Pre-Market News Roundup for US Stocks: Jefferies cuts Apple’s rating; Intel plans to raise $15 billion via a stock offering; Berkshire Hathaway repurchased over $33 billion in stock in Q3.

According to Bitget market data, both U.S. WTI and Brent crude oil rose more than 4.5%, with WTI crude trading at $79.72 and Brent crude at $85.16. On the news front, Iran has put forward multiple conditions before agreeing to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, including ending the U.S. naval blockade, withdrawing U.S. maritime and air forces around Iran, compensating for losses from recent conflicts, lifting sanctions, and unconditionally unfreezing Iran's assets. These demands have cast a shadow over the outlook for the normalization of shipping, and the market continues to price in supply disruption risk premiums into crude oil prices. Meanwhile, negotiations between Iran and Oman on establishing a secure shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz have reportedly made some progress, but as the two sides have not yet reached an agreement on the full reopening of the strait, investors remain vigilant about energy supply risks. In addition, Yemen's Houthi movement claimed responsibility for a drone attack on Saudi Aramco's refining facilities, further intensifying market concerns over the safety of energy infrastructure in the Middle East.

According to market data from BIT (Bit.com), US-listed cloud services provider Cloudflare saw its intraday decline exceed 2% at one point, with the drop now narrowing to 0.94% and its market capitalization standing at $105.47 billion as of press time. In related news, the company announced plans to privately place $2.175 billion in convertible bonds.

According to CCTV reports, JPMorgan Chase on the 10th officially raised its year-end 2026 target for the S&P 500 index from 7,800 points to 8,000 points, citing solid corporate profit outlooks and large tech firms’ increased AI investment as key factors that will significantly accelerate revenue growth. This target implies roughly 3% upside from the S&P 500’s closing level last Friday. At least seven brokerages now forecast the S&P 500 will hit 8,000 points by the end of 2026. JPMorgan analysts noted that cloud computing business is expected to maintain strong growth as backlogged orders convert to actual revenue, which will validate the rationale for AI capital expenditures and further ease market concerns about return on invested capital. Data from London Stock Exchange Group shows that among 436 S&P 500 constituent companies that have released Q2 earnings, 85.1% beat analyst expectations, well above the 68% long-term average since 1994. Year-to-date, driven by optimism around AI, the S&P 500 has rallied roughly 13%.

U.S. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Monday responded to the controversy over the effort to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, calling the matter a "law enforcement issue" and declining to comment on the details of the allegations. When asked about speculation that he might replace Cook as a Fed governor, Hassett firmly denied: "No, I assure you that will not happen." Hassett also shared his views on monetary policy, saying that if he were currently serving as a Fed official, given that supply-side momentum remains strong and recent inflation data has cooled, he would choose to hold interest rates steady or cut them at the September policy meeting. Earlier, the Trump administration launched the process to remove Cook, accusing her of housing reporting issues when applying for a mortgage in 2021. The White House has demanded that Cook respond to the allegations by August 26, and said it is considering removing her from office. Cook and her lawyers have denied all the allegations, calling them "unfounded" and stressing that Trump’s attempt to remove a Fed governor could undermine the central bank’s independence. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Cook could remain in her position temporarily, holding that the prior removal process did not provide her with sufficient notice and an opportunity to defend herself. If the removal is successful, Trump will have the opportunity to nominate a new Fed governor, further influencing the direction of future monetary policy.

Trader 0x2be3 closed the $KAITO long position 3 hours ago, taking a ~$1.98M loss.

According to market sources, renowned investor and "The Big Short" Michael Burry said he does not consider Berkshire Hathaway an attractive investment for the future. Burry is famous for successfully shorting the U.S. housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis, and his investment views have long been closely watched by the market. Currently, Berkshire Hathaway is led by the "Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett. The company owns assets spanning insurance, rail, energy and multiple industrial sectors, and is regarded as a representative of value investing by long-term investors. As of press time, Berkshire Hathaway’s shares were up 2.84% intraday, with a market capitalization of $1.15 trillion.