US core PCE falls, in line with expectations.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), the three major U.S. stock indexes advanced at the open of U.S. trading: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6%, the S&P 500 gained 1%, and the Nasdaq climbed 1.6%. Microsoft jumped roughly 12% after releasing its fiscal 2026 fourth-quarter results in Wednesday’s post-market session, reporting revenue of $90 billion, up 18% year-over-year. The storage sector saw sharp gains, with SanDisk (SNDK.O) rising around 11% and SK Hynix (SKHY.O) climbing approximately 7%.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), most US-listed crypto-related stocks rose at the opening of the US stock session, with the following performance: Strategy (MSTR) up 1.25%; Coinbase (COIN) gained 0.60%; Circle (CRCL) down 0.15%; BitMine Immersion (BMNR) rose 1.66%; SharpLink Gaming (SBET) jumped 3.34%.

According to market data from BIT (bit.com), ARM’s gains expanded to 19% at one point after the U.S. stock market opened, following a nearly 8% drop in pre-market trading earlier. This marks its largest single-day gain since March 25.

The U.S. June PCE Price Index, released today, fell 0.1% month-over-month—the first monthly decline since the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak. Its year-over-year growth slowed to 3.7% from a three-year high of 4.1% in May. Core PCE rose just 0.1% month-over-month, with its year-over-year rate dropping to 3.3% from 3.4%, though it remained above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for the sixth consecutive year. The cooling inflation was largely driven by falling oil prices following the temporary U.S.-Iran ceasefire. Consumer spending remained robust: inflation-adjusted consumer spending in June rose 0.4% month-over-month, matching the fastest pace since July 2025. The second quarter’s annualized GDP growth slowed to 1.5% from 2.1% in the first quarter, but domestic private final sales (excluding net exports, inventories, and government spending) jumped 3.9%—more than doubling the first-quarter figure and hitting its highest level since early 2023. Consumer spending, which makes up roughly two-thirds of the economy, surged from 0.5% to 3.2%. Low unemployment, tax cuts, and the AI investment boom have jointly supported household consumption and corporate capital expenditure. However, energy prices remain a key risk for the second half of the year: the average regular gasoline price in Q2 hit $4.22 per gallon, far above the sub-$3 level before the conflict, and oil prices have risen again this month. Consumer goods firms including Procter & Gamble have noted consumers are more price-sensitive. The day before the GDP report’s release, the Federal Reserve voted 9-3 to hold interest rates steady at 3.5% to 3.75%. Three regional Fed presidents dissented, pushing for a 25-basis-point rate hike. Waller said, “The economy is showing impressive resilience.” The expanding camp of rate-hike advocates underscores growing internal divisions within the Fed.

Unitree Robotics (688836.SH) announced that it will carry out its initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market). The offering adopts a combined approach of strategic placement, institutional (offline) subscription, and retail (online) subscription. The company plans to issue 40,446,434 new shares, representing 10% of its total share capital post-IPO, bringing the post-offering total share count to 404,464,340 shares. The preliminary inquiry date is August 5, 2026, and the institutional subscription date is August 10, 2026. The company has a special voting right mechanism; under the voting right differential arrangement, its actual controller Wang Xingxing holds 68.78% of the company’s total voting rights.

According to BIT (bit.com) market data, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM.N) saw its U.S. pre-market shares rise more than 4%. On the news front, TSMC announced today that it will develop AI chip packaging technology.