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1. Leader industry as of 6:04 pm

Oil&Gas-Drilling related stocks: Noble Corporation PLC Class A(NE.US), Transocean Ltd.(RIG.US), Valaris Ltd.(VAL.US), Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc.(PTEN.US), Helmerich & Payne, Inc.(HP.US), Seadrill Limited(SDRL.US), Nabors Industries Ltd.(NBR.US), Borr Drilling Limited(BORR.US), Precision Drilling Corporation(PDS.US).

Comml Svcs-Staffing related stocks: RECRUIT HOLDINGS CO LTD(RCRUY.US), AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.(AMN.US), Galaxy Payroll Group Limited Class A(GLXG.US), Robert Half Inc.(RHI.US), Upwork(UPWK.US).

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Quick Summary and Outlook

Market Overview — Three major U.S. stock indexes hit new all-time highs, with rare earths/precious metals/optical networking theme sectors leading gains, software outperformed semiconductors within tech, financials continued to see capital inflows, while energy and storage sectors came under pressure and diverged.

 

1. Strongest Sectors — Rare Earths / Precious Metals / Optical Networking

Global Rare Earths +22.9% for the week, Optical Networking +21.0%, Global Gold Mining +20.2%, Space & Satellites +21.4%, Drones +20.5%. Rate cut expectations and risk-off sentiment drove a strong rally in precious metals, with gold futures gaining 7.3% for the week. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.(GS.US) remains bullish on precious metals miners as a way to express easing policy expectations.

 

2. Tech — Software Outperforms Semis, AI Winners Expanding

Software/Internet earnings crushed expectations: Atlassian(TEAM.US) +32%, Twilio(TWLO.US) +25%, Cloudflare(NET.US) +17%, iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF(IGV.US) +3.0%, triggering a short squeeze. The PHLX Semiconductor(SOX.US) rose 9% for the week, but individual names were sharply divided — Western Digital Corporation(WDC.US) -20%, Seagate Technology Holdings PLC(STX.US) -5%, Sandisk Corporation(SNDK.US) -7%, Micron Technology, Inc.(MU.US) -1.3%. The narrative is shifting from "only semis are AI winners" to AI winners spreading to hyperscalers and software layers. On Aug 7, cloud computing ETF +3.71%, software ETF +3.29%.

 

3. Financials — Sustained Inflows, Positioning at 3-Year High

Hedge funds bought financials for the 4th consecutive week, making it one of the most net-bought sectors in the past month. Positioning is at a three-year high overweight, with capital concentrated in trading & payment processing and capital markets. Bank of America Corp(BAC.US) data showed hedge funds bought +$4.8 billion in U.S. stocks last week — the 2nd largest single-week buying volume since 2008. Institutional investors sold -$3.8 billion over the same period, ending a 4-week buying streak.

 

4. Weakest Sector — Energy, First Net Selling in 7 Weeks

Oil them -4.2% for the week, Natural Gas -3.1%. WTI crude fell 9.0% to $77, pressured by U.S.-Iran talks. Hedge funds turned net sellers of U.S. energy stocks for the first time in 7 weeks, with a short/long ratio of about 4:1. However, energy net exposure remains at the 95th/98th percentile over 1-year/3-year horizons, suggesting further downside risk.

 

5. Storage — Divergence Intensifies, Long-Term Contracts vs Near-Term Price Slowdown

Storage theme -3.0% for the week. Western Digital Corporation(WDC.US) -13%, Sandisk Corporation(SNDK.US) -7%. Jefferies cut SNDK's price target from 3,000 to 1,750, citing a slowdown in NAND price momentum and downward guidance revisions on gross margins. However, Seagate Technology Holdings PLC(STX.US) was a relative winner on its 44TB HAMR product leadership. The storage sector's valuation (Micron Technology, Inc.(MU.US), SK hynix Inc. Sponsored ADR(SKHY.US), SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO(SSNLF.US) all trading below 10x PE) has triggered intense long-short debate. Sandisk Corporation(SNDK.US)'s data center revenue has grown 15x over 5 quarters, and over 50% of FY27/FY28 bit volume is already locked in under new business model agreements.

2. Breaking Out Today as of 6:04 pm

3. Near Breakouts as of 6:04 pm

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