The Dow fell more than 500 points as weak earnings guidance and new Hormuz tensions weighed on markets. Oil rebounded above $82, SpaceX stabilized after its lockup, and Friday's jobs report became the week's biggest event.
Wall Street paused after a week of records.
The Dow fell 0.85%, while the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Nasdaq lost 0.06%. The move was driven less by the headline earnings beats than by disappointing guidance.
Salesforce (CRM) dropped 3% after a leadership shake-up. SanDisk (SNDK) fell 7% after results failed to excite investors, Western Digital (WDC) lost 13% despite beating fourth-quarter estimates because its first-quarter outlook disappointed, and AppLovin (APP) plunged 20% after mixed results.
Markets also shifted back toward the Middle East.
Earlier optimism around a Strait of Hormuz agreement faded after reports suggested Iran wants restrictions on certain vessels. That pushed oil higher and reminded investors that geopolitical risk remains unresolved.
The market now turns almost entirely toward Friday's payroll report. Earnings season is winding down, but interest-rate expectations are not.
The Signal
The rally paused because guidance weakened and the Hormuz story became more complicated. Friday's jobs report is now the next major catalyst.
Unicorn in the making?
Some companies you only hear about after they IPO.
And some…
Eventual unicorns like Uber, Airbnb and OpenAI…
Forced the world to pay attention long before that.
Mode Mobile could be a new member to that second group.
Uber turned cars into taxis, Airbnb turned homes into hotels, and Mode Mobile is turning smartphones into EarnPhones.
With $115M+ in revenue, 3-year growth of 32,481%, and an ecosystem with more than 490M+ users, it’s what investors call a “category disruptor.”
The kind that could turn early capital into generational wealth.
They’re raising privately.
For now.
But investors can get $0.52 pre-IPO shares before their share price changes on August 14.
With a Nasdaq ticker ($MODE) secured, and early backers like Kevin Harrington from Shark Tank, the company has its eyes on potentially going public.
Their previous two raises sold out, and this one is on track to do the same.
⏰Review the offer before August 14.
Disclosures *Please read the offering circular and related risks at invest.modemobile.com. *Mode cumulative revenue includes full year revenue of businesses acquired in 2025. Mode Mobile recently received their ticker reservation with Nasdaq ($MODE), indicating an intent to IPO in the next 24 months. An intent to IPO is no guarantee that an actual IPO will occur. The Deloitte rankings are based on submitted applications and public company database research, with winners selected based on their fiscal-year revenue growth percentage over a three-year period.
Oil climbed as the path toward a Hormuz agreement became less certain.
Brent crude rose 1.24% to $83.50 while WTI gained 4% to $78.23. The rebound followed reports from Iranian state media outlining a draft proposal that would block U.S. and Israeli ships from using the Strait of Hormuz while imposing penalties of up to 20% of cargo value on violators.
Washington rejected those conditions immediately, insisting that any agreement must allow unrestricted navigation with no tolls, approvals or political conditions.
Negotiations continue.
Iran and Oman are reportedly close to an interim arrangement that routes inbound ships through Iranian waters and outbound traffic closer to Oman without charging transit fees. Yet the latest proposal highlights how far both sides remain from a final agreement.
Security concerns also persist. Tankers reported explosions near Oman while Iran-backed Houthis claimed fresh attacks on regional targets.
Energy Signal
Markets no longer doubt that negotiations are happening. They are questioning whether the final agreement will be acceptable to both sides.
Friday's payroll report now carries even more weight.
Economists expect July nonfarm payrolls to increase by about 83,000 after June's weak 57,000 gain. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.2%, while average hourly earnings are forecast to rise 0.3% during the month and 3.5% from a year earlier.
The headline number matters, but participation may matter more.
Labor force participation fell to 61.5% in June, the lowest level outside the pandemic since 1976. Investors want to know whether that decline was temporary or the start of a broader slowdown.
Higher oil prices complicated the picture again. Gold reached a seven-week high before giving back gains as rising crude revived inflation fears. Markets now price roughly a 57% probability of a September Fed rate hike and about an 84% chance of at least one hike by December.
Macro Signal
The labor market decides whether the Fed worries more about inflation or slowing growth. Friday's report could settle that debate.
15X Bigger Than SpaceX: Elon's New Launch
While the rest of the market goes crazy for "the mother of all IPOs", a new Elon Musk innovation is quietly being rolled out nationwide. It's been 27 years in the making, and it could have a radical impact on how millions of people manage their money… and even collect Social Security. Here's everything you need to know.
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The AI race continues to evolve beyond GPUs.
AMD (AMD) agreed to acquire Toronto startup Taalas, which develops custom AI inference chips built for specific models instead of general-purpose workloads. The company says its hardware can generate responses thousands of times faster for dedicated models while using less power. AMD plans to combine the technology with its Instinct GPUs and Helios AI systems as it broadens its AI infrastructure strategy.
SpaceX (SPCX) also found some stability.
Shares rose 1.4% after the company's first major post-IPO lockup expired. More than 911 million insider shares became eligible for trading, more than doubling the available public float. Heavy volume followed, but investors avoided the large wave of selling many feared.
Even so, the stock remains more than 25% below its June IPO level. Investors continue focusing on AI spending and future lockup expirations rather than revenue growth alone.
Capital Signal
AI spending is becoming more specialized. Companies are no longer competing only on bigger models. They are competing on faster and cheaper infrastructure.
Crypto stabilized, but confidence remains cautious.
Bitcoin traded near $65,000, holding above key technical support around $64,700 while attempting to reclaim resistance near $65,400. Ethereum remained firm near $1,913, but XRP continued struggling near the important $1.00 support level as sellers stayed in control.
Sentiment remains weak. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index sits at 25, reflecting continued caution across digital assets.
Institutional developments continue underneath the surface.
Price action remains range-bound, but the market is watching macro events more than crypto-specific headlines. Any surprise in Friday's payroll report could quickly change expectations for interest rates and risk assets.
The Verdict
Bitcoin and Ethereum are stabilizing, but they are not breaking out. Macro conditions remain the biggest driver while traders wait for clearer signals from both the Fed and the labor market.
AI CEO Issues Code Red: Prepare for Meltdown
The CEO of this AI company (click here to get the name, 100% free) just issued a CODE RED in an internal memo…
Warning his employees that they’re dealing with a critical situation.
Another company executive even implied they might need a government bailout.
And now Jim Rickards is predicting this company is about to go bust, in a full-blown AI meltdown that could be 10 times bigger than Lehman Brothers.
Thursday reminded investors that markets rarely move in straight lines.
The broad indexes paused after a strong rally as weaker guidance from several technology companies combined with fresh uncertainty around Hormuz. Oil reversed sharply higher, pushing inflation concerns back into the conversation just one day before one of the most important jobs reports of the year.
At the same time, AI investment continues moving forward.
AMD expanded deeper into custom silicon, while SpaceX absorbed its first major lockup without triggering another collapse in the stock. Those developments suggest investors still believe in the long-term AI story, even if they have become much more demanding about valuation and execution.
Friday now brings the week's defining event. A stronger labor report would strengthen the case for another Fed hike. A weaker one would revive hopes that policy tightening is nearing its end.
The market has already priced another earnings season. Tomorrow it prices the economy itself.
