Markets opened lower today as Trump rejected extending a ceasefire with Iran. Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 futures all fell in pre-market trading. US housing starts for July came in at 1.239M — well below the 1.340M estimate. That is a 12.4% month-on-month drop, reversing June's 19.7% gain. Import prices also fell 0.4% MoM in July versus a 0.1% rise expected. Both prints add to the case that demand is softening. Redbook retail sales, however, held firm — up 7.6% year-on-year for the week ending August 15.
Home Depot is reporting today. Investors are watching same-store sales closely amid the housing slump. Tuesday brings a heavy cluster: Target, Lowe's, TJX, and Analog Devices all report. Walmart follows Wednesday. The retail earnings week will set the tone for consumer health heading into Q3.
Bill Gates spent $186.5 million buying Republic Services shares between August 10 and 13. The 14-transaction purchase adds meaningfully to an already large position. On the other side, a board-linked fund sold $123.5 million in Twilio on August 12 — 500,000 shares at $247.08.
Wolfspeed short interest sits at 87% of free float with zero borrow availability. Norwegian Cruise Line was downgraded today, adding analyst pressure to its existing 18.1% short interest. In options, bearish bets are heaviest in semis — Sandisk and Micron lead the put count. Healthcare names including Elevance Health and Centene are drawing heavy call buying. Costco is expanding into Medicare — a direct challenge to UnitedHealth and CVS Health.
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.
