Key Takeaways
- UK house prices experienced a notable decline in July, falling 1.2% month-on-month and rising a mere 0.1% year-on-year, signaling continued market weakness.
- Tivan Ltd (TVN) and Sumitomo Corp ((/stock/8053)) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore commercial agreements for the Sandover Fluorite Project, indicating a significant step in the critical minerals sector.
- New Zealand's Q2 CPI growth slowed to 0.5% quarter-over-quarter, missing expectations and suggesting easing inflationary pressures, while the annual rate came in at 2.7%.
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman forecasts over 1 million GPUs will be online by year-end, highlighting rapid expansion in AI infrastructure.
- Japan's ruling coalition is projected to lose its majority in the upper house election, potentially leading to political instability and calls for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's resignation.
UK's housing market demonstrated further signs of softening in July, as Rightmove reported a 1.2% month-on-month fall in house prices, a sharper decline than the previous month's -0.3%. Year-on-year growth also slowed significantly to just 0.1%, down from 0.8%, underscoring persistent weakness in the property sector. This data suggests a challenging environment for the UK real estate market.
In the critical minerals space, Tivan Ltd (TVN) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sumitomo Corp ((/stock/8053)). The agreement aims to negotiate potential commercial arrangements for the Sandover Fluorite Project, covering its development, financing, operation, marketing, and distribution. This collaboration could be a pivotal step for the project, located in Australia, which is focused on critical minerals.
Meanwhile, economic data from New Zealand showed a slight easing of inflationary pressures. The country's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5% quarter-over-quarter in Q2, falling short of the 0.6% expectation and slowing from the prior 0.9% increase. The year-over-year CPI registered 2.7%, just below the 2.8% estimate but an increase from the previous 2.5%. Tradeable inflation also eased to 0.3% quarter-over-quarter.
In the technology sector, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that over 1 million GPUs are expected to be online by the end of the year. This ambitious projection underscores the rapid expansion and investment in AI computing infrastructure, which is crucial for the development and deployment of advanced AI models. Separately, the UK was reportedly compelled to back down in an encryption dispute with Apple (AAPL) due to pressure from the United States, according to the Financial Times.
Geopolitical and political developments also captured attention. Iran's Foreign Ministry confirmed that nuclear talks with the UK, France, and Germany are scheduled to take place in Istanbul on Friday. In Japan, early trading saw Japanese stock futures remain largely unchanged following projections that the nation’s ruling coalition would lose its majority in the upper house election. This outcome could lead to political uncertainty, with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba facing calls to step down or seek new coalition partners.
Other notable headlines include an exclusive Reuters report indicating that China has quietly issued its 2025 rare earth quotas. Additionally, Elon Musk indicated that Tesla's (TSLA) robotaxi progress in Austin requires further validation to ensure updates do not negatively impact performance in other regions. This comes as Tesla faces potential losses of billions in subsidies following a fallout between Musk and Donald Trump, as analyzed by Sky News. Donald Trump himself dismissed claims regarding advice on firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell, labeling a Wall Street Journal report as "untruthful".
Ed Liston is a senior contributing editor at TheStockMarketWatch.com. An active market watcher and investor, Ed guides an independent team of experienced analysts and writes for multiple stock trader publications.