Markets on Edge: AI Theft, Insiders Cash Out, Nike Looms

The Biggest Story: Anthropic vs. Alibaba

A bombshell AI dispute is rattling markets this morning. Anthropic wrote to US senators Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott, accusing BABA of stealing 28.8 million Claude conversations to train its own models. The letter calls it direct AI model theft. The allegations are serious enough to draw bipartisan political attention. Alibaba has not commented publicly.

Insider Sales Top $800M

Three giant insider filings hit the wires this week. A Walton family trust sold $533M of WMT stock on June 16. NVDA director Mark Stevens filed $186M in sales from trades on June 18. Most notably, AST SpaceMobile CEO Abel Avellan filed the sale of $146.7M in ASTS shares — his first major disposal after a 400%-plus run. The pattern across three very different companies signals broad profit-taking near market highs.

Short Sellers and Earnings Ahead

Wolfspeed remains the most extreme short on the board. SI sits at 113% of free float with zero shares available to borrow. WaterBridge Infrastructure saw SI rocket 53 points in a week to 83% of FF. Squeeze risk is real in both names.

On the earnings front, NKE reports Q4 2026 on June 30. Options show heavy put positioning, particularly at the $35 strike. Bears are bracing for bad news on tariffs and China demand.

Europe: Macro Pressures Mount

The euro fell to a one-year low as sliding oil prices reduce pressure on the ECB to hold rates. South Korean chip stocks — including Samsung and SK Hynix — fell sharply on AI-linked volatility. The Hormuz closure continues to strand nearly 1,200 cargo ships carrying $125B in goods, keeping commodity traders on edge.

Citi Moves Chemicals

Citigroup raised targets on SHW to $380 and LIN to $600. It cut IFF to $88. The chemicals sweep reflects diverging views on margin recovery heading into the second half.