Q2 reporting kicks off in earnest tonight. NFLX reports after the close, with investors focused on subscriber growth and ad-tier momentum. ISRG also reports today. Options positioning into both names is call-skewed, with Netflix drawing large expiry sweeps at its $309bn market cap. In Europe, ABB already dropped Q2 results this morning from Zurich.
Regional banks are joining the fray. Regions Financial raised its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share today, up from $0.265 — a sign of confidence in the rate environment.
The biggest macro story is the Strait of Hormuz. The FT reports oil traders are warning the market is close to running short as stockpiles hit low levels during the closure. UK borrowing costs jumped to their highest since May. The 10-year gilt briefly crossed 5%.
ASTS AST SpaceMobile tumbled after launching a $1 billion share offering. The dilution hit is weighing on the stock today. Meanwhile, Chinese chipmaker CXMT is seeking $10bn in what would be the largest China IPO since 2010 — capitalising on AI memory chip demand.
Bears remain heavy on HTZ Hertz, where SI % FF sits at 70.4% with near-zero availability. On the insider front, Silver Lake's $323M sell-down in DELL over recent weeks continues to draw attention. Analyst desks lifted targets on GS Goldman Sachs and LLY Eli Lilly, while US small caps are on track for their best year since 2003 per FT data — a theme worth watching into the back half of 2026.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
