Stocks are returning from their breakout week without much momentum
Fresh off their best week since April, stock futures are struggling this morning. Futures on the Dow Industrial Average (DJI) and Nasdaq-100 (NDX) are modestly lower, while S&P 500 Index (SPX) futures are flat, as tech stocks try to build on their strong start to August.
Investors are also unpacking a slew of Middle East developments from the weekend. On Saturday, President Donald Trump told Axios the U.S. was only "semi-negotiating" with Iran, while on Sunday, Iran officials indicated there is zero possibility of the U.S. rejoining negotiations if they continued to violate the June memorandum of understanding. In response, oil prices are making another move back to $80/ barrel.
Continue reading for more on today's market, including:
- From our Substack: on baseball and market momentum.
- A lot to like about this ascending bank stock.
- Plus, HPE upgraded; Intel sells stock; and Archer takes off with Boeing.
5 Things You Need to Know Today
- The Cboe Option Exchange saw roughly 2.9 million call contracts and 1.6 million put contracts traded on Friday. The single-session equity put/call ratio dropped to 0.54, while the 21-day moving average remained at 0.58.
- Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE) stock is 4.8% higher ahead of the open, after Morgan Stanley upgraded the tech hardware concern to "overweight" from "equal-weight." The analyst in coverage said the company's risk/reward ratio is intriguing. HPE is up 121.5% in 2026 heading into today.
- Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) stock is down 4% before the bell, after the chipmaker announced an offering of $15 billion in stock for capital expenditures. Intel stock boasts a 175% year to date gain but is down 27% this quarter.
- The shares of Archer Aviation Inc (NYSE:ACHR) are 22.5% higher in electronic trading, after the drone maker announced the acquisition of Boeing (BA) subsidiaries Wisk Aero, Insitu, and Skygrid. Boeing now has a nearly 20% stake in Archer. And ACHR is set to test its year-to-date breakeven level today.
- Tech earnings highlight another busy week on Wall Street.
Asian Stocks Piggy Backed on Wall Street
Taking a cue from Wall Street's strong finish to last week, Asian markets closed broadly higher on Monday. Japan's Nikkei surged 2.1% after a summary of the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) July meeting showed policymakers discussed the possibility of faster interest rate hikes, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.1%. South Korea's Kospi added 0.7% as semiconductor stocks steadied after recent volatility, while China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.7% as well, after the region’s inflation data came in cooler than expected.
European markets are mixed today as investors digest corporate earnings while looking ahead to this week's U.K. gross domestic product (GDP) report. At last check, Germany's DAX is up 0.3%, France's CAC 40 has added 0.1%, while London's FTSE 100 is down 0.2% after four consecutive weeks of gains. U.K. homebuilder Vistry (VTY) tumbled after reports that Allianz Trade is reducing the credit insurance it provides to the company's suppliers.