the Swiss banking giant UBS presented a net profit of 2.8 billion dollars for the second quarter – in line with market forecasts. The profit before tax registered a jump of 64% compared to the corresponding period last year and reached 3.6 billion dollars.

The bank presented good growth in revenues from the investment banking division (a 31% increase) and raising new assets in the global wealth management division ($36 billion). At the same time as the results, the bank’s CEO, Sergio Ermotti, announced a plan to buy back shares in the amount of one billion dollars during the next three months. However, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio dropped to 14.4% compared to 14.7% in the previous quarter.

8:00

The Korean flagship index, Kospi, drops by 11% and continues the negative trend from the last few days. In light of the falls, a trading suspension mechanism was activated for the second day in a row. In the background: the negative global sentiment in chip stocks and the increasing concerns surrounding the scope of investments in the field of artificial intelligence.

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The declines were led by chip giant SK Hynix, which is down more than 16% after publishing its quarterly figures, which failed to reassure investors, and Samsung which falls by 14%. In the last month, the Kospi lost over a third of its value. Price drops were also recorded in Tokyo and Taiwan.

The negative trend is also felt overseas. The contracts on Wall Street indicate declines of up to 1% in the leading indices. The market’s eyes are now on the Fed’s interest rate decision tonight (21:00 Israel time) and the financial reports of Microsoft and Meta, which will provide another indication of the direction of the sector and global risk appetite.