Why are Nasdaq futures up nearly 1%?

Nvidia reported blowout Q2 earnings after the bell Wednesday, beating estimates and guiding higher. The AI chip rally is lifting all semiconductors (AMD, INTC, AVGO, MRVL) pre-market.

What is the Saudi-Houthi threat level?

LVL 7/10 — NYT reports Saudi Arabia may launch a new military response to Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping. This follows months of ceasefire attempts and is the highest geopolitical threat on today's feed.

Which earnings reports matter today?

After-hours: MRVL (AI chip bellwether, $220B cap), ADSK, WDAY, ULTA, GAP, AFRM. Pre-market beats: RY, TD, CM (Canadian banks), DG (Dollar General +23% EPS surprise), DLTR (Dollar Tree +136% surprise), BBY (Best Buy beat + raised guidance).

What's the Jackson Hole catalyst?

Fed Chair Powell speaks later today at the annual Jackson Hole symposium. Markets are parsing his tone on rate cuts — any dovish lean could extend the Nvidia-led tech rally.

Morning Brief: Nvidia Rally Lifts Pre-Market, Saudi-Houthi Escalation Threat

Markets Pre-Open (9:27 AM ET)

US FUTURES
S&P +26 (+0.34%) · Dow -110 (-0.21%) · Nasdaq +272 (+0.93%) · Russell -3.90 (-0.13%)
VIX 15.05 (-1.05%) · Gold $4,639 (-0.31%) · BTC $79,413 (+1.23%) · WTI $82.51 (+0.34%)

DRIVER: Nvidia blowout earnings lifting all AI/chip names pre-market. Fed Chair Powell speaks at Jackson Hole today — rate cut expectations in focus.

Geopolitical Intel

PRIORITY INTELLIGENCE

[LVL 7/10] Saudi Response to Houthis’ Attacks on Ships May Be a New War
Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:59 UTC — NYT, 1 source
Coords: 32.427, 53.688
Saudi Arabia weighing military escalation after Red Sea shipping disruptions. Ceasefire efforts stalled — this is the highest threat level on today’s feed.

[LVL 5/10] Official leading Trump’s Gaza ceasefire effort criticizes Israel for its attacks
Thu, 27 Aug 02:04 -0400 — NPR, 1 source
Coords: 31.046, 34.851
US mediator publicly breaks with Israel — rare public criticism signals negotiation frustration.

[LVL 5/10] Russia warns it could target UK in response to Kyiv firing British missiles
Thu, 27 Aug 12:58 UTC — AlJazeera, 2 sources
Coords: 50.45, 30.523
Escalation rhetoric from Moscow after Ukraine deploys UK-supplied long-range weapons.

[LVL 4/10] Tropical cyclones ETAU-26 and TWENTY-26, Australia/Algeria wildfires
GDACS green alerts — no population impact expected.

[LVL 3/10] Meta reaches $17B settlement
Thu, 27 Aug 07:02 -0400 — NPR
Privacy lawsuit settlement — largest in Meta’s history.

DEFENSE STOCKS (from ThinkCreate Global Markets)

RTX $211.99 (+0.81%) · LMT $565.62 (+1.64%) · NOC $549.95 (+1.37%)
GD $382.02 (+1.44%) · BA $212.09 (+0.48%) · PLTR $177.50 (+2.76%)

ANALYST NOTE: Defense names quietly climbing on Saudi escalation headline. PLTR leading gains — AI/defense crossover play.

LIVE DATA SNAPSHOT

• Commercial flights: 5,942 | Military: 237 | Private: 3,306
• Tracked/flagged aircraft: 1,412
• Vessels (ships): 27,022
• Active satellites: 540
• GPS jamming events: 9
• Earthquakes (24h): 27
• Global incidents (GDELT): 878

Earnings — TODAY (August 27)

PRE-MARKET BEATS

Royal Bank of Canada (RY) · $288B cap
EPS $4.28 vs $4.07 est (+5.17% beat) — record profit, shares climbing pre-market

TD Bank (TD) · $197B cap
EPS $2.77 vs $2.47 est (+12.13% beat)

CIBC (CM) · $108B cap
EPS $2.73 vs $2.52 est (+8.20% beat) — growth in U.S. business and capital markets

Dollar General (DG) · $27B cap
EPS $2.48 vs $2.01 est (+23.53% beat) — raised full-year guidance, stock +12.4% pre-market

Dollar Tree (DLTR) · $25B cap
EPS $2.70 vs $1.14 est (+136.57% beat) — tariff refund windfall, but stock falling despite beat (guidance concerns)

Best Buy (BBY) · $18B cap
EPS $1.47 vs $1.38 est (+6.53% beat) — raised fiscal 2027 outlook, computing strength

Hormel Foods (HRL) · $13B cap
EPS $0.37 vs $0.35 est (+4.64% beat) — raised profit outlook

Bilibili (BILI) · $6.8B cap
EPS $1.58 vs $1.53 est (+3.03% beat)

AFTER-HOURS (AMC = After Market Close)

Marvell Technology (MRVL) · $220B cap
Q2 2027 · AMC · EPS est $0.93
KEY NAME — AI chip bellwether, Google contract speculation, riding Nvidia’s coattails

Autodesk (ADSK) · $54B cap
Q2 2027 · AMC · EPS est $3.12

Workday (WDAY) · $47B cap
Q2 2027 · AMC · EPS est $2.61
Speculation of potential take-private deal circulating

Trip.com (TCOM) · $28B cap
Q2 2026 · AMC · EPS est $5.70

Affirm Holdings (AFRM) · $26B cap
Q4 2026 · AMC · EPS est $0.85
Buy-now-pay-later growth story, Morgan Stanley sees strong Q4 setup but 2027 headwinds

Ulta Beauty (ULTA) · $23B cap
Q2 2026 · AMC · EPS est $5.04
Coming off ugly selloff — needs to prove beauty retail demand is intact

The Gap (GAP) · $7.6B cap
Q2 2026 · AMC · EPS est $0.55
Low bar after last quarter’s disaster

SentinelOne (S) · $7B cap
Q2 2027 · AMC · EPS est -$0.23
Cybersecurity AI play — watch guidance on enterprise spending

Earnings — TOMORROW (August 28, Friday)

Salesforce (CRM) — already reported (beat, stock +3% AH)
CrowdStrike (CRWD) — already reported (beat despite July outage fallout)
Intuit (INTU) — sank 12% on AI disruption fears spreading to QuickBooks
Okta (OKTA) — beat Q2 estimates

(Friday calendar light — focus shifts to weekend digestion of Jackson Hole)

Economic Events

Jackson Hole Symposium (ongoing)
Fed Chair Jerome Powell speaks today — markets watching for rate cut timing signals. Any dovish lean = fuel for tech rally extension.

Bottom Line

Nvidia’s blowout is the tide lifting all AI boats. Futures surging into the open, with MRVL set to ride the wave after-hours. Saudi-Houthi escalation is the macro wildcard — LVL 7 threat, defense names quietly bidding higher. Canadian banks crushing it, dollar stores diverging (DG soaring, DLTR falling despite both beating). Powell speaks today — if he hints at September cuts, this Nvidia rally has legs. If he hedges, profit-taking could hit tech hard into the close.

📈 Watch: MRVL guidance, Powell’s tone, defense sector if Saudi threat escalates.