TradingKey - On Monday (August 24) Eastern Time, futures on the three major U.S. stock indexes mostly fell in pre-market trading. Tech stocks were generally under pressure, and with the Fed's policy outlook remaining unclear, global stock markets got off to a weak start in a key week, with overall market sentiment remaining cautious.

As of press time, Dow futures fell 0.15%, S&P 500 futures fell about 0.53%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell about 0.19%.

Performance of three major U.S. stock index futures, Source: moomoo

In commodities, gold (XAUUSD) extended its strength, with spot gold rising to near $4,660/oz intraday, setting a new high in over three months. A weaker U.S. dollar, concerns over U.S. fiscal sustainability, and market hedging against Fed policy risks continued to support safe-haven demand.

International oil prices pulled back slightly from high levels, with WTI (USOIL) crude trading near $85 and Brent crude pulling back to near $91. As the U.S. prepares to step up economic sanctions on Iran and Iran warns it could block oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, the risk premium on oil prices remains high.

In cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) traded in a narrow range, briefly approaching $78,000 intraday. On August 19, the U.S. Department of the Treasury expanded its long-term Treasury buyback scale, easing upward pressure on long-end Treasury yields and financing costs, boosting the performance of risk assets like Bitcoin.

Market Moves

Optical communication stocks fell across the board in pre-market trading. Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) fell over 12%, Coherent (COHR) and Lumentum (LITE) dropped over 5%, and Corning (GLW) and Credo Technology (CRDO) fell over 3%. Market concerns mounted that the accelerated development of co-packaged optics (CPO) technology could undermine the market position of traditional pluggable optical modules.

Memory stocks broadly moved lower in pre-market trading. SanDisk (SNDK), Seagate Technology (STX), and Western Digital (WDC) fell over 4%, while Micron Technology (MU) and SK Hynix (SKYH) dropped over 3%. Earlier, Asian memory chip stocks led the decline, with the pressure further transmitting to the US market.

The semiconductor sector came under overall pressure. Marvell Technology (MRVL) fell over 4%, while Intel (INTC), AMD (AMD), Arm (ARM), and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) dropped over 2%.

Pinduoduo (PDD) rose over 3% in pre-market trading. The latest financial results showed that the company's second-quarter adjusted earnings per ADS were 19.33 yuan, beating market expectations of 18.35 yuan; revenue increased 8% year-over-year to 112.4 billion yuan, slightly below market expectations of 113.9 billion yuan. Transaction services revenue grew 13% to 54.7 billion yuan, serving as the main growth driver.

Market News

The U.S. will announce a new round of economic measures against Iran. U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that the conflict between the U.S. and Iran is entering an "endgame," and the Trump administration will sever the Iranian government's sources of revenue, with specific actions to be announced on August 24.

Iran warned that if the U.S. continues to wage an economic war, it may take measures to block oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf. Markets worry that escalating sanctions could disrupt global energy supplies.

Nvidia is reportedly in talks to invest in Perplexity. Reports indicate that Nvidia (NVDA) is considering participating in a new funding round for Perplexity, which could value the latter at over $30 billion. Perplexity's core product is a conversational answer engine that combines large language models with real-time retrieval.

Goldman Sachs significantly raises global wafer fabrication equipment spending forecasts. Goldman Sachs raised its global WFE spending forecasts for 2026 to 2028 to $150 billion, $218 billion, and $281 billion, respectively, reflecting that AI computing power demand and the semiconductor capital expenditure cycle may continue to accelerate.

Important Data and Events Preview

At 8:30 AM ET, the U.S. Chicago Fed National Activity Index for July.

At 11:30 AM ET, the U.S. 3-month Treasury bill auction and 6-month Treasury bill auction.

Find out more