Barclays maintains $100 per barrel Brent crude price forecast for 2026, anticipates supply deficit in the third quarter

Michael Burry, the real-life inspiration for *The Big Short*, disclosed his latest portfolio adjustments via his Substack account today, stating that he has further increased his short position in Micron Technology (MU) at an average entry price of approximately $880. He also continued to add to his short exposure in NVIDIA (NVDA) and increased his short position in the semiconductor ETF SOXX, with an average price of around $506. Meanwhile, Burry added long positions in multiple individual stocks: he increased his holdings in Lululemon (LULU) at an average price of roughly $118, in DraftKings (DKNG) at about $23.40, and in Zoetis (ZTS) at approximately $76; he also further added to his stake in Flutter (FLUT). Notably, Burry did not adjust his existing positions in Tesla (TSLA) and Palantir (PLTR), keeping them unchanged.

Goldman Sachs has cut its price target for Apple (AAPL.O) from $370 to $360.

Bank of America Global Research has raised Amazon (AMZN.O)’s price target from $310 to $320.

Citi raised Amazon (AMZN.O)’s price target from $325 to $350.

According to BIT (bit.com) market data, U.S. stocks saw simultaneous strength in the semiconductor, storage, and optical communication sectors during pre-market trading on Friday. Semiconductor stocks rose broadly: Lam Research (LRCX) gained 3.81%, Intel (INTC) climbed 5.67%, Applied Materials (AMAT) advanced 3.83%, and Arm (ARM) jumped 5.99%. The storage sector led gains, with SK Hynix (SKHY) up 6.45%, Micron Technology (MU) rising 3.35%, Western Digital (WDC) increasing 4.48%, SanDisk (SNDK) advancing 4.41%, and Seagate Technology (STX) gaining 2.91%. Optical communication-related stocks also trended higher: Astera Labs (ALAB) rose 8.78%, Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) climbed 6.6%, Coherent (COHR) advanced 5.94%, Credo (CRDO) jumped 6.28%, and Lumentum (LITE) gained 4.47%.

After a prolonged slump throughout July, South Korea’s KOSPI index surged more than 17% intraday on the 31st, notching its largest single-day gain in history. While some optimistic investors view this rally as a "signal flare" for a market trend reversal, market experts argue that the fragile structure of South Korea’s stock market—vulnerable to foreign capital flows and prone to extreme volatility—has been reaffirmed, and this rebound may ultimately be nothing more than a "dead cat bounce." Data shows foreign investors net-purchased 1.6 trillion won worth of South Korean stocks just over two minutes after the market opened; by the close, their total daily net purchases hit 7.18 trillion won, a new all-time high. Meanwhile, South Korean individual investors net-sold 8.2 trillion won, also setting a record for the largest single-day net sell-off. Analyst Lee Chae-won stated: "It is currently difficult to determine whether this rebound is a temporary technical rebound or the start of an upward trend." "Ultimately, the key lies in the semiconductor cycle. As the market questions the sustainability of high operating margins, investors should focus on whether semiconductor supply bottlenecks will persist beyond 2028 when making decisions over the next six months." An asset management industry source noted: "Retail investors trapped at current high levels are likely to sell to lock in profits when the index approaches its previous highs of around 8,000 to 9,000 points, which could cap the upward momentum."