A temporary agreement framework on the Strait of Hormuz has been reached, laying the groundwork for the resumption of US-Iran nuclear talks.

High-speed optical module manufacturer Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) released its Q2 FY2026 financial results, reporting revenue of $191.9 million, up 86% year-over-year. The figure slightly beat the market consensus of $190 million, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of record revenue. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.06, far exceeding the $0.01 expectation; Non-GAAP net profit reached $5.5 million, also well above the $1.7 million forecast. The return to Non-GAAP profitability this quarter is a key milestone for the company. AAOI’s gross margins declined year-over-year: GAAP gross margin stood at 27.7%, down 2.6 percentage points; Non-GAAP gross margin was 29.8%, down 0.6 percentage points. The company issued a conservative Q3 guidance: Revenue is projected between $255 million and $290 million, with a midpoint of ~$272.5 million, slightly below the market expectation of ~$278 million. Adjusted EPS guidance ranges from $0.11 to $0.26, significantly lower than the $0.28 consensus; Non-GAAP net profit guidance is $10.1 million to $24 million, below the $25.2 million forecast; Non-GAAP gross margin is expected to be 29% to 30.5%. AAOI emphasized that market demand remains extremely strong, and will continue to outpace the company’s production capacity through mid-2027, with capacity supply-demand imbalance being the core constraint.

According to Bitget market data, Hong Kong-listed AI stocks are rallying: MINIMAX-W surged over 6%, Zhipu rose 3.77%, and GigaDevice gained 5.58%.

According to Politico, the U.S. Senate has decided to delay the vote on the Cryptocurrency Market Structure Act (the CLARITY Act) until September. Earlier, crypto journalist Eleanor Terrett reported that all parties involved in the Clarity Act are waiting for the White House to respond to or submit a counter-proposal on the bipartisan ethics amendment. Both parties are concerned that if the vote to end debate fails, it could derail the year-long legislative effort. However, industry groups and internal Republican factions are also pushing to move the process forward before lawmakers adjourn. Additionally, yield-related provisions have emerged as a more prominent point of contention, with an increasing number of lawmakers calling for revisions to the bill text.

Pump fun(@Pumpfun) sold another 84,789 $SOL($6.25M) again today! In total, has sold 4,823,325 $SOL($807M) at an average price of $167.4.

Network security firm Cloudflare released its Q2 financial results and raised its full-year profit forecast, projecting adjusted earnings per share (EPS) for 2026 to range from $1.25 to $1.26, up from the prior guidance of $1.19 to $1.20 and exceeding Wall Street analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.20. The company’s second-quarter performance also beat market expectations. Cloudflare noted that as AI applications expand rapidly, corporate demand for network infrastructure and security services continues to grow. CEO Matthew Prince stated that the internet is shifting toward AI answer engines and agent-driven business models, with machine-to-machine traffic reshaping the network ecosystem. Back in May this year, Cloudflare announced it would cut roughly one-fifth of its workforce while advancing its AI agent-first strategy.

The U.S. July non-farm payrolls report will be released at 20:30 Beijing time today, with Wall Street firms forecasting a wide range of 18,000 to 83,000 jobs added, showing massive divergence. A Dow Jones survey puts economists’ average forecast at 83,000 new jobs, with the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.2%; Bank of America projects around 80,000, while Vanguard forecasts just 18,000. Such a broad forecast range reflects highly inconsistent signals from the current labor market. Market participants believe that if the final data deviates significantly from expectations, sharp volatility could hit stock, bond and dollar markets. The unemployment rate remains a core variable for the Federal Reserve. Bank of America economist Aditya Bhave noted that if household employment data is strong, the unemployment rate could stay at 4.2%, but if the labor force participation rate rises, the rate may edge up slightly to 4.3%. If the data shows the labor market is "all clear", the Fed could raise interest rates up to three times this year, but the federal funds futures market is currently pricing in only one rate hike this year. After Fed Chair Walsh abandoned forward guidance, the market lacks clear policy direction, and economic data has grown in importance, becoming the decisive factor in pricing the Fed’s future interest rate path.