S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures are slightly higher while Dow futures are lower in the final pre-7:00 capture. Rates remain elevated, the dollar is lower, oil is sharply higher, gold is firm, and Bitcoin remains the active cross-asset read-through.

S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures are slightly higher while Dow futures are lower in the final capture, with the 10-year yield near 4.67% and the dollar softer. Why it matters: Rates and dollar direction remain the broadest read-through for banks, real estate, software, housing and high-duration growth. What to watch: Watch 8:30 AM ET data, Treasury yields, DXY, futures breadth and whether Dow weakness broadens.

Walmart, Deere, Alibaba and Coty are fresh earnings leads. WMT falls sharply despite beating adjusted EPS and revenue expectations and raising its FY27 outlook, while BABA and COTY are also lower in live mover coverage. Why it matters: These reports update consumer demand, tariff exposure, China spending, farm-equipment demand and discretionary margins. What to watch: Watch WMT/DE call color, BABA AI investment commentary, COTY beauty demand and retail read-throughs into TGT, LOW, TJX, ROST and BURL.

MRNA is still a large downside premarket mover after the prior-session Moderna/Merck vaccine surge, while Dell, HP, HPE and AI-infrastructure names appear in updated technology screens. Why it matters: The move separates event quality from current positioning and keeps pipeline, AI hardware and data-center capex names active for the desk. What to watch: Watch MRNA/MRK follow-through, RARE clinical/FDA headlines, DELL/HPQ/HPE, NVDA, MU and storage names.

WTI and Brent are up more than 2% while Bitcoin remains around $70,000; crypto-linked names and energy read-throughs stay active in premarket coverage. Why it matters: Oil affects inflation and transport costs, while Bitcoin liquidity keeps Strategy, Coinbase, Robinhood and mining-linked equities in focus. What to watch: Watch WTI, Brent, DXY, BTC, HOOD, MSTR, COIN, ABTC, WMB and NEM.

The company’s second insider share unlock takes effect on Thursday, August 20, making up to 319 million shares held by early investors and employees eligible for trading. The tranche represents roughly 7% of insider-held shares and follows the first unlock of about 911 million shares earlier this month. Separately, Coindesk reported that fellow Elon Musk company X is exploring stablecoin payments, including Circle’s USDC, to pay creators and content providers their royalties.

Bitcoin closed more than 7% higher on Wednesday, August 19, clearing the $70,000 level for the first time in well over a month. According to Coindesk data, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $517 million in inflows on the 19th alone; this is their largest day of inflows since early May 2026. Ethereum ETFs saw $189 million in inflows on the day, the largest inflow since October 2025. Why it matters: The crypto rally came as US President Donald Trump hosted executives from the likes of Coinbase and Robinhood to discuss regulations around the crypto industry.

Sources: MarketWatch bitcoin and Treasury intervention update; WSJ market movers and premarket live coverage

Gapping down after its Q2 2027 earnings report. Revenue of $187.9 billion and adjusted EPS of $0.81 beat estimates of $186.7 billion and $0.74, respectively. Net income4 of $6.5 billion topped estimates of $5.91 billion, with eCommerce sales growing by 23% globally. The company hiked its adjusted EPS outlook to $2.80-$2.87 for FY 2027, compared to estimates of $2.80, and expects net sales to grow by 4% to 5% on a constant currency basis. Why it matters: US comparable sales for the quarter were reported at 2.6%, missing estimates of 3.7% and representing Walmart's slowest comp sales growth in more than six years.

Sources: Walmart FY2027 Q2 earnings release; Walmart FY2027 Q2 financial results index

Pulling back after closing more than 177% higher on Wednesday, the company’s best day on record. Why it matters: The rally was driven by a successful trial of Merck and Moderna’s personalized mRNA cancer vaccine. When combined with Keytruda, the vaccine met the main goal in a Phase 3 trial of more than 1,100 high-risk melanoma patients, significantly extending the time patients remained cancer-free and reducing the risk of distant spread.

Sources: AP report on Moderna and Merck melanoma vaccine data; MarketWatch Moderna-Merck cancer-vaccine report; Investing.com U.S. pre-market movers, futures and cross-assets; Investing.com UK U.S. pre-market mirror

Trading lower premarket after its quarterly earnings report. Revenue of 269 billion Chinese yuan missed estimates of 269.3 billion yuan, while adjusted ADS of 8.52 yuan sharply missed the 11.26-yuan estimate and represented a 42% decline. The company tripled its AI revenue for the 12th consecutive quarter, with capital expenditures ballooning by 75% year-over-year to 67.7 billion yuan.

Sources: Alibaba June-quarter result notice; WSJ market movers and premarket live coverage; TheStreet Pro earnings calendar for Aug. 20, 2026; TipRanks earnings calendar for Aug. 20, 2026

US President Donald Trump threatened an unprecedented economic crackdown on Iran and warned that countries or businesses helping Tehran evade sanctions could face severe financial consequences. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the campaign as “economic terrorism,” arguing that escalating sanctions will only deepen hostility and threaten the broader global economy.

Bloomberg reported that the company is spending hundreds of millions of dollars annually on Microsoft Azure AI services and processing trillions of tokens per week through Azure Foundry, making it one of Microsoft’s largest AI customers. Meta is also developing its own multi-model API platform, which could eventually compete with Azure Foundry and reduce its reliance on Microsoft.

Gapping up after its Q2 2026 earnings report, with revenue of $198.8 million and adjusted EPS of $0.12 topping estimates of $181 million and $0.03. Net income of $24.4 million sharply outperformed estimates of $16.9 million, while trading-related revenue grew by 66% year-over-year to $147.7 million.

Reuters reported that the company has tentatively agreed to pay 60% of employee bonuses in company stock and 40% in cash, shifting away from its previous all-cash structure amid surging AI-driven profits. The plan, which requires union approval, would provide 40% of the bonus in immediately sellable shares and defer the remaining 20% in stock over 2028–2029.

JPMorgan maintained an Overweight rating and $240 price target on the stock, saying the Google deal is not a core TPU accelerator win but could generate roughly $19.2 billion in average annual ASIC attach revenue through FY33. The bank sees most of the deal as incremental to expectations, potentially lifting Marvell’s earnings power to about $11 per share by CY28 versus the Street’s $9.52 estimate.

Gapping up after its Q2 202 earnings report, with revenue of HK$7.2 billion and EPS of HK$26.08 per share beating estimates of HK$6.5 billion and HK$24.01, respectively. Adjusted net income grew by 40.1% year-over-year to $3.73 billion, above estimates of $3.23 billion. Funded accounts reached 3.84 million, representing 33.6% growth.

Sources: Futu Q2 2026 release notice; Investing.com UK U.S. pre-market mirror

Despite a leaked Apple video showing camera-equipped AirPods using their sensors to provide AI with visual context, Bloomberg reported that the product is reportedly no longer part of Apple’s 2026 launch roadmap. The camera AirPods are now expected to arrive in 2027, with the cameras focused on Visual Intelligence rather than traditional photo or video capture.

Sources: IBD futures and sector-rotation report; Investing.com U.S. pre-market movers and cross-assets