- Spain will meet Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday after England crashed out in Atlanta, Georgia, last night.
- SK Hynix marks another volatile session with the stock sharply lower, dragging on the Asian tech sector.
- SpaceX loses over $1 tn in value after the stock dips below its $135 IPO price.
- A CNBC source indicates Anthropic is moving closer to a mega-public listing.
- President Donald Trump says Iran “wants to make a deal.”
Argentine fans react as their team scores against Egypt during a FIFA World Cup match watch party at Cerveceria La Tropica on July 07, 2026 in Miami, Florida. Argentina and Egypt are playing in the round-of-16 match in Atlanta.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Hello, this is Leonie Kidd coming to you from London
Please indulge this English writer a moment to acknowledge last night’s semi-final disappointment. While it won’t impact the markets, it will impact the mood in the newsroom and across the country after the loss to Argentina
What you need to know today
England is out of the Men’s FIFA World Cup, after a resurgent Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, came back in the second half to win the game 2-1. They proceed to the final on Sunday against Spain, set to take place in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. England will meet France for the third-place play-off on Saturday
The World Cup has given American bars and restaurants amuch-needed boost, according to the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book. Those in England will have to be content with the semi-final marking the pinnacle of the World Cup boom
Chipping away
There are more wild swings in the chip space
It’s another double-digit day for South Korea’s SK Hynix, this time the stock is down in Thursday trading, dragging down the Kospi and the tech sector in Asia more broadly. The group has seen massive volatility since its U.S. listing last week
Louis Kondratev, trader at XFUNDs, noted the recent pullback reflects how crowded semiconductor trades have become after a prolonged AI-driven rally. “Semiconductors alone now make up roughly 20% of the S&P 500, which is incredibly difficult to sustain,” he said
The latest earnings in the space come from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, TSMC, which has reported a 23.4% jump in second-quarter profit on the back of robust demand for its chips
Public problems and progress
SpaceX shares have dipped below their $135 IPO price for the first time, wiping out more than $1 trillion from the value of Elon Musk’s group
SpaceX was inducted into the Nasdaq 100 last week, opening up the stock to index-tracking funds. Later today, Starship is expected to launch its thirteenth flight test
Staying in the IPO space, Anthropic has moved closer to its own mega-listing. According to a CNBCng up meetings with investors ahead of a planned IPO later this year
‘Forever War’ risk
President Donald Trump told Fox News in an interview on Wednesday that Iran wants to meet and make a deal. “They’re nasty people, but they want to make a deal,” Trump said
His comments come as the U.S. Central Command outlined a second wave of attacks on Iran on Wednesday
Markets are struggling to price these developments into early trade on Thursday. Crude prices were initially higher but have fallen back, while U.S. futures are edging higher ahead of a busy data and earnings day on Wall Street
And finally
Warren Buffett on the market today: ‘It’s tough to find values when everybody is preferring gambling’
Warren Buffett was critical of a stock market that he said is increasingly driven by speculative trading, as opposed to investing for the long term
“It’s tough to find values when everybody is preferring gambling,” Buffett told CNBC’s Becky Quick
The chairman of Berkshire Hathaway had sharp words on the stock market earlier this year. In May, he likened it to “a church with a casino attached,” specifically calling out the surge in one-day options trading as “gambling.”
— Sarah Min
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that England played a semi-final game on Wednesday.
