Nasdaq Futures Fall as Chipmakers Slide Once Again; Investors Await Earnings Blitz

July 28, 2026

Breaking News

Image source: AI-generated with OpenAI

Futures tied to the Nasdaq-100 dropped in early trading Tuesday, as semiconductor names fell once again, with investors bracing for a big week of megacap earnings and a Federal Reserve rate decision.

Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.9%. S&P 500 futures dipped 0.1%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose by 123 points, or 0.2%.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF shed 3%, led by 5% declines in Micron and Western Digital. Seagate Technology and Astera Labs were also down on the day.

Wall Street is coming off a choppy trading session. The 30-stock Dow advanced more than 260 points while the S&P 500 eked out a slight gain.

The Nasdaq Composite fell on Monday as an unwind in semiconductor stocks weighed on the tech-heavy index, which spilled over into Asian markets overnight with South Korea’s Kospi temporarily halted after slumping 11%. SMH on Monday dropped 3.3%, marking its third losing session in a row.

The tension in the market reflects uncertainty ahead of a big week for stocks with earnings results from Amazon, Meta Platforms and Microsoft on the calendar.

The chip trade hinges on continued spending from the hyperscalers — even as the mega-caps themselves falter. Apple also reports this week. CNBC reports.

EdgeUp

💾 Semiconductor Stock Charts Just Formed This Bearish Shape That Signals More Potential Losses

The bears may not be going anywhere on semiconductor stocks.

Quick insight: The VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) — which counts Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Broadcom as its top three holdings — has begun to form a head-and-shoulders stock pattern, according to Yahoo Finance AlphaSpace chart analysis.

The left shoulder took shape starting in mid-May, with the head forming in late June, and now the right shoulder has emerged.

The pattern will be official if the ETF falls below the May 19 closing low of $543. Yahoo Finance reports.

📟 Nvidia Behind $50 Billion Lease on Texas Data Center, FT Reports

Nvidia has signed leases worth up to $50 billion for Hut 8's Texas data center, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, citing five people familiar with the deal.

Hut 8 said last week its 1-gigawatt Beacon Point campus had a base-term contract value of $19.6 billion over 15 years, rising to as much as $50.2 billion if renewal options are exercised. Yahoo Finance reports.

🌌 SpaceX Stock-Purchasing by Congress Members Fuels Conflict Concerns

Three days after SpaceX’s blockbuster public debut, Rep. William Timmons bought as much as $100,000 of the rocket company’s stock.

The South Carolina Republican chairs a House oversight panel on military and foreign affairs and sits on a financial services subcommittee covering artificial intelligence — two sectors central to Elon Musk’s newly public empire.

He was not the only member of Congress to buy in. CNBC reports.

📦 UPS Beats Earnings Expectations, Raises Full-Year Guidance

United Parcel Service on Tuesday posted second-quarter earnings results that beat Wall Street expectations and raised its full-year outlook.

Shares of the delivery giant rose slightly in pre-market trading. CNBC reports.

🧠 Meta, BlackRock Partner on $14 Billion El Paso Data Center

Meta Platforms and the world's largest asset manager BlackRock on Tuesday announced a venture to develop and operate a data center campus in El Paso, Texas, a project that would cost about $14 billion in development.

The race to build out AI infrastructure has prompted tech giants to turn to debt sales worth tens of billions of dollars or seek external capital from fund managers such as BlackRock due to an unprecedented scale of investment. Yahoo Finance reports.

🥤 Coca-Cola Tops Earnings Estimates, Hikes Full-Year Outlook as Demand for Drinks Climbs

Coca-Cola on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Wall Street’s estimates, fueled by higher demand for its drinks.

The company also hiked its full-year forecast. Coke is now projecting comparable earnings per share growth of 9% to 10%, up from its prior forecast of 8% to 9%. It also expects organic revenue to increase about 5%, on the high end of its earlier range of 4% to 5%.

Shares of Coke rose more than 2% in pre-market trading. CNBC reports.

🚖 Lyft and Baidu Enter London’s Robotaxi Battleground as Testing Begins

Chinese tech giant Baidu has started testing autonomous vehicles in London as part of its partnership with Lyft and Freenow, the German taxi and multi-mobility app that Lyft now owns.

Baidu is the latest in a string of companies to test self-driving technology in the UK ahead of commercial robotaxi deployments. Yahoo Finance reports.

💎 Tiffany & Co. Is Proving to Be LVMH's Crown Jewel

American darling Tiffany & Co. is bringing in some serious cash for its French parent.

LVMH reported 9% growth in its watch and jewelry vertical in the latest half of the year compared to the same period last year, driven by sales in the U.S., Asia, and Japan. Yahoo Finance reports.

Top 5 Movers in Early Pre-Market

(All pricing and percent gains are based on Early Pre-Market from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM ET). Stock Analysis reports.

1) FIRY: Firy Inc.
Total gain: +43.30%

2) DFNS: T3 Defense Inc.
Total gain: +38.55%

3) INLF: INLIF Limited
Total gain: +37.50%

4) PRLD: Prelude Therapeutics Incorporated
Total gain: +19.02%

5) ALT: Altimmune, Inc.
Total gain: +16.89%

Yesterday’s Biggest Movers

The closing price of the top three market percent gainers trading near or above $3 on July 27.

(All pricing and percent gains are based on regular market trading hours from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM ET) Stock Analysis reports.

1) DFNS: T3 Defense Inc.
Total gain: +201.15%
The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

2) BIYA: Baiya International Group Inc.
Total gain: +116.06%
The stock appeared to be moving on no notable news.

3) ENTX: Entera Bio Ltd.
Total gain: +91.22%
The company announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement (the "Purchase Agreement") for an oversubscribed private placement financing (the "Private Placement"). The Private Placement is expected to result in aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $275 million, before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses. Globe Newswire reports.

Today’s Notable Earnings

(Estimate and Actual numbers represent Earnings Per Share in US Dollars)

BCS: Barclays
Q2 2026
Before Market Open
Estimate: 0.890
Actual: 0.896

UL: Unilever
H1 2026
Before Market Open
Estimate: N/A
Actual: 1.879

RPT: Rithm Property Trust
Q2 2026
After Market Close
Estimate: -0.040
Actual: N/A

Today’s Economic Dates

Time (ET) / Report / Period

8:30 AM - Advance Economic Indicators Report - June
8:30 AM - Wholesale Inventories - June
8:30 AM - Retail Inventories - June

Parting Thoughts

“Chance favors the prepared mind.”

– Louis Pasteur

Sourced in: Lecture at the University of Lille (1854) — GoodReads.

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