【US Pre-Market】Apple Downgraded, Berkshire Earnings in Focus; Commercial Space Stocks Rise as RKLB and ASTS Face Earnings Catalysts

TradingKey - On Monday (August 10) Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock index futures were mixed in premarket trading, with Nasdaq 100 futures leading the gains. The market shifted to a wait-and-see stance after last week's strong rebound. This week, the U.S. July CPI, PPI, and retail sales data will be released successively, and investors are watching closely to see whether inflation will push up Federal Reserve rate hike expectations once again. Meanwhile, Iran has set new conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and a rebound in oil prices has also kept market sentiment cautious.

As of press time, Dow futures fell 0.12%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.14%.

Performance of the three major U.S. stock index futures, Source: Investing

In commodities, gold ( XAUUSD) fluctuated at high levels near $4,340; international oil prices rebounded, with WTI ( USOIL) crude oil rising about 2.6% to around $79.1, and Brent crude rising about 2.5% to around $84.5. Iran stated that it will not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the U.S. meets conditions such as lifting sanctions, releasing frozen assets, and compensating for war damages, prompting the market to price back in some supply risk premium.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin ( BTC) fluctuated above $65,000. Risk appetite has recovered somewhat from last week, but ahead of the CPI data release, the overall appetite to chase higher prices in crypto assets remains limited.

Market Movers

Apple ( AAPL) fell over 1% in premarket trading. Jefferies downgraded Apple to "Underperform" and lowered its price target to $263.66. The firm believes that after Apple canceled its all-glass iPhone plans, the high-end iPhone product roadmap faces more uncertainty, which could weaken market expectations for future upgrade cycles and hardware innovation.

Berkshire Hathaway ticked up in premarket trading. The company's second-quarter net profit rose to $25.67 billion, and operating profit increased by 16% year-over-year to $12.98 billion, with its cash stockpile reaching $364.7 billion. Berkshire also repurchased approximately $4.5 billion of its shares and became a net buyer of stocks for the first time in 15 quarters, though the high cash position still indicates Warren Buffett's cautious stance on valuations.

Commercial space stocks climbed in premarket trading. SPCX rose over 3%, Rocket Lab ( RKLB) rose over 2%, AST SpaceMobile ( ASTS) rose nearly 1% as the market heads into a major earnings day for the commercial space sector. Rocket Lab is expected to release its second-quarter results after the market close, with market attention focused on its launch services, space systems backlog, and the development progress of the Neutron rocket; AST SpaceMobile will also hold its second-quarter business update call today, where investors will focus on the deployment of BlueBird satellites, the progress of direct-to-cell commercialization, and cash burn rate.

AI server and chip stocks diverged in premarket trading. Super Micro Computer ( SMCI) rose over 3% in premarket trading, Nvidia ( NVDA) ticked up; AMD ( AMD) and Intel ( INTC) pulled back slightly. Earnings this week from Super Micro Computer, Cisco ( CSCO) and Applied Materials ( AMAT) will continue to test AI hardware demand.

The storage sector was under pressure in premarket trading. Micron Technology ( MU) fell over 1%, Seagate Technology ( STX) fell nearly 1%, SanDisk ( SNDK) fell nearly 1%. As expectations for AI storage demand have been fully priced in, some capital chose to take profits, leading to increased short-term volatility in storage stocks.

Market Highlights

US July CPI and PPI will be released this week. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled to release the July CPI on August 12 and the July PPI on August 13, Eastern Time. The market expects the July CPI to rise by more than 3% year-on-year, and the inflation data will be a key variable influencing US Treasury yields and US equity valuations this week.

US July nonfarm payrolls unexpectedly declined. Data released last week showed that US nonfarm payrolls decreased by 23,000 in July, marking the first decline since February. The weak employment data pared market bets on a September rate hike by the Federal Reserve and pushed the S&P 500 to a record high last week.

Iran has proposed new conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran stated that it will not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the US lifts relevant sanctions, releases frozen assets, ends restrictions on Iranian ports, and compensates for war damages. The news drove a rebound in oil prices and reignited market attention to energy supply risks.

China's July inflation fell short of expectations. China's July CPI rose 0.5% year-on-year, missing market expectations, while PPI rose 3.5% year-on-year, easing from the previous reading. The data reflects that domestic demand remains weak, while also indicating that the energy price shocks previously triggered by the situation in the Middle East have moderated.

Key Data and Events Preview

Rocket Lab and AST SpaceMobile will report their financial results after the US market close on August 10, Eastern Time.