U.S. Stock Pre-Market Key Updates: Goldman Sachs Bullish on HBF Technology, Opening New AI Storage Opportunities for SanDisk

2026-08-14 12:41

Odaily News – Before the U.S. stock market opens, here are the key financial updates investors need to watch:

1. U.S. stock index futures are mixed. Dow futures are down 0.15%, S&P 500 futures are up 0.09%, and Nasdaq 100 futures are up 0.24%.

2. International oil prices are fluctuating within a narrow range. WTI crude oil futures are up 0.24% at $81.447 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures are up 0.09% at $87.148 per barrel.

3. International spot gold and silver are seeing short-term gains. Spot gold is up 0.65% at $4,379.08 per ounce; spot silver is up 0.85% at $64.99 per ounce.

4. Europe's three major indices are mixed. The UK FTSE 100 is down 0.01%, France's CAC 40 is up 0.06%, and Germany's DAX 30 is up 0.81%.

5. NVIDIA announced that its Spectrum-X Ethernet silicon photonics switches have entered full-scale production, achieving a 4x reduction in laser count, a 5x reduction in power consumption, and a 10x improvement in meantime between incidents (MTBI).

6. Apple's first foldable device, the iPhone Ultra, may be released in limited quantities in the U.S. only at launch due to high production difficulty, and Apple may not be able to announce its price at the September event.

7. Sources say Apple has trained an AI model specifically for the Chinese market, with training reportedly supported by Alibaba. Apple Intelligence has completed filing in China last month, and the conditions for its rollout are now in place.

8. Goldman Sachs stated that SanDisk has signaled stronger-than-expected long-term profitability and shareholder returns, while High Bandwidth Flash (HBF) technology adds additional growth space for AI storage. The firm maintains a "Buy" rating and a $2,200 price target.

9. According to Silicon Data data, customer spending on leading U.S. AI lab models has dropped by nearly a quarter since mid-July. Chinese AI companies are raising concerns in the U.S. tech industry due to their models' high cost-performance advantage.

10. Sources say that based on current performance, OpenAI's annualized revenue is expected to exceed $40 billion, roughly doubling from end-2025 levels, providing momentum for its IPO plans.

11. After the unexpected decline in U.S. July retail sales, traders have reduced their bets on the Federal Reserve raising interest rates more than once before mid-2027.