Preview of US Stock Market | The three major stock index futures showed mixed results as U.S. retail sales for July come out tonight. Sandisk (SNDK.US) continues to rise over 6% in pre-market trading.

Pre-market Market Trends 1. As of August 14 (Friday), US stock index futures show mixed movements. The Dow futures are down 0.14%, the S&P 500 futures are up 0.12%, and the Nasdaq futures are up 0.28%. 2. As of press time, the German DAX index is up 0.90%, the UK FTSE 100 index is down 0.01%, the French CAC 40 index is up 0.05%, and the European Stoxx 50 index is up 0.29%. 3. As of press time, WTI crude oil is up 0.48%, trading at $81.64 per barrel. Brent crude oil is up 0.18%, priced at $87.23 per barrel. Market News Will the midterm elections be a turning point for the AI bull market? Bank of America Hartnett: If the Republicans maintain control of the Senate, AI stocks could "skyrocket" until 2027. Bank of America Hartnett points out that the 2026 midterm elections are a critical juncture for the US AI bull market. If the Republicans keep control of the Senate and Texas Governor Abbott is re-elected, AI capital spending will continue, and US stocks, especially in the AI sector, could "soar" until 2027; conversely, the market could plunge more than 10%. At present, earnings and AI investments are supporting the bulls, but positions are extremely crowded, and rising bond yields pose a significant risk. "Big Short" investor Steve Eisman: Anthropic and OpenAI are the "Achilles' heel" of AI trading. The market is eagerly awaiting the IPO moments of OpenAI and Anthropic, but from the perspective of well-known short seller Eisman, these AI giants are precisely the weakest link in the entire AI trading chain. He points out that about 70% of the AI revenues of tech giants come from these two companies, and if cheaper models from China trigger a price war, trouble will ensue. Although the market looks forward to Anthropic's IPO (valued at up to $2 trillion), Eisman states that judgments should wait until actual data is disclosed after their IPO, as current concerns are merely "hearsay." Rumors suggest that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates as soon as September and may accelerate subsequent rate hikes. According to knowledgeable insiders, the Bank of Japan may raise rates as early as September and is considering advancing its tightening pace faster than the current roughly biannual schedule. This move reflects growing concerns from the central bank over inflationary pressures from the Middle East conflicts, rising prices driven by global AI demand, and the ongoing depreciation of the yen; despite last month's rare joint intervention by the US and Japan in the currency market, the yen's depreciation has not reversed. Insiders noted that "early signs of interest rate hikes have begun to emerge," suggesting a high likelihood of a rate increase at the policy meeting on September 17-18, with an even faster pace of hikes likely. AI infrastructure bonds are becoming a "capital black hole," pushing up real yields and testing global economic and stock market prosperity due to "capital scarcity." As AI companies and governments ramp up bond issuance, the borrowing costs for major economiesadjusted for inflationhave surged to their highest levels in over a decade, exacerbating risks in the stock market and the global economy. The 30-year real yield in the US, measured by inflation-linked bonds (TIPS), is nearing its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. The nominal yield on 30-year US Treasuries has reached its highest level since 2007. The 10-year US Treasury yield recently hit an 18-month high. This trend is not unique to the US; the 10-year real yields in the UK and Germany are also close to their highest levels in over a decade. Rumors suggest that OpenAIs annualized revenue has surpassed $40 billion, signaling strong growth momentum ahead of a potential IPO. According to insiders, OpenAIs current annualized revenue has already exceeded $40 billion, roughly doubling since the end of 2025. The accelerated revenue growth in recent months has been aided by the rapid development of its artificial intelligence (AI) programming software business. This revenue increase also reflects sustained momentum from subscription sales and its nascent advertising business. Meanwhile, OpenAIs core consumer business continues to grow. Individual Stock News SanDisk (SNDK.US) continues to rise over 6% in pre-market trading. SanDisk recently sent core signals at its Investor Day, announcing it will pull storage demand toward sustainable growth expectations through long-term contracts. Currently, SanDisk has signed agreements with 8 data center customers, covering approximately 50% of FY2027 and around two-thirds of FY2028's bit shipments, with minimum revenue commitments as high as $93.9 billion and financial guarantees of $16.5 billion. Based on this, SanDisk has provided a financial framework for FY2028 to FY2030, projecting revenue growth in the mid-to-high double digits and a gross margin of about 80%. The company expects the corporate data center flash memory total addressable market (TAM) to reach 1.2ZB by 2030, with AI inference becoming a key driver for new growth. US drone concept stocks soared across the board. On Friday morning, US drone concept stocks surged, with Unusual Machines (UMAC.US) prices skyrocketing over 15%. In news, President Trump signed an announcement on the 13th that the US will impose tariffs ranging from 10% to 100% on imported drones and related parts. According to the announcement, new tariff measures will take effect on September 3. For non-sensitive drone parts or products and components exempted by the US Department of Defense, the new tariff measures will take effect on February 9, 2027. Market appetite hits a ceiling! Applied Materials (AMAT.US) is also unable to escape the "sell the news" curse: AI equipment demand is strong, and Q3 financial results significantly exceed expectations. After the market closed on Thursday, Applied Materials delivered a "comprehensive surprise" with revenue of $9.12 billion, surpassing analysts expectations of $9 billion, marking the highest in company history. Adjusted earnings per share reached $3.50, also a record. GAAP gross margin reached 50.3%, up 1.5 percentage points year-over-year, marking the 13th consecutive quarter of year-over-year improvement. However, the stock price fell about 5% in pre-market trading. This "good performance, bad stock price" trend reflects how the AI equipment sector is now being scrutinized with unprecedented harsh standards after a year of doubling in stock values. AMD (AMD.US) issues a record $4.75 billion in bonds. On August 13, AMD issued bonds to raise $4.75 billion, setting a record for the company's largest bond issuance. The bonds are expected to settle on August 17. Analysts highlight that this bond issuance underscores the increasing reliance of semiconductor companies on capital markets for financing, as they accelerate investments related to artificial intelligence, expand data center construction, and push forward manufacturing projects. Recently, AMD announced several collaborations with Anthropic and Microsoft Corporation (MSFT.US), which will broaden the application scope of its chips. Market analysts expect AMD's revenue this year to increase by 47% compared to 2025, potentially exceeding $51 billion. Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) finally completes the AI puzzle in the Chinese market! Partnering with Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR (BABA.US) to develop edge-side AI. Insiders reveal that Apple Inc. has specially trained a large language model for the Chinese market, indicating that the tech giant has strayed from its previous strategy of relying on third-party models to support its AI functions in China. This AI large model (LLM) was developed in collaboration with Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR and trained with support from the Chinese tech giant. Official representatives from Apple Inc. and Alibaba Group Holding Limited Sponsored ADR have not responded to media requests for comment on the latest news. Lam Research Corporation (LRCX.US) is heavily investing in R&D! Planning to invest $3 billion to expand its laboratory network over the next five years. The wafer fabrication equipment supplier Lam Research Corporation announced its plan to invest $3 billion in its R&D laboratory network over the next five years. This multi-site expansion is expected to enhance its experimental capabilities by over 50%. Lam Research stated that in recent collaborations with clients, this model has helped shorten their process development cycle to about 40% of the original time, achieving a maximum speed increase for process development of 2.5 times the original. Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (API.US) achieves GAAP profitability for seven consecutive quarters, with Q2 revenue up 18% to $40.4 million. Agora, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A reported total revenue of $40.4 million for the second quarter, up 18.0% from $34.3 million in the same period last year, mainly due to the continuous expansion of real-time interactive services in live shopping, financial services, and other sectors. Net profit reached $2.2 million, compared to $1.5 million in the previous year. The basic and diluted net income per ADS for this quarter was $0.03 and $0.02, respectively, compared to $0.02 and $0.01 in the same period last year. This is the company's seventh consecutive quarter of GAAP profitability. RLX Technology, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A (RLX.US) reports Q2 2026 net revenue growth of 14.8%, with a diversified product portfolio accelerating expansion. On August 14, RLX Technology, Inc. Sponsored ADR Class A released its unaudited financial report for the second quarter of 2026, showing net revenue of 1.0105 billion Chinese yuan ($148.9 million), representing a year-on-year increase of 14.8%. Under non-GAAP measures, the net profit for Q2 was 238.8 million Chinese yuan ($35.19 million), compared to 291.2 million in the same period last year. Key Economic Data and Event Forecasts At 20:30 Beijing time: US July retail sales month-on-month, Canada June manufacturing sales month-on-month. At 22:00 Beijing time: US preliminary Michigan University Consumer Sentiment Index for August. At 01:00 the following day Beijing time: Total US drilling rigs for the week ending August 14.