^{_{Welcome to the TraderTV Live Morning Research Note. Here's what's making major moves in the market today.}}

1030 - Crude Oil Inventories: Expected -0.800M; Prior -3.036M
1100 - Fed’s Waller speaks
1300 - 20 year Bond Auction: Prior 4.935%
1400 - FOMC Meeting Minutes
1500 - Fed’s Bostic Speaks

Semiconductor Stocks

-4.34%

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is pushing a major shift in the CHIPS Act by seeking equity stakes in Intel and potentially other chipmakers like Micron, Samsung, and TSMC in exchange for federal grants, instead of handing out subsidies with no return. Reports suggest the U.S. could take a 10% non-voting stake in Intel, while Trump has already struck unconventional deals such as taking a cut of Nvidia’s China chip sales. The move aims to secure taxpayer upside while bolstering domestic semiconductor capacity, but critics warn it adds new corporate risk and geopolitical complications. With Intel struggling from past execution issues yet drawing fresh capital (SoftBank just invested $2B), this push could become a short-term sentiment driver for INTC and the broader chip sector, making it one to watch closely for volatility and momentum trades.

MU, INTC, TSM, GFS

Target (TGT)

-10.00%

Shares are trading lower after the retailer posted its quarterly earnings which beat on EPS with $2.05 vs expectations of $2.03. Revenue also came in as a beat with$25.21 Billion vs 24.93B expected despite being nearly a 1% decline against the same period last year. Gross Margins declined to 29% vs 30% last year and the company maintained expectations of Low single digit declines next year. The company also Appointed Michael Fiddelke as CEO effective Feb 1

Palantir Technologies Inc (PLTR)

-2.63%

Palantir shares are down again pre-market to $156.08, extending Tuesday’s steep 9.35% drop, even after announcing an expanded partnership with Fujitsu. The decline followed a bearish report from Citron Research, which argued the stock is overvalued and set a $40 price target based on comparisons with OpenAI’s revenue forecasts. Citron pointed to heavy insider selling by CEO Alex Karp and criticized Palantir’s reliance on slower-growing government contracts versus OpenAI’s rapid expansion. The firm concluded that even at $40, Palantir would still trade at a premium to its fundamentals.

Lowe’s Inc.

3.08%

Lowe’s (LOW) popped after beating Q2 earnings expectations with EPS of $4.33 vs. $4.24 est., while revenue came in line at $23.96B and comps grew +1.1%. The company raised full-year sales guidance to $84.5B–$85.5B and announced an $8.8B acquisition of Foundation Building Materials, doubling down on its pivot toward home professionals following its earlier Artisan Design Group deal. CEO Marvin Ellison emphasized Pro customers as the key growth driver amid weak DIY demand pressured by high mortgage rates. With rival Home Depot missing Q2, Lowe’s now looks better positioned near term, giving traders a potential upside catalyst as Wall Street rewards its pro-focused expansion.

LOW

Hertz Inc.

9.23%

Hertz (HTZ) shares spiked premarket after announcing a partnership with Amazon Autos to sell its used fleet vehicles directly online, starting in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, and Seattle, with plans to expand to 45 cities nationwide. The move gives Hertz fresh visibility and a potential profit driver beyond rentals, while strengthening Amazon’s push into autos. With Hertz emphasizing retail expansion under its “Back-to-Basics” turnaround strategy and coming off its strongest retail sales quarter ever, this deal adds a catalyst that could fuel near-term momentum in the stock.

HTZ, CVNA, KMX

Crypto

-%

Back on watch after Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies fell sharply in yesterdays market drop. Both spot Bitcoin and Ethereum saw big net outflows with bitcoin funds seeing $523 million in redemptions. Despite the action Bitcoin was able to hold onto the 112K level. Crypto treasury stocks and recent Crypto ipo’s were hit the hardest as Bitmine looks to bounce from a new double digit drup.

IBIT, ETHA, BMNR, MSTR, BLSH, CRCL

Robinhood Inc.

-0.89%

Robinhood is pushing deeper into sports-linked trading, announcing it will roll out NFL and college football prediction markets starting with the first two weeks of the season and expanding to weekly matchups. Unlike traditional betting, the platform uses a peer-to-peer pricing model, with trading open nearly 19 hours a day. Management has flagged sports prediction markets as their strongest engagement driver, with over 2B contracts traded since launch, and sees a major growth opportunity here. Shares are already up 400% YoY, and this football launch could act as a fresh catalyst for trading momentum as user activity spikes into peak sports season.

HOOD, SOFI, IBKR

Upstart Inc.

2.47%

JPMorgan upgraded Upstart (UPST) to Overweight from Neutral, calling it the best risk/reward play among personal loan originators as stable credit conditions and potential Fed rate cuts create a favorable macro backdrop. While the firm trimmed its price target to $88 (still ~43% upside), shares have badly lagged in 2025, flat YTD vs the S&P’s +9% and down 21% in the past month after weak results and a new convertible issuance. With strong loan buyer demand and room for margin expansion, JPMorgan sees a turnaround ahead, and the upgrade sparked a 3% premarket pop — putting UPST back on traders’ radar for potential rebound momentum.

UPST, AFRM

Shineco Inc.

56.77%

Shineco (SISI) jumped after announcing a partnership with blockchain provider Plus Me Limited to tokenize mesenchymal stem cell assets on Ethereum, creating a secure, auditable digital custody system with NFT-based identifiers for ownership and compliance. The company also secured a 51% stake in Xi’an Dong’ao Health Management, which specializes in cryogenic cell storage and provides the off-chain infrastructure for token redemption. The deal positions Shineco at the biotech + blockchain intersection, a speculative catalyst that could drive near-term volatility and attract momentum traders watching for follow-through from today’s early spike.

SISI