【US Pre-Market】Micron, AMD Slump as China Chip Competition Heats Up; Fed Meeting Begins Today

On Tuesday Eastern Time, U.S. stock index futures were mixed in premarket trading. While the market awaits the Federal Reserve's July policy meeting and tech giants' earnings, concerns over AI infrastructure financing models and intensifying competition from Chinese semiconductor companies led to a continued sell-off in chip stocks, significantly weighing on Nasdaq index futures.

As of press time, Dow futures rose 0.63%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.12%, and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 1.11%.

U.S. stock index futures performance, Source: Investing

In commodities, gold ( XAUUSD) fell about 1.1%, pulling back to around $4,030. International oil prices extended losses from the previous session, with WTI ( USOIL) fell about 1%, pulling back to around $81; Brent crude ( UKOIL) fell about 1.4% to around $84. The U.S. and Iran continued to suspend mutual attacks, and Trump stated that the two sides were holding "good negotiations," raising market expectations for a de-escalation of the conflict and a gradual recovery of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Market Moves

United Parcel Service ( UPS) rose about 2% in premarket trading. The company's adjusted earnings per share for the second quarter were $1.76, beating the market expectation of $1.66; revenue reached $22.8 billion, also exceeding the expected $21.84 billion. UPS raised its 2026 adjusted earnings per share guidance to approximately $7.22 and boosted its full-year revenue outlook to around $91.2 billion. US domestic business revenue increased by 6% year-over-year, while international business revenue grew by 12.5%.

Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ) rose about 2.8% in premarket trading. The company proposed to pay $5.5 billion to resolve most of the remaining ovarian cancer talc lawsuits. The proposed settlement covers approximately 76,000 federal and state court lawsuits, but still requires the participation of at least 95% of the relevant claimants. The first payment is expected to be no more than $3 billion and is scheduled to be paid in 2027.

Nvidia ( NVDA) fell about 1.1% in premarket trading, after falling nearly 5% in the previous session. Reports indicate that Nvidia is considering providing approximately $250 billion in financing guarantees for OpenAI's massive data center project in Ohio, which could cost more than $500 billion in total. The arrangement has sparked market concerns over circular financing in AI investments, balance sheet risks, and the sustainability of end demand.

Micron Technology ( MU) fell over 6% in premarket trading. Western Digital ( WDC) fell over 7%, Seagate Technology ( STX) fell over 6%, AMD ( AMD) and Intel ( INTC) both fell over 4%. Chinese memory chipmaker ChangXin Memory Technologies soared 466% on its first day of listing. Coupled with news that China has begun mass-producing domestic immersion DUV lithography equipment, this prompted the market to re-evaluate the competitive landscape of the global memory chip and semiconductor equipment industries. South Korea's Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both closed down nearly 14% today.

Market News

The Federa l Reserve began its t wo-day July monetary po licy meeting and will a nnounce its interest ra te decision on Wednesday . CME FedWatch data sh ows that the market ex pects the probability o f a rate hike this wee k to be approximately 38%, and the probabili ty of a September rate hike to be approximat ely 80%.

T he United States and Ir an continue to maintai n a pause in hostiliti es. Trump stated that the two sides are enga ged in "good negotiati ons" and said an agre ement to end the confl ict is possible, but w arned at the same time that the U.S. could resume military action if diplomatic talks fa il.

Meta ( META) and Bl ackRock ( BLK) announced a partners hip to develop a data c enter in El Paso, Tex as, with a project dev elopment cost of appro ximately $14 billion. Funds managed by Blac kRock will hold an 80 % stake in the project , while Meta will hold 20%. The data center is scheduled to begin operations in 2028 an d provide 1 gigawatt o f computing power.

Amazon ( AMZN) is reportedly adjustin g its AI model strateg y, phasing out most of its flagship models, i ncluding Nova Premier, Omni, Reel, and Canv as, to concentrate re sources on new frontie r large model project s. The new models are expected to be unveil ed at the AWS re:Inve nt conference later th is year.

Key Data and Events Preview

At 8:30 AM ET on July 28, the US will release its goods trade balance for June, with the market expecting a deficit of $100.3 billion, compared to the previous reading of $105.89 billion; June wholesale inventories are expected to increase 0.4% month-on-month, compared to a 0.1% increase previously.

At 9:00 AM ET on July 28, the US will release the FHFA House Price Index for May and the S&P Case-Shiller 20-City Home Price Index.

At 10:00 AM ET on July 28, the US will release the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index for July, with the market expecting 92.4, compared to the previous reading of 91.2; the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, to be released at the same time, is expected to be 7, compared to the previous reading of 4.

After the US market close, Visa ( V ), Ford Motor ( F) and Seagate Technology will report quarterly results.