AI stocks keep falling, while oil prices keep climbing - WDBO

• Canadian wildfires have intensified, sending dense smoke across North America and pushing air quality to dangerous levels for millions of people. • The environmental crisis has sparked significant health concerns in the United States as pollutants travel across the border.

• On July 17, 2026, the European Commission published a Communication on the Competitiveness of the Banking Sector and the Single Market in Banking. • The European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG) welcomed the roadmap, noting that it incorporates key recommendations from the group.

• The Indian BFSI sector demonstrated resilience through strong Q1 earnings in banking, insurance, and fintech, despite broader market volatility caused by geopolitical tensions in West Asia. • Market instability saw the Sensex drop 561.46 points (0.72%) to 77,054.94 and the Nifty slip 158.95 points (0.66%) to 24,052.05, with 2,632 stocks declining.

• Global stocks have ended a two-week winning streak as the "AI-trade" loses momentum, causing semiconductor stocks to enter a bear market. • Oracle's credit risk gauge has reached a record high, reflecting growing investor concerns regarding the sustainability of massive AI-related spending.

• Analyst Gaurang Shah suggests that foreign investors may shift their focus toward the Indian market as the global AI trade momentum begins to fade. • Shah argues that India currently offers significant relative value, earnings resilience, and policy-backed sectoral opportunities compared to high-growth tech sectors.

• MSCI’s Asia Pacific gauge fell 2.5% to a two-month low as investors rotated away from technology stocks, leading to a significant downturn in regional benchmarks. • Japan’s Nikkei 225 faced its worst session since March, while TSMC shares dropped 5% despite a solid earnings outlook, weighed down by higher spending forecasts.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is preparing to transition to plastic (polymer) banknotes, marking one of the most significant makeovers in the history of Indian currency. • To facilitate this shift, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Limited (BRBNMPL) has issued a global Expression of Interest (EOI) to establish a polymer substrate manufacturing facility within India.

• Investment expert Gaurang Shah has identified Indian Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and Federal Bank as his preferred banking stocks for long-term investment. • Within the public sector banking segment, Shah specifically highlighted Indian Bank Ltd and State Bank of India Ltd as top picks.

• The BSE Sensex surged 965 points and the Nifty50 closed above 24,300 during a volatile trading session on Thursday. • Gains in IT stocks helped the indices remain resilient, offsetting significant profit booking in heavyweight banking and financial shares.

• Asian stock markets declined due to a combination of technology sector losses and rising tensions involving Iran. • Major indices saw significant drops, including China's Shanghai Composite falling 1.6%, the CSI 300 dipping 2.5%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng sliding 2%.

• South Korea is experiencing an AI-driven stock boom, with leveraged single-stock ETFs tied to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix causing extreme market volatility. • A Hong Kong-listed twice-levered SK Hynix ETF has surged over 20-fold this year to reach $7.78 billion, while some single-name leveraged ETFs trade at four times the volume of their underlying stocks.