01 Stock Market
As of Aug 24, U.S. stock index futures performed as follows: Dow futures eased 0.11%, S&P 500 futures slipped 0.16%, and Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.52%. The cautious tone reflects investors digesting a heavy slate of tech earnings, fresh capital-raising announcements, and headline risks around global growth and policy actions, prompting a defensive stance ahead of the opening bell.
Notable Stock Movers: PDD rose 3.53% at $91.50 after posting double-digit top-line growth despite softer margins. Optical-networking specialist AAOI fell 12.31% at $109.45 following plans for a $600 million at-the-market share sale. Electric-vehicle maker XPEV fell 4.92% at $11.59 as investors digested a wider quarterly loss and large fundraising at its robotics unit. Chip heavyweight NVDA edged down 0.09% at $214.52 ahead of its results, while AAPL inched up 0.34% at $310.41, bucking the tech softness.
Pre-market breadth skews negative, with leveraged semiconductor ETFs such as SOXL down 4.42% and memory stocks tracking a retreat in Asian peers. Weakness in China-linked ADRs—pressured by fund-raising moves at BABA (fell 2.27% at $116.63)—adds to risk-off sentiment. Conversely, selective consumer and e-commerce names show resilience, highlighting an increasingly event-driven landscape as traders position around earnings surprises, capital actions and policy headlines.
02 Other Markets
• 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 0.63%, to 4.71%.
• U.S. Dollar Index rose 0.15% to 98.98.
• WTI crude oil futures fell 1.93% to 85.38 USD/barrel; COMEX gold futures rose 0.68% to 4,712.60 USD/ounce.
03 Key News
1. U.S. Treasury officials signaled potential use of the $1 trillion Treasury General Account to finance expanded long-term bond buybacks. The approach, dubbed a “Treasury Twist,” would pair purchases of off-the-run Treasurys with short-term bill issuance, aiming to temper stubbornly high long-end yields and stabilize financing conditions.
2. XPeng’s robotics arm secured over $900 million in a record-setting Series A round, valuing the unit above $6.3 billion. Led by IDG Capital with backing from Tencent and Alibaba, the funds will accelerate humanoid robot production and global expansion, underpinning XPeng’s broader Physical AI ambitions.
3. Tesla obtained Nevada approval to deploy up to 5,000 robo-taxis within 12 months. The permit advances its autonomous-mobility strategy, positioning the company to scale beyond pilot programs and intensify competition with Waymo and other self-driving entrants.
4. PDD reported second-quarter revenue up 8% to RMB 112.4 billion but a 12% slip in net income to RMB 27.2 billion. Higher operating expenses weighed on margins, yet stronger transaction-service growth prompted a swift share rebound after an initial sell-off.
5. XPeng’s second-quarter results showed a 51.5% revenue jump to RMB 19.74 billion alongside a RMB 1.34 billion net loss. Rising deliveries and improving gross margin were overshadowed by ongoing cash burn, prompting a cautious market reaction.
6. Alibaba’s CEO Eddie Wu and Chairman Joe Tsai bought HK$118 million worth of company shares. The insider purchases lift their combined holdings to roughly 1.7% of voting shares, signaling confidence amid the firm’s sizeable AI-driven capital commitments.
7. Applied Optoelectronics launched a $600 million at-the-market equity program to bolster its balance sheet. The planned share sales, led by Raymond James and Needham, sparked dilution concerns and sent optical-networking peers broadly lower in pre-market action.
8. Xiaomi unveiled its Xring O3 smartphone processor and tapped TSMC’s 3-nanometre process for production. The in-house chip is slated to power upcoming foldable flagships, enhancing supply-chain control and challenging rivals in premium devices.
9. Samsung Electronics outlined a record 90–110 trillion-won shareholder-return framework centered on dividends and future buybacks. The absence of an immediate repurchase plan disappointed investors, triggering a 9% slide in the stock and pressuring global memory peers.
10. ETF providers have closed 217 U.S. funds year-to-date as new launches surge toward a record pace. The shake-out reflects competitive pressures in a saturated market, where products failing to gain scale quickly face accelerated shutdowns despite buoyant overall ETF inflows.
Sources: Reuters, Dow Jones, Tiger Newspress, public market data
Disclaimer: For informational purposes only; not investment advice.