U.S. Stock Market Pregame Report: Strategy, Metaplanet Face Potential MSCI Index Removal, SpaceX Completes Acquisition of Cursor, Storage Sector Continues Yesterday's Gains

Aug 14, 21:12

August 14th, a summary of key pre-market news in the US stock market:

1. According to BIT (bit.com) market data, pre-market in the US saw a general rise in semiconductor, storage, and optical communication stocks. The storage sector led the gains, with SanDisk (SNDK) up 7.39%, Western Digital (WDC) up 4.55%, Micron Technology up 3.68%, Seagate Technology (STX) up 2.94%, and Toshiba up 2.25%.

2. Binance has announced that due to recent regulatory changes, and to continue to comply with relevant regulations and ensure the security of user assets, it will no longer process transactions involving platforms such as HTX and EXMO.

3. The US SEC has canceled the public meeting scheduled for Friday, which was initially intended to discuss a proposed tailored issuance regime for crypto asset investment contracts. The SEC stated that the reason for the cancellation was "unforeseen scheduling conflicts" and did not provide further details. This comes as the Senate entered its August recess without holding a full Senate vote on the Crypto Market Structure Bill (i.e., the CLARITY Act), further casting doubt on the prospects of crypto market structure legislation.

4. SanDisk has stated that AI data center construction is changing the demand structure of the flash memory industry. The company expects that by 2026, the Flash market size will reach around 1.2ZB, with data centers surpassing Edge to become the largest source of demand. By 2027, industry revenue TAM is projected to surge from the historical cycle of around $60 billion to over $300 billion, nearing $500 billion.

5. Bank of America's Chief Investment Strategist, Michael Hartnett, has pointed out that the mid-term elections in 2026 could be a key watershed for the US stock market AI rally. If the Republicans maintain the Senate and Texas Governor Greg Abbott is reelected, the market may view this as a signal for continued AI capital expenditure and data center expansion. US stocks, especially in the AI sector, are expected to strengthen further, potentially leading to a "bubble-like" market in 2027.

6. JPMorgan Chase has upgraded SanDisk (SNDK) from "Neutral" to "Overweight" with a target price of $225, representing a potential 47% upside from Thursday's closing price. SanDisk's stock price has already risen by 544% year-to-date.

7. Citigroup has raised the target price of the artificial intelligence and cloud computing service company Nebius from $278 to $324; and raised Coreweave's target price from $142 to $159.

8. Elon Musk publicly agreed with renowned futurist and XPRIZE founder Peter H. Diamandis's view that "Memory, not computation, is the rate-limiting factor of the Agent Era." Musk replied to this, saying, "Few people realize this."

9. MSCI is currently seeking feedback on a new non-operating company identification method, which could result in Strategy and Metaplanet being removed from the MSCI Global Investable Market Index, while companies like SharpLink would be placed on a watchlist.

10. The Dark Side of the Moon (Kimi) has issued a strong statement declaring that the company has reported to the public security organs regarding fraudulent financing activities carried out in the market using the company's name, which are suspected of illegal crimes. The company has stated that it will pursue legal action to the fullest extent. There is no such thing as a "Friendship Fund" or "Special Channel," no "Old Shares" or "Reserved Quota," and no "Official Agent" or "Authorized Intermediary."

11. SpaceX has completed a $600 billion acquisition of the AI coding startup Cursor, marking a key step for Musk in catching up with competitors Anthropic and OpenAI in the AI field.