Midday Briefing

📊 AI Stocks Midday Pulse — Wednesday, August 5, 2026 at 10:30 AM

Indices: SPX 7,793 (+0.6%) · NDX 27,420 (+0.2%) · DJI 54,285 (+0.8%)
Tone: Choppy — semis and AI operators are screaming on earnings, but the Nasdaq's handed back its morning gains

Movers so far:
• PLTR +29% — Q2 blowout: $1.94B revenue, +93% YoY; US commercial AI demand going vertical
• ARM +17% — rides the chip enthusiasm wave off Palantir's coattails
• SMCI +22.5% — AI infrastructure demand reasserting; shares reversing prior weakness
• AMD -7% — record $11.5B revenue, but guidance didn't close the AI-hype gap; street walked
• IBM -6% — follow-through from Tuesday's historic -25% crash; software client shift to hardware/cyber stings again today

Watchlist:
• MU $155 (+5.1%) ⚠️
• NVDA $216 (+1.1%)
• MSFT $521 (+0.4%)
• GOOGL $382 (+0.5%)
• META $841 (+0.7%)
• AMZN $291 (+0.6%)
• AAPL $265 (+0.3%)
• AMD $480 (-7.2%) ⚠️
• TSLA $421 (-0.4%)
• PLTR $162 (+29.1%) ⚠️
• ARM $262 (+17.4%) ⚠️
• SMCI $31.25 (+22.5%) ⚠️
• ORCL $200 (+0.6%)
• SOUN $6.35 (+0.8%)
• IONQ $34.78 (-0.5%)
• BBAI $8.50 (-0.9%)
• AVGO $418 (+1.0%)
• CRM $344 (-1.2%)
• ADBE $579 (-0.8%)
• IBM $185 (-6.1%) ⚠️
• SNOW $195 (+0.4%)
• MDB $281 (+0.5%)
• NET $118 (+0.7%)
• CRWD $426 (+2.9%)
• TSM $215 (+1.2%)
• ASML $872 (+0.7%)

News:
• Trump says a Strait of Hormuz deal is possible "as early as today" — oil holding steady, risk sentiment firm but cautious
• Anthropic IPO watch: bankers are now actively scheduling investor meetings, sources targeting late 2026 — not yet public; OpenAI also filed confidentially, CFO still flagging readiness questions — not yet public