Stock Index

The FTSE 100 turned higher after an early dip, helped by earnings guidance upgrades from index heavyweights Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems. Rolls-Royce reported first-half revenue of £15.8 billion, up 9% year on year. BAE Systems said first-half orders rose to £16.4 billion, pushing its backlog to a record £84 billion, and lifted its full-year underlying earnings per share growth forecast to 11–13%. Mining stocks including Rio Tinto, Antofagasta, Fresnillo, Shell and Glencore also advanced, while UK gilt yields moved back above 5%.

AiRWA said it will acquire a 97% stake in Best Life for $50 million, plus up to $80 million in performance-based earnout payments, valuing the deal at up to $130 million. The structure prompted concerns that the payments could strain AiRWA’s liquidity, sending the stock sharply lower. The drop came as the technology sector fell 0.5% and the S&P 500 declined 0.4%.

Nomura Holdings reported first-quarter net income of 145.6 billion yen ($890.74 million), up 39% from a year earlier, as volatile markets supported its trading business and record stock prices lifted wealth management fees. The firm also said investment banking revenue hit 50.4 billion yen in the quarter, a first-quarter record. The report also listed S&P 500 movers, with Micron Technology down 8.85% on the day, the third-biggest decliner.

South Korea’s KOSPI has suffered a historic two-day plunge, down more than 12.6% in its largest two-day drop on record. The selloff was triggered after chipmaker SK Hynix reported operating profit of 60.54 trillion KRW, up 557% year on year but below the market’s 64 trillion KRW expectation. SK Hynix fell 9.61% in a single session and Samsung Electronics declined 5.23%, helping push the index down another 5.99% to 5,663.24 points. The benchmark is now 39.66% below its 52-week high.

Taiwan’s Taiex fell below the 40,000 mark, dropping 1,830.55 points (-4.40%) to 39,772.81 as of 11:53 a.m. local time on July 29. TSMC, which accounts for over 40 per cent of total market value, slid 3.29 per cent to NT$2,205. Some semiconductor component stocks also hit the 10 per cent daily limit down. The selling was driven by deepening doubts about whether AI-related capital spending will deliver the expected returns.

The Korea Exchange (KRX) triggered a sell-side sidecar on Wednesday at around 10:55 a.m., halting program trading in KOSPI-listed shares for five minutes. The move was prompted after the KOSPI 200 Futures Index fell more than 5% for at least one minute. The KOSPI was down more than 4.5% on the day. Retail investors sold large-cap stocks including SK hynix amid concerns that heavy artificial intelligence spending may not support elevated valuations.

Major European benchmarks ended higher, with the STOXX Europe 600 up 0.35%, the UK’s FTSE 100 gaining 0.83%, Germany’s DAX rising 0.41% and France’s CAC 40 adding 0.63%. Unilever (UNA.AS) raised its full-year sales guidance, lifting food, beverage and household-goods shares. LVMH (MC.PA) reported quarterly revenue growth, citing resilient U.S. demand for luxury goods. Energy stocks fell sharply, but strength in defensive and consumer sectors offset the drag.

The Nasdaq 100 briefly fell into technical correction territory, down more than 10% from its most recent record high, as chip and memory shares sold off. Sandisk, Western Digital, Seagate, Micron and AMD fell around 10%, while Dell Technologies dropped 13% and Intel declined 7%. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix slid more than 15% and Kioxia sank 18%, pressuring suppliers tied to AI data centers. The declines followed renewed concern over the pace of AI infrastructure spending after Alphabet raised its projected capital expenditures to as much as $205 billion.

CocaCola reported 2024 second-quarter earnings of 97 cents per share, topping expectations of 93 cents. Revenue came in at $13.400 billion, above the $13.162 billion estimate. The company also raised its FY26 earnings-per-share guidance. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.70% to 52,573.32, with consumer staples up 3.1% helping lift the index.

Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund posted earnings of HK$134.7 billion in the first half of 2026, down 37% from a year earlier. The decline was driven by the Hong Kong stock portfolio swinging from a HK$22.9 billion gain to a HK$11.8 billion loss, alongside weaker bond income. The Hang Seng Index fell 11% over the same period, underscoring pressure across the local equity market.