mixed major in New York; The falling stars of Wall Street

17:17

stock SpaceX In the spotlight today, when for the first time since the IPO interested parties and early investors can sell their shares. As part of the expiration of the lock-up period, 911.5 million shares will become tradable – the largest amount by about 43% of the number of shares offered to the public in the June offering.

Following the move, the proportion of freely traded shares (Free Float) will jump from 4.9% to 11.8% of the company’s total shares, which may increase sales pressure on the stock.

The timing of the block’s expiration comes at a particularly sensitive moment, after SpaceX’s stock plummeted following the latest reports and is now trading below its IPO price. Unlike most IPOs, SpaceX chose a staggered mechanism for the release of the shares, so that the blocked shares will be released in nine installments over several months. Today’s beat is the first and biggest.

According to yesterday’s closing price, $108.27 per share – the value of the released shares is approximately $98.7 billion, a significant supply that could weigh on the stock if the shareholders choose to exercise their holdings.

4:30 p.m

Wall Street opens steadily, after a wave of financial reports, progress in negotiations to regulate navigation in the Straits of Hormuz and publication of new data from the US labor market. Dow Jones rises by about 0.2%, after the index closed last night at a new record, S&P 500 rises by about 0.1%, Nasdaq falls by about 0.6%.

Investors continue to focus on the scope of investments required in the field of artificial intelligence and the ability of companies to generate profits from them. These concerns, along with the high pricing levels of some technology stocks, led to sharp negative reactions after the reports of companies such as AMD, Sandisk and Western Digital.

stock SanDisk drops, after the flash memory maker provided a disappointing revenue forecast for the first fiscal quarter. The company expects revenues of 10.3-10.8 billion dollars, lower than analysts’ expectations of 11.16 billion dollars.

Despite the weak forecast, the company’s management emphasized that the demand for its products continues to exceed the supply. According to her, the shortage of memory chips is expected to continue at least until the end of 2027, so the company will continue to allocate production among its customers (“allocation”) and will not be able to satisfy the full demand.

Since the previous quarter’s report in April, Sandisk has signed three new agreements with customers and two extensions of existing contracts, within a business model based on long-term contracts. The agreements last up to five years, with an average duration of more than four years, and indicate stable demand from customers.

In the last quarter, the company recorded a record gross profit rate of 84.6%, and at the same time predicts that the gross profit rate in the fiscal year 2027 will be in the range of 83%-85%.

Despite the sharp decline, Sandisk stock is still completing a nearly 490% YTD jump, making it the best performer in the S&P 500 since the start of 2026.

Western Digital It also falls even though it beat analysts’ forecasts in the last quarter, with revenues of $3.75 billion and adjusted earnings of $3.56 per share. Despite the strong results, the stock fell after the report, as investors were disappointed by the outlook and signs of moderation in the flash memory market after the sharp increases in the sector. the stock It has tripled since the beginning of the year and expectations from it were particularly high.

On the other hand, Nvidia rose more than 3% yesterday after SpaceX announced that it would exclusively use the company’s chips.

At the same time, geopolitical uncertainty continues to support gold prices, which have climbed to multi-week highs. Oil prices stabilized around $80 per barrel, after Iran announced that it had reached an agreement with Oman on a temporary shipping route through the Straits of Hormuz. The spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Ismail Baka’i, said that the agreement will be implemented “if certain third parties do not frustrate the process.”

16:03

US Macro:

Data published today (Thursday) in the US indicated that the labor market continues to demonstrate resilience, while productivity in the economy grew beyond expectations and labor costs remained moderate – a combination that may support the scenario of the moderation of inflationary pressures.

The number of initial applications for unemployment benefits totaled 199,000 in the week ending August 1, compared to forecasts for 204,000 applications. This is a slight increase of only a thousand requests compared to the previous week, indicating that the scope of layoffs in the American economy is still low.

At the same time, labor productivity in the second quarter of the year increased by 1.4% at an annual rate, above the forecasts which stood at 0.6% and after an increase of 0.8% in the first quarter.

The data also shows that the labor cost per unit of output (Unit Labor Costs) increased by only 1.3%, lower than the forecasts for an increase of 2.1%. The figure, which weighs wages in relation to productivity, is considered an important indicator of wage pressures and inflation, and the moderate reading may strengthen the assessment that price pressures from the labor market continue to weaken.

15:40

Israeli women on Wall Street:

Nikes , led by the CEO and Chairman, Yair Nichmad, announces today (Thursday) that it has submitted an application to the Banking Department of the State of Connecticut in the USA to establish a wholly owned bank. The name of the bank: Nikes America Bank, and as soon as its establishment is approved it will operate under a state license and will not accept deposits, will not offer products to private customers and will not operate branches.

The gaming company Playtics Returned to profit in the second quarter of 2026, after ending the previous quarter with a loss. The company from Herzliya reported today revenues of 731.1 million dollars, a 5% increase compared to the corresponding quarter last year. The net profit amounted to 48 million dollars, compared to 33.2 million dollars in the corresponding quarter, an increase of about 45%. In the first quarter of this year Playtica recorded a loss of 57.5 million dollars. In the summary of the first half of 2026, the company still recorded a loss of 9.5 million dollars, compared to a profit of 63.8 million dollars in the corresponding period in 2025.

Nova , the manufacturer of test equipment for the chip industry, surpassed the forecast of revenues and net profit per share for the second quarter, and its stock is climbing in early trading on Wall Street. The company surpassed the revenue forecast of the analysts when it presents in the second quarter a record revenue of 255 million dollars, this against the average forecast of the analysts on Wall Street for revenues of 250 million dollars. In the corresponding quarter last year, the company’s revenues were about 220 million dollars, so this is a growth of 16% within a year.

Amdox reported tonight a quarterly profit of $1.84 per share, in accordance with analysts’ forecasts, compared to a profit of $1.72 per share in the corresponding period last year. Over the past four quarters, the company has beaten analyst forecasts for earnings per share three times. In the previous quarter, the expectation for the computer systems supplier was a profit of $1.77 per share, while in practice it presented a profit of $1.78 per share – a positive surprise of about half a percent.

15:30

The trend in Europe continues to be positive, while the contracts in New York are mixed against a backdrop of increasing pressure on technology stocks. At the same time, the prices of oil and gold register adequate increases.

In European stock markets, the Stoxx 600 index strengthens by about 0.4%. The CAC index in Paris leads the continent with an increase of 0.7%, while the DAX in Frankfurt and the FTSE 100 in London add 0.2% and 0.1% respectively.

On Wall Street, futures are showing a mixed trend. The Dow Jones contracts add about 0.2% and the S&P 500 contracts rise by 0.1%, while the Nasdaq contracts lose about 0.7%.

Prominence in pre-trade and international trade, Diageo , the beverage giant jumps about 6%-7% in pre-trade after announcing a $1.2 billion cost-savings program over three years. modern Climbing by about 4% following the FDA approval of the company’s new mRNA flu vaccine (mFlusiva) for adults 50 and older. Pluto Interactive Drops by about 13% after reporting an 8.8% drop in the number of active paying subscribers compared to last year, despite revenue results that exceeded expectations.

Ivan-Q, the quantum computing stock is up about 3.8% on the back of quarterly results and an annual revenue forecast that exceeded market forecasts. Hadrian, the defense manufacturing start-up achieved a company value of about 7.9 billion dollars (4 times from January) after raising 1.4 billion dollars.

In the commodity market, oil prices accelerate the increases. Brent oil rises by about 1.25% to $80.44 per barrel, and WTI oil adds about 1.16% to $76.09 per barrel. At the same time, gold is climbing for the fourth day in a row to a seven-week high and is trading around the level of $4,318 per ounce amid expectations for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a softening of inflation concerns.

1:30 p.m

The positive trend continues in Europe alongside a mixed picture in pre-trade on Wall Street, while in the commodity markets oil and gold gains are recorded. In European stock markets, the European Stoxx 600 index rises by about 0.5%. The increases on the continent are led by the CAC index in Paris with a jump of 0.7%, while the Potsi indices in London and the DAX in Frankfurt add about 0.4% and about 0.3% respectively. At the center of trading in Europe, the stock of the British advertising giant WPP jumps by about 25% after presenting results half as strong as expected indicating the success of the efficiency plan; stock Partners Group Increases by 1.2% after announcing the purchase of a controlling stake in the AVK energy infrastructure company in the amount of approximately one billion dollars, as part of the wave of investments in electrical infrastructure for the AI data centers.

On Wall Street, the futures are trading in a mixed manner following last night’s trend. The Dow Jones contracts lead with gains of about 0.3% and the S&P 500 contracts add 0.2%, while the Nasdaq contracts fall about 0.4% under pressure in the technology sector.

Prominence in US pre-trade, share SanDisk Losing about 8% in the background of a mixed forecast for the next quarter that fell short of market expectations. stock Honeywell Aerospace Drops by about 11% after reporting weak reports and lowering its full-year forecast due to supply chain issues. stock SpaceX Rising by about 1.5% and partially recovering from last night’s 13% drop, ahead of the expiration of the first lock-up since the IPO, in which the early investors will be allowed to sell over 900 million shares.

In the commodity market, oil prices are climbing. Brent oil rises by about 0.65% to $79.97 per barrel, and WTI oil adds about 0.55% to $75.63 per barrel. At the same time, gold rises to a record of about a month and a half against the backdrop of weak employment data in the US and expectations for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

12:15

A positive trend now characterizes trading in Europe, alongside cautious optimism in the early contracts on Wall Street. In European stock markets, the European Stoxx 600 index registers increases of about 0.6%. The positive trend on the continent is led by the CAC index in Paris with a jump of 0.8%. In London, the FTSE index strengthens by 0.4%, while the DAX index in Frankfurt adds about 0.2%.

On Wall Street, futures paint a mixed picture. The contracts on the Dow Jones index lead the trend with increases of about 0.3%, and the contracts on the S&P 500 add about 0.15%. On the other hand, the contracts on the Nasdaq index retreat by about 0.4% against the background of continued pressure on technology stocks.

In the commodity market, oil prices trade stably with a slight upward trend. Brent crude rose by about 0.15% to $79.57 per barrel, while WTI crude traded almost unchanged at $75.25 per barrel.

11:50

stock SanDisk It weakened in late trading by about 5.3%, after its revenue forecast for the September quarter (at the mid-point of $10.55 billion) missed analysts’ expectations of $10.8 billion. This, despite strong results in the June quarter – with revenues of $8.97 billion and an adjusted profit of $39.25 per share (above forecasts), alongside a 103% jump in revenues from the data center sector to $2.97 billion. The company’s CEO, David Gecker, noted that SanDisk is working to reduce the typical cycles of the chip industry and increase business stability. In the meantime, Woodbush analyst Matt Bryson expresses optimism about the way forward and estimates that the momentum in profitability will continue into 2027-2028, against the background of limited capacity supply and long-term agreements signed by the company with its customers that guarantee price stability.

10:30

Trading in European stock markets opened in a mixed trend with a tendency to slight increases, with the European Stoxx 600 index adding about 0.3%. In the background there is suddenly a relative calm in the technology sector on the continent, which has not yet been swept away by the sharp sales wave recorded this morning in Asia. European investors draw optimism from the reports of progress in negotiations to open the Strait of Hormuz, alongside a drop in bond yields in the US following the weak employment data from ADP, which lowered the probability of an interest rate hike in the US in September and supported the jump in gold prices to record levels of $4,314 per ounce (in futures contracts).

In the leading indices: the FTSE index in London and the CAC index in Paris are trading with slight increases. On the other hand, the German DAX index is down by about 0.3%, as it is affected, among other things, by the performance of industrial and security stocks.

Rheinmetall, the German defense giant, is trading higher, after cutting its annual revenue forecast by 300 million euros (to a range of 13.7-14.2 billion euros) following the cancellation of the F126 battleship project by the German government. The cut in the forecast comes despite strong results for the first half of the year, with a 39% jump in sales to 5.2 billion euros and a 74% jump in profits, amid high demand for ammunition and air defense systems in Europe and the US.

The Japanese investment corporation, Softbank, reported a net profit of 347.3 billion yen (about 2.2 billion dollars) in the second quarter – a figure that sharply exceeded analysts’ forecasts. The strong results were mainly supported by a huge capital gain margin of $8.2 billion from its investment in the company Intel , along with an increase in the value of Bytedance which strengthened the activities of the Vision Fund.

The restlessness in the global technology sector weighed on the East Asian stock exchanges, which closed trading with sharp price drops led by the local chip and technology giants. In South Korea, the Kospi index recorded the sharpest decline in the region and fell by 4.6%, against the background of sharp falls in the memory stocks SK Hynix and Samsung. In Japan, the Nikkei retreated by 1.2%, affected by declines in Tokyo Altron, Kioxia and Softbank.

The futures contracts on Wall Street are trading in a mixed trend: the contracts on the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 are up about 0.2% and about 0.15% respectively, while the contracts on the Nasdaq are down about 0.17%.

8:35

The negative pressure in the global technology sector worsened this morning in trading in Asia, when the stock indices and the leading companies in the continent registered sharp declines in the shadow of the negative trend from Wall Street and the high volatility in the industry. In South Korea, especially sharp dips stand out among the chip giants, with the memory network SK Hynix falling by about 9.7% and Samsung losing by about 6.1%. In Japan, notable declines are recorded in Tokyo Altron (over 5%-) and the memory chip manufacturer Kyocsia which crashes by 8.8%, alongside a 4.4% retreat in Softbank. Despite the wave of sales and growing concerns among investors about cutting back on artificial intelligence spending, J.P. Morgan’s analysts are trying to calm the markets and estimate that the AI investment cycle has not shifted course: “If we ignore stock price fluctuations, we do not see fundamental indicators that point to significant weakness in the next 6 to 12 months,” the investment bank clarified.

7:10

Asia

A sharp correction this morning when in South Korea the Kospi drops about 4.5%, and at one point it dropped more than 5%. Samsung and SK Hynix lead the decliners. In Japan, the Nikkei loses 1.5%, and in Hong Kong, 2% declines.

Wall Street

The Dow and S&P 500 contracts are up 0.2%, and the Nasdaq is down slightly. Last night saw a mixed close as the Dow Jones climbed about 0.5%, the Nasdaq was pressured by realizations in the technology sector and fell 0.8%, while the S&P 500 easily weakened by 0.15%.

But the big story of the evening was the sharp fluctuations in the Israeli stocks with an emphasis on two – Tabula and Solaradge which together lost over a billion dollars in value.

Tabula crashed by 28% and wiped off about 400 million dollars from its value.

Solaredge crashed by 30% and wiped about 900 million dollars from its value in one day. In the background: Tabula’s disappointing forecast despite positive results due, among other things, to a change in Google’s policy that is expected to harm its revenues. Solaredge showed improved performance but issued a low forecast for the next quarter which disappointed investors.

And there was also good news. The Israeli culture rose about 35%. The investors chose to focus on growth and improving the company’s performance in the second quarter.

petroleum

Despite what appears to be progress in talks with Iran to open the Straits of Hormuz, oil is trading stably without further decline around $79 per barrel Brent. WTI oil is trading around $75.8.

Tel Aviv

Let’s recall that the stock exchange in Tel Aviv has recently been looking for a direction and has quite disconnected from the direction in the world. Yesterday trading closed with declines that intensified towards the close, the Tel Aviv 35 index fell by about 0.7%, while the Tel Aviv 90 index weakened by about 0.5%.

The star of the trade was El Al which jumped 15% to its best day in four years after posting positive results.

Another thing you should know

The CEO of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon, warned tonight against the high levels of leverage in the financial markets, and claimed that a significant part of the debt is not visible to investors. “The margin debt is at the highest level ever,” he said in an interview with CNBC. “There is a lot of debt that you don’t see, because it is not called margin debt. It is called by other names. Some of the leverage is hidden and some is visible.”