Morning Preview: July 17, 2026

Early Look

Friday, July 17, 2026

U.S. futures point to a sharply lower open as the AI/semiconductor momentum trade continues to unwind in July, leading to notable declines overnight and the week, especially in tech. Stocks fell on Thursday as a sell-off in technology stocks overshadowed a raft of solid earnings reports. Several notable stories overnight include, Iran said it launched fresh strikes on U.S. facilities in the Middle East on Friday, including the first direct attack in Syria, after a sixth straight night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military facilities. President Trump revealed that China stole the voter registration data of 220M Americans as part of his primetime speech on Thursday. Netflix (NFLX) shares fall -9% overnight after guiding Q3 earnings and revenue below consensus forecasts. The tech-heavy major averages struggled with weakness in semiconductors (SOX hit 2 month lows) and looks to be the case to start the day while defensive Consumer Staples (XLP), Healthcare (XLV) and REITs (XLRE) all outperformed Thursday. After a blistering run that lifted Wall Street’s main indexes to record highs, investors retreated from crowded semiconductor trades as worries over the scale of AI-related spending resurfaced. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index tumbled -2,694 points or 4% to 64,141, the Shanghai Index plunged -3% to 3,764 and the Hang Seng Index declined -446 points to 24,562. In Europe, the German DAX is down -183 points to 24,732, while the FTSE 100 is little changed at 10.569. The Nikkei 225 dropped -4% on Friday, now more than -10% below its June 25 peak, marking a technical correction and its worst weekly loss since April 2025.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell -105.67 points, or 0.20%, to 52,552.97
• The Nasdaq Composite stumbled -387.28 points, or 1.47%, to 25,881.95
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -1.69 points, or 0.06% to 2,974.57

• 8:30 AM ET                  Building Permits M/M for June…est. 1.4M
• 8:30 AM ET                  Import Prices M/M for June…est. (-0.7%)
• 8:30 AM ET                  Export Prices M/M for June…est. (-0.4%)
• 9:15 AM ET                  Industrial Production M/M for June…est. +0.2%
• 9:15 AM ET                  Capacity Utilization for June….est. 76.2%
• 10:00 AM ET                University of Michigan Confidence, July-prelim…est. 51.0
• 10:00 AM ET                University of Michigan 1-yr and 5-yr inflation expectations
• 1:00 PM ET                   Baker Hughes Weekly rig count data

• The Bank of Japan is likely to consider raising its economic growth forecast at its July meeting while leaving the policy rate unchanged after last month hiking it to the highest level since 1995, according to people familiar with the matter. The Central bank will probably discuss raising its growth forecast from the current projection of 0.5% for the year in its quarterly outlook report – Bloomberg.
• Eurozone annual inflation was confirmed at 2.8% in June 2026, down from 3.2% in May and the lowest since February. Energy inflation slowed to 8.5% from 10.8%, while price growth also moderated for services, non-energy industrial goods, and food, alcohol, and tobacco. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, eased to 2.4% from 2.6%.

• Burberry (BURBY) said retail sales in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa business fell (-3%) in Q1, as conflict in the Middle East dents tourist spending; said comparable retail sales for Q1 grow +5%, in line with company-compiled consensus; sales in the Americas up 12% from a year earlier during the quarter thanks to new customers, and Gen Z shoppers helping boost China sales by 9%.
• Coca-Cola Company (KO) said that Fairlife, LLC, a dairy company which it owns, temporarily suspended production operations in the United States after unauthorized access by a third party to parts of its systems.
• Yum Brands (YUM) Taco Bell lettuce supplier linked to cyclosporiasis outbreak. The CDC issued a public health advisory that stated: “CDC, FDA, and public health officials in several states are investigating a multistate outbreak of Cyclospora infections linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in 5 states. Do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and West Virginia.

• Caci International (CACI) awarded five-year technology contract worth up to $113M by U.S. Navy MSC.
• Sandvik AB (SDVKY) Q2 Non-GAAP EPS of SEK 4.59, revs of SEK 36.75B (+23.7% Y/Y), order intake SEK 37,799M (32,206) and order intake, at fixed exchange rates, increased by 17%, and organically by 17%.
• Volvo (VLVLY) posted Q2 of 126.27 billion Swedish crowns ($13.09 billion) and adjusted EBIT of 14.78 billion crowns beat consensus estimates by 1% and 2% respectively; Q2 order intake for trucks rises 33% to 63,412, against a consensus expectation of 53,400; raises outlook for orders in European truck market to 315,000 units from 310,000 seen earlier.

• Independent Bank (INDB) Q2 adj EPS $1.70 vs. est. $1.78; Q2 net interest margin 3.85% (down -5bps q/q), Net Income $81.838M and net interest income $210.9M; generated a return on average assets and a return on average common equity of 1.34% and 9.24%, respectively in Q2; Q2 Deposit balances of $20.4B rose $294.6M or 1.5% q/q.
• PayPal’s (PYPL) board said it believes a $53B takeover bid from Stripe and private equity firm Advent International undervalues the company and could face regulatory and financing hurdles, according to Reuters. The board is evaluating the proposal alongside management’s turnaround strategy, and the possibility of rival offers.
• Regions Financial (RF) Q2 adj EPS $0.68 vs. est. $0.63; Q2 revs were $1.95B, in-line with consensus; Q2 net interest margin 3.66% vs. 3.67% in Q1; Net interest income rose 2% from prior quarter, driven by growth in average loans, fixed-rate asset turnover, and prudent deposit cost management and guides Fy26 net interest income +2.5%-4.5%; raises dividend by 13%.

• GSK Plc (GSK) said it decided to halt the development of an experimental drug as a treatment for chronic cough after the medicine missed the key goal in a late-stage clinical study; said the drug, camlipixant, achieved mixed results in two trials–with one hitting the primary objective of significant reductions in cough frequency after 12 weeks of treatment and a second falling short after 24 weeks.
• Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) Q2 adj EPS $2.80 vs. est. $2.50; Q2 revs rose 19% y/y to $2.89B vs. est. $2.83B; Q2 adj net income $1.0B vs. est. $897.8M; Q2 Da Vinci surgical systems shipped 468 vs. 395 y/y; expects FY worldwide Da Vinci procedure growth of about 13.5% to 15.5%, expects to be closer to midpoint of this range; expects FY gross profit margin to be within a range of 68.0% to 69.0% of revenue
• Regenxbio (RGNX) announces proposed public offering of common stock of $100M.
• STAAR Surgical (STAA) guides Q2 prelim revs $90M vs. est. $90.25M saying growth was driven by China, broader Asia-Pacific, and double-digit gains in the Americas while EMEA sales declined due to Middle East turmoil; company warns of ongoing macroeconomic headwinds; maintains 2026 strategic objectives.

• Meta Platforms (META) has hired Dave Brown, a senior Amazon Web Services executive, according to The Wall Street Journal. Brown will leave Amazon (AMZN) at the end of July after nearly 19 years, adding to Meta’s efforts to expand its AI infrastructure and data center capabilities.
• President Trump warned that he was considering revoking the Broadcast licenses of television networks Disney’s ABC and Comcast’s NBC, accusing them of spreading misinformation and acting against the public interest (the move comes after neither network broadcast his speech last night).