Futures tracking the Dow and the S&P 500 were higher on Friday, underpinned by expectations of an interest rate cut in September, while UnitedHealth surged after Berkshire Hathaway raised its stake in the health insurer.

Market Snapshot

At 7:50 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 290 points, or 0.64%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 11 points, or 0.17%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 7.75 points, or 0.03%.

Pre-Market Movers

Berkshire-Linked Stocks - Buffett's Berkshire-linked stocks surged after its 13F filing disclosure. UnitedHealth rose 11%; Nucor rose 6%; Lennar rose 4%; D.R. Horton rose 3%; Allegion rose 2%; Lamar Advertising rose 0.9%.

Intel - Intel rose 2.3% after it was reported the Trump administration wasin talks to have the U.S. government potentially take a stake in the chip maker. The move would help Intel expand domestic manufacturing and help shore up the company’s factory buildout plans in Ohio, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the plan. The size of the potential stake wasn’t clear, the report added.

Applied Materials - Applied Materials tumbled 14% after the largest chip-equipment maker in the world reported fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue that beat analysts’ estimates but issued a range of revenue guidance for the current fourth quarter that at the $6.7 billion midpoint was below consensus of $7.33 billion. Peers Lam Research and KLA fell 5.1% and 5.8%, respectively.

KULR Technology - KULR Technology reported its Q2 2025 earnings, showcasing a notable turnaround with a first-ever quarterly profit. The shares soared 19.2%.

Nu Holdings - Nu Holdings rose 11% after the Brazilian fintech reported second-quarter net profit growing 42% from last year to $637 million, beating expectations. The company added 4.1 million new customers in the quarter, reaching a total of 122.7 million customers globally.

Quantum Computing - Quantum Computing fell 2.2% after reporting second-quarter revenue of $61,000, up from $39,000 in the previous quarter but well below year-earlier revenue of $183,000, a figure the company said largely was driven by “contractual sales.” Operating expenses in the period rose to $10.2 million from $5.3 million a year earlier.

Twilio - Twilio will replace Amedisys in the S&P MidCap 400 effective before the opening of trading on Tuesday, August 19. The shares gained 4.2%.

Miami International - Fintech Miami International fell 3% in premarket trading after rising 34% on Thursday in its trading debut and closing at $30.74. The stock’s first trade Thursday was $31 a share, above its initial public offering price of $23. The company specializes in options, futures, and derivatives trading through its MIAX exchanges.

Target - Target fell 1.6% to $102.58. Shares of the retailer were downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA Securities and analysts reduced their price target to $93 from $105.

WeRide - WeRide secured Grab investment, partnered to deploy Robotaxis and Shuttles in Southeast Asia. WeRide shares rose 2.3%.

Globant - Globant fell 13% after its second-quarter earnings report. Adjusted earnings came in at $1.53 a share on revenue of $614.2 million, largely in line with expectations. The IT and software company guided for full-year revenue of at least $2.4 billion, implying roughly 1% year-over-year revenue growth that was slightly below expectations.

SanDisk - Sandisk, which develops and manufactures data storage devices based on NAND flash technology, was down 10.5% after a mixed earnings report. Fiscal fourth-quarter revenue was above expectations at $1.9 billion but its net loss of $23 million missing analysts’ estimates that called for a small profit.

Beyond Meat- Rumours suggest that Beyond Meat is considering a bankruptcy filing amid falling sales, but the plant-based giant has vehemently denied the claim. Beyond Meat shares fell 2.2% in premarket trading.

Market News

Berkshire Invests in UnitedHealth, Trims Apple Stake

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway disclosed on Thursday a new investment in UnitedHealth Group after the insurer became a target for many Americans upset over the direction of the nation's healthcare.

Berkshire said it owned 5.04 million UnitedHealth shares worth about $1.57 billion as of June 30.

Buffett's conglomerate also said it sold 20 million shares of iPhone maker Apple in the second quarter, reducing its largest stock holding to 280 million shares, and cut back another major holding, Bank of America.

Trump Administration Said to Discuss Taking Stake in Intel

The Trump administration is in talks with Intel to have the U.S. government potentially take a stake in the struggling chipmaker, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the plan.

A deal would help shore up Intel’s planned factory hub in Ohio, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are private. The company had once promised to turn that site into the world’s largest chipmaking facility, though it’s been repeatedly delayed. The size of the potential stake isn’t clear.

The talks come just a week after President Donald Trump had called for the ouster of Intel Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan, accusing him of being “highly conflicted” because of concerns about his earlier ties to China.