On Aug. 13, SanDisk said at its Investor Day in Manhattan, New York that it has a customer backlog of $93.9 billion and is targeting 80% non-GAAP gross margins through fiscal 2030. The update sent SanDisk shares up nearly 14% on the day. Chairman and CEO David Goeckeler said the results show the company’s 18-month turnaround plan is beginning to work after roughly six difficult weeks for the stock.

Reddit shares rose 11% in extended trading on Thursday after S&P Dow Jones Indices confirmed the platform will join the S&P 500. Reddit will become only the second pureplay social media stock in the benchmark index after Meta. The company is set to replace AvalonBay Communities before trading opens on Aug. 18, 2026, once Equity Residential completes its acquisition of AvalonBay, according to the announcement.

Gold prices fell 11.7% in June, marking a fourth consecutive monthly decline. Over the same period, central banks were net buyers of 41 tonnes of gold, indicating that institutional demand remained resilient. Markets, however, focused on rising expectations of Federal Reserve rate hikes and the lack of a major safe-haven bid tied to Middle East tensions, which kept pressure on prices. The figures reflect the latest monthly official central bank gold-purchase tally, offering a direct read on physical supply and demand.

On July 2, South Korea’s KOSPI fell below 8,000 shortly after the open, triggering the Korea Exchange’s program-trading circuit breaker. Program trading in KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes. The decline was driven mainly by heavy selling in semiconductor stocks.

Brent crude has fallen about 40% from its March peak near $120 a barrel and was trading at $72.25 on Wednesday. The drop has erased the market’s entire war premium. Prices have returned to a prewar technical support range. The move reflects a repricing after the Iran-U.S. diplomatic impasse failed to trigger further supply shocks.

Iran declined to meet U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff in Doha on June 30, with Qatar’s prime minister meeting the Americans instead. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said mine-clearance work in the Strait of Hormuz is covered under a memorandum of understanding signed in June and does not require outside help. The episode added to market concerns about geopolitical risk in the Gulf as ceasefire hopes in the war weakened, pushing oil prices higher.