Biggest stock movers Thursday: TSM, EOSE, ASTS, and more
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President Donald Trump used a gathering of defense industry leaders in Pennsylvania on Wednesday to deliver a familiar message: build faster.
Speaking at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit, Trump urged military contractors to ramp up production of weapons systems and
SA Asks: Should Disney get out of the streaming business?
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Tenaris (TS) up 0.9% in Wednesday’s trading as Morgan Stanley upgrades the manufacturer of steel pipe products and related services for the energy industry to Equal Weight from Underweight with a $65 price target, raised from $53, citing improving industry fundamentals
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Healthcare equipment maker Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) is due to report second-quarter earnings on July 15, with analysts expecting a quarter of solid growth.
The consensus EPS Estimate for Intuitive Surgical is $2.50, representing a 14.2% Y/Y jump. On the revenue side, ISRG is projected to
ASML raises FY26 outlook again, plans capacity boost driven by AI demand
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Rocket Lab (RKLB) is testing its 200-day moving average following a sharp July pullback, with the setup matching a historically bullish signal, according to Schaeffer’s Investment Research.
In a post on X, Schaeffer’s said the stock has produced positive one-month returns
ASML Holding in charts: Q2 net sales surge 21% Y/Y to €9.33B; gross profit hits €5.04B
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Earnings Call Insights: Phoenix Education Partners (PXED) Q3 fiscal 2026
Seeking Alpha’s Disclaimer: This article was automatically generated by an AI tool based on content available on the Seeking Alpha website, and has not been curated or reviewed by humans. Due to inherent limitations in using AI-based tools, the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such articles cannot be guaranteed. This article is intended for informational purposes only. Seeking Alpha does not take account of your objectives or your financial situation and does not offer any personalized investment advice. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.
Investors step in to close Africa’s critical $80B infrastructure financing gap.
Gulf investors are rapidly reshaping Africa’s investment landscape, committing billions of dollars to ports, transport corridors, logistics, renewable energy, and critical minerals as governments across the continent seek new sources of long-term development finance.
The shift gathered momentum in June, when sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), commercial banks, development finance institutions, institutional investors, and corporate issuers launched the Africa–Middle East Corridor. Debuted during the Global Banking & Markets Middle East 2026 conference in Dubai, the initiative aims to mobilize capital for infrastructure, deepen Africa’s debt capital markets, and expand cross-border investment between the Gulf and Africa.
The launch comes at a critical moment for the continent. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), Africa requires approximately $170 billion annually to finance infrastructure, yet current investment totals only $80 billion to $90 billion, leaving an annual financing gap approaching $80 billion.
The Gulf is positioning itself to help close the deficit.
Investors from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries announced 73 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth more than $53 billion across Africa in 2023, reflecting a decisive shift toward fewer but significantly larger investments concentrated in renewable energy, logistics, critical minerals, transport and digital infrastructure.
The changing investment landscape also reflects a broader shift in global capital flows.
For nearly two decades, Chinese policy banks financed much of Africa’s modern infrastructure expansion, underwriting railways, highways, ports, airports and power projects across the continent. Yet, according to the Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Chinese policy bank lending fell from a peak of $28.8 billion in 2016 to $2.1 billion in 2024. Annual lending regularly exceeded $10 billion between 2012 and 2018, but Beijing has increasingly pivoted from sovereign-backed megaprojects to smaller, commercially driven investments.
That retreat has created space for Gulf SWFs, export credit agencies, and commercial banks to expand their presence across Africa.
The United Arab Emirates has emerged as Africa’s fourth-largest foreign investor. Between 2019 and 2023, Emirati investments exceeded $110 billion, including an estimated $70 billion directed at renewable energy.
Several flagship transactions illustrate the scale of that commitment. ADQ’s $35 billion Ras El-Hekma development in Egypt ranks among the largest FDI deals ever concluded on the continent. DP World now operates six African ports and logistics facilities, while Abu Dhabi Ports has secured concessions in Egypt, Angola, and the Republic of Congo, strengthening Gulf influence over strategic maritime trade routes linking Africa with Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Renewable energy has become a major pillar of Gulf investment in Africa.
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s state-owned renewable energy company, has committed $10 billion to develop 10 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity across sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. Infinity Power, a joint venture between Masdar and Egypt’s Infinity, is now Africa’s largest pure-play renewable energy company, operating 1.3GW of generation capacity in Egypt, South Africa, and Senegal, with a further 16GW under development. Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, one of the Middle East’s largest private power developers, continues to expand its renewable energy portfolio in Morocco, Egypt, and South Africa, while Gulf investors are increasingly financing green hydrogen, battery storage, and electricity transmission projects across the continent.
Commercial banks, too, are increasing their African presence.
In March, First Abu Dhabi Bank announced plans to establish its first representative office in Lagos, making Nigeria its West African hub. The lender has already participated in financing the $1.13 billion Lagos – Calabar Coastal Highway, signaling growing Gulf interest in African project finance and structured lending.
“Gulf capital is increasingly vital to Africa because of a strategic alignment of economic needs,” says Phumlani Majozi, senior economist and executive director at the African Markets Institute. “As traditional Western and Chinese funding slows, African countries require enormous investment for infrastructure, energy, and digital transformation, while Gulf states are actively diversifying beyond hydrocarbons. The relationship is evolving from aid-based engagement into long-term commercial integration.”
The trend represents a structural shift rather than a temporary investment cycle, Majozi says, driven by long-term economic diversification strategies such as Saudi Vision 2030 and the UAE’s ambition to become a global investment and logistics hub.
Private-sector advisers see the relationship as rooted in geography and commercial history.
“The Middle East is Africa’s closest neighbor. Trade between the two regions stretches back thousands of years,” said Jacqueléne Coetzer, founder and CEO of Jacqueléne Global Consulting. “Africa and the Gulf do not need to discover entirely new markets; they need to rediscover one another.”
Gulf investors are targeting critical minerals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia, agriculture in Ethiopia, renewable energy in Kenya and South Africa, logistics in Egypt and Nigeria, and financial services through Mauritius, Coetzer says.
Africa’s bargaining position is also strengthening.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is creating a $3.4 trillion integrated market spanning 54 economies. The continent controls roughly 30% of the world’s critical minerals, including copper, cobalt, lithium, and manganese — resources central to the global energy transition.
Individual countries are strengthening their ties across the regions as well. Kenya’s Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with the UAE, signed in January 2025, was the first such agreement between the UAE and a mainland African country. The accord improves business access to both countries’ markets by expanding investment protection and providing a framework for deeper cooperation in trade, logistics, financial services and digital commerce.
“Africa’s leverage has never been stronger,” Majozi argues. “The continent possesses roughly 30% of the world’s critical minerals, the world’s youngest workforce and the AfCFTA’s $3.4 trillion integrated market. The challenge is converting that structural advantage into negotiating power.”
If the Africa–Middle East Corridor succeeds in converting investment commitments into bankable projects, it could become one of the principal channels through which Gulf capital finances Africa’s next generation of infrastructure, industrialization, and capital-market development.
Charles Wachira is a contributing writer based in Kenya.
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The Shell-led (SHEL) LNG Canada venture said Tuesday it reached a deal for five First Nations to have an equity option to invest as much as C$1B (~US$710M) to acquire infrastructure in Canada’s biggest liquefied natural gas project as a major
Earnings Call Insights: Kestra Medical Technologies (KMTS) Q4 fiscal 2026
Seeking Alpha’s Disclaimer: This article was automatically generated by an AI tool based on content available on the Seeking Alpha website, and has not been curated or reviewed by humans. Due to inherent limitations in using AI-based tools, the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such articles cannot be guaranteed. This article is intended for informational purposes only. Seeking Alpha does not take account of your objectives or your financial situation and does not offer any personalized investment advice. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.
AI automation: The new margin defense in service industries
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Google (GOOG) (GOOGL) is going head-to-head with Pinterest (PIN) with Google Images, a search engine that indexes images across the web, redesigned into a “place for discovery and inspiration.”
The European Central Bank (ECB) took the digital euro project into its next operational stage on Tuesday by naming 36 payment service providers to help test the future currency in a large-scale pilot programme beginning in the second half of 2027.
According to the ECB, the participants were selected from more than 50 applicants across the euro area and will work alongside the ECB and 19 of the euro area’s national central banks, excluding Bulgaria and Malta, during a 12-month testing exercise.
The pilot is intended to assess the digital euro’s technical infrastructure, operational processes and user experience, allowing person-to-person and person-to-business payments to be tested in both online and offline environments, before any decision is taken on issuing the currency.
The announcement moves the digital euro closer to practical testing with consumers, merchants and payment providers, making it one of the project’s most significant milestones since the ECB launched its preparation phase in late 2023.
The selected providers include traditional banks, digital banks and payment companies, with several of Europe’s largest financial institutions among those taking part, including Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, Revolut, Adyen and Stripe.
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the level of interest demonstrated that the payments industry was ready to help shape the project’s next phase.
“The strong market interest in the pilot shows the private sector’s readiness to engage actively and quickly advance with the digital euro project to strengthen the European payments landscape,” Cipollone stated.
“We look forward to deeper engagement as we work with and learn alongside European payment service providers in developing a secure, efficient and inclusive digital euro,” Cipollone concluded.
The pilot comes as negotiations continue between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on legislation that would establish the legal basis for a digital euro.
The ECB has consistently maintained that it cannot issue the currency unless the legislation is adopted by EU lawmakers.
Current planning foresees formal approval in 2027, followed by completion of the pilot and a possible public launch in 2029, although those timelines remain dependent on the legislative process.
The digital euro would be available free of charge to consumers through supervised payment providers and the ECB has repeatedly sought to counter concerns that it could lead to the disappearance of physical money or weaken privacy protections.
In the current plan for the launch, the digital euro would not pay interest and holdings would likely be capped to avoid significant outflows from commercial bank deposits.
Speaking to Euronews exclusively last week, ECB President Christine Lagarde welcomed the European Parliament’s decision to begin negotiations on the legislation and reiterated that the digital is intended to complement, rather than replace, cash.
“Cash and the digital euro will both be legal tender, which means that nowhere in Europe can someone say, ‘Sorry, I’m not taking your banknotes’,” Lagarde told The Europe Conversation with Maria Tadeo, reaffirming that cash would remain a permanent feature of Europe’s monetary system.
The digital euro is also designed to reduce Europe’s dependence on international payment providers and strengthen the bloc’s strategic autonomy in payments.
Lagarde also told Euronews that the project is about reinforcing Europe’s economic sovereignty as much as modernising payments, pointing to the bloc’s continued reliance on foreign-owned payment networks.
“We depend predominantly on US, but also sometimes Chinese, networks to organise payments. We need to have a European solution because we want to be sovereign at home,” Lagarde stated.
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Deputy Director-General for Trade at the European Commission Denis Redonnet told MEPs on Tuesday that the EU will step up measures against Chinese imports before the October deadline it set to protect the bloc’s market from Chinese overcapacity.
The warning comes as Brussels started negotiations with Beijing last month to reduce its record-high €1 billion-a-day trade deficit with China, setting an October deadline for the two sides to make significant progress.
However, tensions remain high between the two trading partners, as Beijing has repeatedly threatened retaliation if the EU adopts measures closing its market to Chinese exports.
“Dialogue alone will not suffice,” Redonnet told EU lawmakers, adding that the EU needs to decide how “to protect and preserve the European industrial base.”
“We need to look at what the Chinese do. It is more than likely that we’ll have unilateral protection measures adopted atthe European Union level. So we’ll be taking various measures in parallel.”
The EU is fighting low-cost Chinese imports flooding its market and threatening its manufacturing industry in key sectors such as steel, chemicals, machine tools and electronics.
“What can we do ahead of that October deadline? We’ll look at a number of sectors, we’ll try to start rebalancing and rein in the export levels,” Redonnet said.
To defend its steel industry, the EU doubled tariffs on certain steel imports on 1 July and reduced quotas for the sector. Similar safeguard measures could be used in other industries in the coming weeks, the senior EU official said.
He added, however, that safeguards require the backing of a majority of member states and that not all EU countries share the same interests. Some have factories directly threatened by Chinese competition, while others have industries that rely on cheap Chinese products.
“If we had to defend European manufacturing in two to three member states, we would need the backing of a majority of all member states. And those other member states may be focused on users’ interests rather than producers’ interests,” he said.
In parallel, to rebalance the situation among EU member states, the Commission is working on a solidarity mechanism to compensate those most affected by a surge in Chinese imports.
The EU executive also plans to defend the EU market product by product as China heavily subsidises its exports to the EU prompting the Commission to resort to anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties.
Last Thursday, it launched an anti-dumping probe into Chinese Peking duck producers.
Reviewing and adjusting trade defence tools is part of the mandate EU leaders gave the Commission in mid-June, asking the EU executive to engage with China while keeping all options on the table to defend the EU market.
AXT (AXTI) was in focus on Tuesday as Wedbush Securities said it believes demand is “tracking better” than investors currently believe.
Shares rose 6.6% in premarket trading.
“As a reminder, AXTI’s guidance was dictated by export licenses the company had received
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When Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal lead their sides out at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday evening, they will be doing more than chasing a place in Sunday’s final, they will be fronting the priciest collection of talent ever assembled for a men’s World Cup semi-final.
Transfermarkt’s latest figures value France’s squad at roughly $1.78 billion (€1.56bn) and Spain’s at $1.43 billion (€1.25bn), a combined total of around $3.2 billion (€2.8bn), which outstrips any previous last-four meeting in the tournament’s history.
Much of that financial weight is concentrated in a handful of individuals.
Barcelona’s Yamal, who turned 19 the day before kick-off, is the most expensive player left in the competition at around $234 million (€205m), with Mbappé close behind at roughly $211 million (€185m).
Michael Olise and Pedri follow, both valued at around $176 million (€154m).
Between them, the quartet accounts for four of the five costliest footballers in the world, with the fifth being Norway’s Erling Haaland, whose side did not reach this stage after losing to England.
France’s edge is starkest in attack, where forwards including Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué push the unit’s combined worth to roughly $878 million (€770m), well ahead of Spain’s $489 million (€428m) attacking line, even with Yamal in its ranks.
France also lead in defence, valued at $473 million (€414m) to Spain’s $337 million (€295m), while Spain have the edge in goal, their goalkeepers are worth a combined $113 million (€99m), against France’s $67 million (€58m).
Market value has seemingly has not dictated demand for tickets at World Cup matches.
Resale prices for Wednesday’s second semi-final between England and Argentina in Atlanta have been running around $1,000 higher on average than for Tuesday’s tie, even though that fixture’s combined squad value, at roughly $2.5 billion (€2.2bn), trails France and Spain’s total.
Demand there is being driven largely by Lionel Messi’s possible farewell World Cup appearance.
As for the match itself, recent history offers Spain some reassurance against what the figures suggest.
La Roja have won six of the last 10 meetings between the sides, including victories at Euro 2024 and in last year’s Nations League, both by narrow margins.
Kick-off is at 2pm local time, 8pm in the UK and 9pm in Paris and Madrid, with the match falling, fittingly for the French camp, on Bastille Day.
Breaking a six-month record, the investment banking giant capitalizes on a surging wave of global megadeals.
Goldman Sachs said it had advised on more than $1 trillion of announced global mergers and acquisitions so far this year, the fastest any investment bank has reached that milestone in a six-month period, citing data from capital markets data provider Dealogic.
The bank attributed the milestone to a string of marquee mandates, including serving as co-financial adviser to Dominion Energy on its roughly $67 billion sale to rival utility NextEra Energy, announced last month, along with other major transactions.
Goldman reported that its investment banking fees rose 48%, to $2.8 billion in the first quarter. It’s a reflection of the “K-shaped” M&A market, where megadeals are the dominant force, but deal volumes are declining, and mid-market activity is subdued.
Data compiled by PwC revealed that the global M&A market is on track to reach $4 trillion in 2026, a 13% annual increase, with major sales estimated to account for 48% of deal value worldwide, a significant expansion from two years ago.
“Goldman has been the global leader in M&A advisory fees for more than 90 consecutive quarters. The fact that it’s reaping benefits from a moment of megadeal activity simply proves the strength of its franchise,” said Mark Narron, senior director at Fitch Ratings. “However, advisory revenues are generally a small share of total revenues. In 2021, which was Goldman’s record year for advisory, advisory revenues contributed only 10% of total revenues.”
Fitch says it’s difficult to forecast whether Goldman’s advisory revenues will continue to climb, given the cyclical nature of advisory fees and uneven regional M&A trends — with most deal activity still concentrated in the U.S.
Fitch expects M&A activity to be sensitive to market conditions, economic growth, geopolitical events, and interest rates. Global growth is estimated to decelerate to 2.8% this year, according to the latest OECD economic outlook report. Inflationary pressures are rising in advanced and emerging economies due to energy shocks from the Iran conflict. Prices in the G20 economies are expected to climb to 4% in 2026. In a “prolonged disruption” scenario, inflation could rise further, which may prompt hawkish interest rate responses from central banks.
Peter Taberner is a contributing writer based in the U.K.
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Tower Semiconductor (TSEM) said it plans to invest about $3B to expand its advanced semiconductor manufacturing capacity in Japan, backed by about $1B in grants from the Japanese government. The expansion is aimed at meeting rising demand from AI and data center
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The price of Brent crude climbed to just over $84 a barrel after soaring nearly 10% on Monday. US benchmark crude was up 1.4% at $79.20 a barrel.
Oil prices are still below their wartime peak of nearly $120 a barrel, but uncertainty over the future stability of supplies deepened as the US and Iran each asserted they controlled the Strait of Hormuz.
US share futures were down 0.3% as the U.S. launched more strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump said Washington was “reinstating” a blockade on Iran in the strait.
Fighting in the region has kept oil tankers from using the waterway to deliver crude to customers from the Persian Gulf, driving up fuel prices worldwide.
In Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 lost 1% to 66,574.96 and the Kospi in South Korea declined 3.2% to 6,589.37.
The Shanghai Composite index lost 0.8% to 3,884.32, even though the government reported that China’s exports jumped 27% in June from a year earlier as adoption of artificial intelligence drove strong demand for computer chips and other technology.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1% higher, to 24,230.46, while in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.5% to 8,767.00.
Monday on Wall Street, the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, coming off its fourth winning week in the last five. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.3%, and the Nasdaq composite sank 1.6%.
Chip stocks like Micron Technology helped lead the way lower. Micron fell 4.4%, eating into what had been a stellar rise of 243.1% for the year so far.
Worries are rising that stock prices have shot too high and that the demand may not be sustainable if AI doesn’t deliver as much profit and productivity as expected.
Nvidia fell 3.5%. Because it’s the largest stock on Wall Street by value thanks to the euphoria around AI, it was the single heaviest weight on the S&P 500.
Much of Wall Street’s attention this week will be on profit reports from companies saying how much they earned during the spring. On Tuesday alone, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo are all releasing their latest quarterly results.
Analysts are forecasting that companies in the S&P 500 index will deliver overall growth of 23.6% from a year earlier, according to FactSet. If they’re right, it would be the second straight quarter of growth better than 20%.
Companies across industries will need to deliver strong growth to justify the big moves their stock prices have made. Indexes are near records despite their sharp recent swings due to worries around AI stocks.
More costly oil would push inflation higher, potentially leading the Federal Reserve and other central banks to raise interest rates. Higher rates can keep a lid on inflation, but they also slow the economy and hurt prices for all kinds of investments.
In other dealings early Tuesday, the US dollar slipped to 162.34 Japanese yen from 162.35 yen. The euro rose to $1.1391 from $1.1381.
Additional sources • AP
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