Nasdaq Futures +1.24% as Semiconductors Reverse a Month of Selling
Sentiment: mixed S&P 500 futures: +0.37% Nasdaq 100 futures: +1.24%
Nasdaq 100 futures trade 1.24% higher at 29,136.50 at 08:42 ET on 21 July 2026 while Dow futures add 0.20%, a split that semiconductors opened after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed 19.8% under its 22 June peak of 14,634.72. NBIS.US leads the pre-market at $194.51 and +6.51% after Nvidia disclosed beneficial ownership of 9.3% of the company's Class A shares. South Korea's KOSPI closed +3.56% and Japan's Nikkei +3.26%, recovering part of drawdowns that reached 26.0% and 8.5% from their late-June highs.
Overnight drivers
- Semiconductors: SOXX.US +4.15% pre-market. Wafer-fab equipment leads, with LRCX.US +5.78% to $324.50, AMAT.US +5.14% to $552.70 and KLAC.US +4.36%, all three of which closed lower on Monday. Memory and logic follow: MU.US +5.76% to $915.30, INTC.US +5.15%, MRVL.US +4.83%, ARM.US +4.77%.
- AI infrastructure: NBIS.US +6.51% after Nvidia disclosed 22.26 million Class A shares, 9.3% of the class, of which 21.07 million are issuable through a pre-funded warrant acquired on 11 March 2026. CRWV.US +3.84% on the same disclosure. NVDA.US itself adds 1.14%.
- Crude and gold: WTI +1.93% to $84.07 and Brent +1.85% to $90.87 as US and Iranian forces exchanged strikes for a tenth day and vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz thinned. Gold +1.24% to $4,065.80.
- Rates and volatility: US 10-year Treasury yield at 4.60%, dollar index 101.02 (+0.07%), VIX 17.84 and 4.34% lower.
Overnight Asia and Europe
South Korea's KOSPI closed at 6,747.95 on 21 July 2026, up 3.56%, with Samsung Electronics +6.15% and SK Hynix +4.08%.
- Nikkei 225: 66,232.19 (+3.26%). Kioxia +17.18%, Advantest +7.73%, SoftBank +6.03%, Tokyo Electron +2.26%.
- Hang Seng: 25,132.29 (-0.04%)
- STOXX 600: 640.76 (+0.18%); DAX: 24,887.93 (+0.17%); FTSE 100: 10,543.03 (+0.17%)
KOSPI is +56.6% for 2026 and still 26.0% under its 22 June close of 9,114.55. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index is +65.8% year to date and 19.8% under its own 22 June peak. The S&P 500 sits 2.2% below its 2 June high of 7,609.78 and the Nasdaq Composite 5.9% below its own, so the selling of the past four weeks concentrated in semiconductors rather than the wider market. STOXX 600, DAX and FTSE 100 all sat between +0.17% and +0.18%, adding no separate signal into the US open.
Pre-market movers
| Ticker | Move | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| NBIS.US | +6.51% | Nvidia disclosed a 9.3% Class A stake |
| MMM.US | +6.06% | Q2 beat, FY26 EPS guidance lifted to $8.80 to $8.95 |
| LRCX.US | +5.78% | Wafer-fab equipment reversal after Monday's 2.09% fall |
| MU.US | +5.76% | Memory bid with Kioxia +17.18% in Tokyo |
| INTC.US | +5.15% | Tracks the semiconductor group, no company announcement |
| HAL.US | -4.04% | Beat on both lines, EBITDA margin flat at 18.8% |
| GM.US | -1.14% | Raised full-year guidance a second time and sold off |
| MSFT.US | -1.13% | Unannounced, likely flow-driven |
Earnings before the open
3M reported second-quarter 2026 revenue of $6.5 billion on 21 July 2026, ahead of the $6.47 billion consensus, and raised full-year EPS guidance to $8.80 to $8.95 from $8.50 to $8.70.
- MMM.US +6.06% to $169.00. Adjusted EPS of $2.40 came in 6.8% above consensus on 5.6% revenue growth and operating margins near 25%. The company lifted its organic sales growth outlook above 3.5% from close to 3%, citing general industrial, safety and data center demand.
- GM.US -1.14% to $74.96. Revenue $48.0 billion, net income attributable to stockholders $1.3 billion, EBIT-adjusted $3.9 billion. General Motors raised full-year EBIT-adjusted guidance for the second time this year and now guides net income of $8.4 billion to $9.8 billion and diluted EPS of $8.98 to $10.98, citing steady vehicle transaction prices, lower warranty costs and narrowing electric-vehicle losses.
- HAL.US -4.04% to $33.71. Revenue of $5.71 billion beat the $5.51 billion consensus and adjusted EPS of $0.55 beat $0.54, but operating margin held at 13.6% and EBITDA margin at 18.8%, both flat year on year, on free cash flow of $668 million.
All three beat consensus and two of the three trade lower. Alphabet reports Wednesday.
US economic calendar today (ET)
- 08:15 ADP weekly employment change
- 08:55 Redbook same-store sales, week to 18 July
- 11:30 6-week bill auction
- 16:30 API crude oil stock change, week to 17 July
No first-tier macro release is scheduled, which leaves earnings and semiconductors as the day's main inputs.
What to watch
- SOXX.US +4.15% before the open, against a Philadelphia Semiconductor Index that closed Monday at 11,743.85 and up 0.60%.
- MSFT.US -1.13%, AAPL.US -0.44%, GOOGL.US -0.22% and AMZN.US -0.20% are all lower pre-market, so the four largest index weights are not joining the move.
- 17.84 on the VIX, down 4.34%, alongside a 4.60% US 10-year yield and a dollar index at 101.02.
- 50% US tariffs covering roughly $20 billion of annual Canadian imports were set on 20 July and take effect 19 August, hitting dairy, alcohol and hockey equipment while exempting energy, potash and critical minerals.
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