Morning Preview: July 27, 2026

Early Look

Monday, July 27, 2026

U.S. futures are soaring, with more than 1% advances for the S&P and Nasdaq futures as a sharp decline in oil prices eased inflationary concerns, boosting shares of airlines, transports and others. Technology stocks also rebound after sliding last week after AI spending impact fears. At the same time, shares of energy stocks tumble after oil prices declined overnight after President Trump paused U.S. airstrikes on Iran, raising hopes that renewed diplomacy could reduce the risk of a broader disruption to global energy supplies. Brent crude fell about -7% below $89 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped to roughly $83. The selloff followed Trump’s decision to suspend U.S. strikes after 13 consecutive days of bombing. In Asian markets, The Nikkei Index gained 320 points to 64,931, the Shanghai Index gained 44 points to 3,858, and the Hang Seng Index advanced 243 points to 25,207. In Europe, the German DAX is jumping over 400 points to 25,500, while the FTSE 100 rises 46 points to 10,782.

U.S. stocks ended lower last week as the S&P 500 fell -0.6%, the Dow fell -0.4% and the Nasdaq dropped -2.1% as oil prices moved back above $100 a barrel, and investors are dumping tech stocks amid fresh worries that hyperscalers are overspending on AI. Brent crude futures jumped 7% on the week after Houthi militants claimed attacks on two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. The rise in prices boosted inflation fears around the world, pushing up borrowing costs around the world, with the 10-year Treasury yield at its highest level in more than a year amid fears that inflation could heat up again. Now attention turns back to earnings as roughly 1/3 of the S&P 500 index is expected to report earnings this week along with the FOMC rate decision Wednesday, where chances of a rate hike are slim.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 235.60 points, or 0.46%, to 51,947.25
• The Nasdaq Composite dropped -161.87 points, or 0.64%, to 24,975.82
• The Russell 2000 Index declined -10.16 points, or 0.35% to 2,930.00

• 8:30 AM ET                  Durable Goods Orders Ex Transportation M/M for June
• 10:30 AM ET                Dallas Fed Manufacturing Index for July
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $69B in 2-year notes
• 1:00 PM ET US Treasury to sell $70B in 5-year notes

• Earnings After the Close: AGYS AMKR APLD BLX BRO BRX CBK CBDNS CDP CINF CLS ESI FFIV FSUN KFRC KRC NBTN NTB NUE NVTS NWBI PFG RMBS RNGR SANM SSD SUI TFII UDR UHS WELL WHR

• Europe’s consumer federation and a leading EU lawmaker are pressing the European Commission to ensure that consumers do not face unexpected charges for online purchases to cover a new customs duty.

• General Motors (GM) was upgraded to buy from hold at Jefferies on confidence that 2027 will further strengthen the automaker’s position within the US profit oligopoly; said the investment case is well understood but continues to surprise, including strategic options for cash use beyond buy-backs.
• CATL and Stellantis’ (STLA) jointly owned gigafactory in Aragon, northeastern Spain, will employ an average of 1,000 workers from China in the construction phase, Aragon’s president said at a press conference.

• Linde (LIN) signs six new power purchase agreements for renewable electricity in Europe, Africa, And India
• Rocket Lab (RKLB) secured its largest launch contract to date—a $266M multi-launch award from the U.S. Space Force. The contract, awarded under the U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command’s Rocket Systems Launch Program, covers 12 suborbital launches, with an option for up to six additional missions.
• Vale (VALE) was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman Sachs and cut tgt to $16 from $18 as sees limited catalysts in the near-term and expects prices for Vale’s metals to be flat to down.
• President Trump aims to end U.S. reliance on Chinese critical minerals by January 2027, but industry leaders warn domestic supply is nowhere near ready. Despite billions in government support, the U.S. still lacks enough mining and processing capacity, while China controls over 80% of rare earth refining – Bloomberg (watch shares of critical mineral producers MP, CRML, METC, etc.)

• Forte Biosciences (FBRX) shares surge after agreed to be acquired by immunology company argenx (ARGX) for about $2.2 billion. Argenx is paying $77 a share in cash for Forte, a roughly 41% premium to Friday’s closing price of $54.78 for the Dallas company.
• Ideaya Biosciences (IDYA) announces ide892, a potential best-in-class mta-cooperative prmt5 inhibitor, initiates part 2 monotherapy expansion in the phase 1/2 study in mtap-deleted pancreatic and lung cancers
• Legend Biotech (LEGN) said Ying Huang has stepped down as chief executive officer and as a member of the board of directors, effective as of July 24, 2026.

• Nvidia (NVDA) said it had formed a coalition with other companies to develop and share tools for AI safety and cybersecurity, days after the Hugging Face incident drew attention to the dangers of losing control of autonomous AI agents. The Open Secure AI Alliance, with founding members including Adobe (ADBE), CrowdStrike (CRWD), Hugging Face and Dell Technologies (DELL), follows a public letter, signed by a wide range of companies including OpenAI, which advocates for open-weight AI models.
• Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) said it struck a pact with U.S. chip designer Broadcom (AVGO) to widen cooperation across memory chips, contract chip making and advanced packaging envisaged to exceed $200 billion until 2030.
• Michael Burry disclosed new portfolio changes on Substack, adding to short positions in Micron (MU) and Nvidia (NVDA). The investor also increased long holdings in Flutter (FLUT) and DraftKings (DKNG), reflecting a more selective positioning outside the semiconductor sector.