Before the bell: Dip buyers support U.S. tech stocks

After three weak sessions on Wall Street, European equities also slipped yesterday, though losses remained contained with the Euro Stoxx 50 shedding just 0.2%. The Nasdaq briefly dropped 2% as weakness in technology stocks spread, but bargain hunters stepped in, trimming the final loss to 0.7%. The S&P 500 eased 0.2%. Minutes from the latest Fed meeting revealed a heated debate about whether U.S. tariffs will trigger a temporary or more prolonged inflationary surge. Most Fed officials leaned toward the latter. Despite better-than-expected housing data, homebuilder Toll Brothers remained cautious, with shares down 0.6%. In Brussels, the Bel20 outperformed, adding 0.5%, driven by Elia (+1.7%), UCB (+1.4%), Lotus Bakeries (+1.5%) and Ageas (+1%). Sofina failed to hold early gains, ending flat, while Deceuninck (-1%) and EVS (-5.7%) slipped after disappointing results. Baidu (-2.4%) reported a 4% revenue decline, reflecting a 15% contraction in advertising sales. Still, cloud revenue surged 27%, showing strong momentum, while its autonomous driving unit Apollo Go continues to expand, preparing integration with Uber’s platform.

Asian markets also saw some profit-taking, though the Hang Seng (-0.2%) fared better than Tokyo’s Topix (-0.5%). Later today, attention will shift to Walmart’s earnings release in the U.S. In Brussels, investors await results from Tessenderlo, Kinepolis, VGP and Montea.

Baidu: Weak Ads, Strong Cloud, Autonomous Driving Momentum

Baidu’s Q2 revenue fell 4%, with advertising sales – still 60% of group turnover – plunging 15% despite higher engagement on its AI-powered app Ernie. By contrast, cloud services expanded 27%, reducing reliance on ads. Profitability was ahead of expectations, yet the U.S.-listed ADRs dropped 3% and extended losses in Hong Kong. Apollo Go logged 2.2 million driverless rides last quarter, and the July deal with Uber to integrate thousands of robotaxis underscores the long-term growth story. Trading at just 8.3x earnings, Baidu remains one of many undervalued Chinese tech names – but a recovery in ad revenues will be key to breaking out of its sideways trend.

Kinepolis: Stronger Box Office, Rising Visitors, M&A Ambitions

Kinepolis rebounded in Q2 as box office hits including A Minecraft Movie, Lilo & Stitch, and Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning boosted attendance by 17.3% year-on-year. For H1, visits were up 2.2%, with Q1 weakness offset by the strong Q2 slate. Revenue rose 6.2%, EBITDA climbed 23% to 22.4 million euro, with an 8.7% margin. Net profit reached 7 million euro, compared with breakeven a year earlier. CEO Eddy Duquenne has already hinted at new acquisitions to drive further expansion.

Did you know…

China has stopped buying Nvidia’s so-called H20 chips. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently described them as “junk chips” dumped on the Chinese market.

This article was translated from Dutch and was originally published on Spaarvarkens.be.