BlockBeats reported on July 30 that several major headlines were driving U.S. premarket trading, spanning Big Tech earnings, semiconductor moves, rate expectations, South Korean market controls and rising tension in the Middle East.
Chip and memory shares move higher before the bell
SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won bought 3,620 shares of SK Hynix, marking his first direct purchase of SK Hynix stock. The stake was valued at about $3.33 million.
Semiconductor and memory stocks extended their gains in U.S. premarket trading. Arm rose as much as 11%, while SanDisk and Western Digital were both up more than 8%.
After-hours earnings from Apple, Strategy and Amazon
Apple is scheduled to release results for the third quarter of fiscal 2026 after the U.S. market closes and will also hold an earnings call. The company recently regained the title of the world’s most valuable listed company and at one point surpassed a $5 trillion market capitalization.
Strategy is set to post its second-quarter earnings after the bell. The market is watching both the company’s operating results and its Bitcoin holdings.
Amazon is also due to report second-quarter results after the close and will host an earnings call. Investors are focusing on growth in Amazon Web Services, or AWS.
Fed outlook shifts and policy stance stays in focus
JPMorgan brought forward its expectation for the Federal Reserve’s first rate hike to December 2026 from the second half of 2027. The bank said Waller had not explained how he would deliver on his anti-inflation commitment.
The Federal Reserve has now left rates unchanged for a fifth straight meeting. Waller said the 2% inflation target remains unchanged and that the central bank would not hesitate to raise rates if needed.
Corporate updates across tech
Qualcomm plans to raise prices for its chip products starting Sept. 1, with increases reaching double-digit percentages, in a move aimed at restoring profit margins to historical levels.
Samsung Electronics has already released its second-quarter results, reporting revenue of 171 trillion won and operating profit of 89.4 trillion won. The figures were broadly in line with market expectations, and the company said it expects profit growth to continue in the second half.
Arm (ARM.O) reported fiscal 2027 first-quarter revenue of $1.29 billion, up from $1.053 billion a year earlier and above the market forecast of $1.262 billion.
Meta Platforms (META.O) said it expects third-quarter revenue of $61 billion to $64 billion. Analysts had estimated $63.17 billion.
South Korea and the Middle East add to market tension
South Korean regulators may consider a short-selling ban to deal with a sharp stock-market drop. The Korea Exchange has recently reviewed the technical feasibility of a temporary short-selling ban and narrower daily price-limit bands to assess what emergency tools could be used during severe market declines.
Tension in the Middle East continued to rise. Iranian media said U.S. forces carried out airstrikes in the border area between Iran and Iraq, while the U.S. side said Iran fired multiple missiles at American troops stationed in the region. Trump responded by saying the U.S. military would “hit them very hard.”