U.S. futures edged higher and oil prices slipped.

In early Asian trading, the Kospi surged at the open and ratcheted up, trading 16.5% higher before giving up some of those gains. By midday it was up 14% at 6,376.68. Shares of South Korean technology giant Samsung Electronics surged 21%, while memory chipmaker SK Hynix soared 24.6%.

The Kospi index had sunk more than 17% in the previous three days as investors dumped technology stocks in part over worries about an AI bubble and rising competition from chipmaking and AI rivals in China.

The rebound followed Microsoft’s report Thursday of stronger than expected profits for the last quarter. Microsoft’s shares soared 15.5% for its best day in nearly 18 years. The strong earnings were taken as a signal that big spending on AI is translating into profits.

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Traders flooded back into the market to snap up shares in tech companies that had recently swooned over doubts that the huge investments will yield adequate returns.
Despite the big jump Friday, the Kospi remains well below the peak of over 9,000 that it hit in June.Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 climbed 4.4% in early Friday trading, to 64,572.25. Multinational investment holding company and OpenAI-investor SoftBank Group jumped 15%, while chip equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose nearly 11%.

“The market went from throwing AI stocks overboard to fighting for the remaining seats before most traders had finished writing the obituary,” Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.

The dollar fell sharply against the Japanese yen overnight due to suspected intervention in the market after weeks of it trading above 160 yen, near 40-year highs.

Japan’s Nikkei financial newspaper said the intervention was coordinated, with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York conduction what is known as a “rate check” in which it asks various banks to provide exchange-rate quotes for currency trades.

The Treasury Department did not respond to requests for comment. Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama also declined to comment.

After dropping more than 2.4%, the dollar bounced back early Friday, gaining 0.6% to 160.61 yen.

The Bank of Japan opted to keep interest rates unchanged Friday as it wrapped up a policymaking meeting. That was expected. Analysts said the suspected intervention may have been timed to pre-empt speculative moves linked to the central bank’s decisions.

“Intervention in support of the yen may not work any better now than it has previously, but the persistence of the Japanese authorities suggests to us that the yen will remain around the 160 level this year before staging a more sustained rebound next year,” Jonas Golterman of Capital Economics said in a commentary.

The Federal Reserve likewise kept its benchmark rate unchanged at its policy meeting this week. A gap between interest rate levels in Japan and the U.S. has been a key factor behind the yen’s weakness.

The euro fell to $1.1513 from $1.1524.

Elsewhere in Asian share trading, Taiwan’s Taiex surged more than 7%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 0.4%, to 8,997.50.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged 0.1% higher, to 25,894,21, while the Shanghai Composite index advanced 0.6% to 3,828.00.

Oil prices traded lower as tensions between the U.S. and Iran keep the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil transport, largely closed.

Brent crude, the international standard, was down 1.3% to $85.76 per barrel. It was trading near $72 a barrel before the Iran war began in late February.

Benchmark U.S. crude was down 1.5% to $82.32 a barrel.

ING commodities analysts said Friday that there were signs of increased oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which helped ease the pressure on oil supply, with ship tracking data showing tanker crossings grew slightly, though the numbers were still limited.

On Thursday, Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 gained 1.7% to 7,437.63. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.2% to 52,208.06. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 2.8% to 25,122.18.

Share prices jumped in South Korea on Friday, partly reversing a three-day rout that wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off the value of the country’s stock market.

The benchmark Kospi index was almost 17% higher in afternoon trading, driven by chip makers SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics.

It came after earnings updates from US technology giants Amazon and Microsoft helped boost optimism over the huge amounts of money being invested in artificial intelligence (AI). South Korean regulators have also announced measures aimed at curbing this week’s sell-off.

Surging chip stocks also helped push markets in Japan and Taiwan higher.

SK Hynix, which is a major supplier to leading AI chip firm Nvidia, saw its shares gain more than 17%, while Samsung was up by 23%.

Both firms had seen their stock market value slump this week as a sell-off in artificial intelligence-related stocks deepened.

Investors had become concerned over the hundreds of billions of dollars being invested in AI by big technology firms.

In recent months stock market trading has been particularly volatile in South Korea as it has attracted large numbers of retail investors.

South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi has been halted multiple times this year under a stock market mechanism known as a circuit breaker, which is designed to calm panic selling.

The index had more than doubled in value this year and despite a series of big falls since hitting a record high in mid-June it is still 50% higher than it was at the end of 2025.

Operator

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us, and welcome to the Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Call for FMC Corporation. This event is being recorded. [Operator Instructions] I will now hand the conference over to Mr. Curt Brooks, Director of Investor Relations for FMC Corporation. Please go ahead.

Curt Brooks
Director of Investor Relations

Good morning, and welcome to FMC Corporation’s 2026 Second Quarter Earnings Call. Today’s prepared remarks will be provided by Pierre Brondeau, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President; and Andrew Sandifer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

After prepared comments, we will take questions. Our earnings release and today’s slide presentation are available on the FMC Investor Relations website, and the prepared remarks from today’s discussion will be made available after the call.

Let me remind you that today’s presentation and discussion will include forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning specific factors, including, but not limited to, those factors identified in our earnings release and in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Information presented represents our best judgment based on today’s understanding. Actual results may vary based on these risks and uncertainties.

Today’s discussion and the supporting materials will include

Peter Taylor
NWR Communications Pty Ltd

Good morning, everybody. Thank you for joining us. We have the June quarter webinar report delivered by CEO of Metro Mining, Mr. Simon Wensley; and the CFO, Nathan Quinlin.

Simon will go into a discussion of the activities of the quarter and the outlook, and we’ll have time for some Q&A at the end. This video will be recorded and available for distribution.

I’ll hand it over to you, Simon.

Simon Wensley
CEO, MD & Director

Thank you, Peter, and hello to everybody. Good morning, afternoon, wherever you are. Thank you for joining as ever and support your support of Metro Mining.

So, look, I will, as usual, sort of share on the screen the release that we put out this morning, and I hope we can see that. Yes. So, I’ll walk through this. And as Peter said, if there are any questions, put them through the chat function, and we’ll try and get to them at the end.

So, look, a record quarter from a tonnage point of view. I’m pleased with that outcome given that we had mobilized in March to try and get an early start, and then that was — that effort was stymied by a large cyclone which came across the Cape. We didn’t get much damage or any damage on the site at all. But obviously, the shipping channel was affected by what were quite significant waves.

And so, we were able, though, I think, to come back online in April quickly and address — I think we learned a lot from last

Two well regarded pieces of research published this week point to positive signs among North East businesses

North East firms reported increased confidence this month thanks to feelings about their own trading and the wider economy’s performance.

Research from Lloyds Business Barometer showed North East sentiment rose 21 points to 75%, compared with 54% in June. Companies experienced significantly higher confidence in their own trading outlook month-on-month, up eight points at 80% and optimism in the economy was up 34 points to 70%.

Improved outlook on the economy was said to have been driven by better economic data or news (52%) and improving inflation or cost measures (44%). Meanwhile confidence in their own trading outlook was driven by increased investment in capacity or technology (53%) along with improved economic conditions (43%).

A net balance of 50% of businesses in the region also said they expect to increase staff levels over the next 12 months – up four points on June. Looking ahead, respondents to the longstanding survey, said the top target areas for growth were technology, including AI and automation (55%); entering new markets (45%) and evolving their offering, including launching new products or services (37%).

Business confidence in the North East now sits above the 12-month average of 58%, with this month seeing its highest figure of 75%. Nationally, UK business confidence was up five points in July to 49% – a four-month high – driven by increased optimism about the economy thanks to falling global energy prices, the Bank of England holding interest rates and the announcement of an interim peace agreement in the Middle East at the time of the survey.

Martyn Kendrick, regional director for North East at Lloyds, said: “It is fantastic to see North East business confidence reach such a high, underlining the strength, ambition and resilience of firms across the region. Even more encouragingly, that optimism is being matched by clear plans for growth. Businesses are looking to invest in AI and automation, explore new markets and expand their teams over the year ahead.

“This record level of confidence reflects the real momentum building across the North East, and we will continue to support businesses as they invest, grow and seize the opportunities ahead.”

The Business Barometer findings come shortly after a separate piece of Lloyds research, which suggests more than half of North East firms plan to increase capital investment over the next year. That put the region above the 47% UK average, and on a similar level to London and the South East, with just 7% of firms expecting a decrease.

Amanda Murphy, CEO for Lloyds Business and Commercial Banking, said: “Despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty, it’s encouraging to see businesses planning to increase their capital investment. Firms need the right conditions to invest – whether that’s investing in AI, new technology, upgrading equipment or expanding capacity. It’s interesting that, while many businesses have already secured funding for investment, a significant proportion have yet to deploy it.

“Investment drives productivity, competitiveness, and long-term growth. Ensuring businesses have the confidence, funding and support to move forward will be critical. By helping firms unlock investment, we can support growth, boost productivity and strengthen the UK’s economic outlook.”

AI tools may have not yet proven to be a consumer tech revolution on the scale of the internet or even electricity, external, as many tech executives have promised for years. But there is still huge demand from people for new technology.

Google said last week that 950 million people are using its Gemini chatbot at least once a month, three times the users it had a year ago.

Apple on Thursday said that new versions of its core products, the Mac computer, iPhone and iPad, have been selling better this year than the company planned for or expected.

So much so that it warned investors, external that sales of such products would slow down, because Apple is unable to get enough of the microchips that would be required to meet buyer demand.

The company is, however, anticipating a lot of excitement from Apple users for its impending update of Siri, its AI voice assistant within its products that is getting an overhaul with the help of Google’s Gemini chatbot.

Outgoing chief executive Tim Cook said Apple already has plans to charge users who wish to make heavier use of the new Siri, given feedback received from user testing so far.

“We’re off-the-charts excited about Siri AI”, Cook said. “We do believe there will be people who want to use it – a lot.”

Carpenter Technology CEO Brian Malloy died suddenly just weeks after taking the helm of the specialty materials manufacturer, the company announced Monday.

Malloy, who became president and CEO July 1, died “suddenly and unexpectedly” Friday, July 24, according to a news release from the Philadelphia-based company. 

A cause of death was not disclosed.

“We are deeply saddened by Brian’s passing,” Carpenter Technology’s board of directors said in a statement.

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Carpenter Technology CEO Brian Malloy died suddenly just weeks after taking the helm of the specialty materials manufacturer, the company announced Monday. (Facebook/Luiza Puculowski Malloy)

“Over the past decade, Brian made significant contributions to Carpenter Technology and was a respected leader with a strong commitment to performance, operational excellence, and the Company’s long-term success,” the board added. “We extend our deepest sympathies to Brian’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

The board appointed Executive Chairman Tony Thene to return as CEO, effective immediately. Thene, who led Carpenter Technology from 2015 through June 2026, will also remain chairman.

Malloy spent a decade at Carpenter Technology and had served as chief operating officer since 2023.

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When the company announced Malloy’s appointment in February, Thene called him a “proven leader” with “deep operational experience” and a track record of delivering results across the company’s businesses.

Malloy said at the time that he was “honored” to be selected as the company’s next chief executive.

“I am honored to be named the next CEO of Carpenter Technology,” Malloy said in February. “Tony’s strategic vision has reshaped Carpenter Technology by building a culture of performance, strengthening our market position, and delivering meaningful value for all stakeholders.”

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The board appointed Executive Chairman Tony Thene to return as CEO, effective immediately.  (Cheng Xin/Getty Images)

Before joining Carpenter Technology, Malloy held senior leadership roles at Ametek and Alcoa.

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A Carpenter Technology spokesperson told FOX Business the company would not comment further “out of respect for the privacy of the family.”

Operator

Good afternoon, and welcome to Capstone Copper’s Second Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call. [Operator Instructions]. This call is being recorded on Thursday, July 30, 2026. I would now like to turn the call over to Daniel Sampieri. Please go ahead.

Daniel Sampieri
Vice President of Investor Relations

Thank you, operator, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today to discuss our second quarter results. Please note that the news release and regulatory filings are available on our website and on SEDAR+. If you are logging into the webcast, we will advance the slides of today’s presentation, which are also available in the Investors section of our website.

I am joined today by our President and CEO, Cashel Meagher; our SVP and Chief Operating Officer, James Whittaker; our SVP and Chief Financial Officer, Ramanpreet Randhawa; and our SVP, Risk, ESG and our General Counsel, Wendy King. During the Q&A session at the end of the call, we will also be joined by our Head of Technical Services, Peter Amelunxen, who is available for questions.

Please note