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August 10, 2025

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Top catalysts for the Nasdaq 100 Index and QQQ ETF this week

4 Mins Read

The Nasdaq 100 Index and its exchange-traded funds, like the Invesco QQQ, jumped to a record high last week as the earnings season continued and as concerns about a trade war waned. 

It jumped to a high of $23,610, up sharply from the year-to-date low of $16,520. Here are the top catalysts that will affect its performance this week.

Nasdaq 100 Index chart

US inflation data

The first main catalyst for the Nasdaq 100 Index is the upcoming US consumer inflation data on Tuesday. This will be a closely watched report that will impact the next Federal Reserve interest rate decision. 

The median estimate among analysts is that the headline consumer inflation rose from 2.7% in June to 2.8% in July, while the core figure jumped back to the psychological point at 3.0%.

If accurate, these numbers will complicate the average Federal Reserve forecast. Some Federal Reserve officials have begun to warm to the idea of interest rate cuts in September, following the recent non-farm payrolls (NFP) data, with Lisa Cook describing it as a “turning point.”

A deteriorating labor market and high inflation may fuel concerns that the US may be moving towards stagflation, which may make it difficult for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.

The Nasdaq 100 Index and the QQQ ETF do well when the Federal Reserve is cutting interest rates. 

Top corporate earnings

The other key catalyst for the Nasdaq 100 Index and QQQ is the waning earnings season. Most of the constituent companies have already published their earnings.

FactSet data show that 90% of all firms in the S&P 500 have already reported. The average earnings growth in the second quarter was 11.8%, which is significantly higher than the analysts’ expectations.

The average earnings growth estimate was less than 5% due to concerns about Donald Trump’s tariffs. As such, the growth estimate is more than double what analysts were expecting. 

CoreWeave will be one of the top tech stocks to watch this week because of its role in the AI industry. It operates several data centers, which it offers to top AI companies. 

The other top company to watch will be Applied Materials, which will publish its results on Thursday. Analysts anticipate the results to show that AMAT’s earnings per share will be $2.36. 

Cisco, the biggest wholesale company, will release its results on Wednesday. Other top firms to watch will be Venture Global, Sea Limited, and Tencent. 

Trump and Putin meeting

Meanwhile, an upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska will be watched closely. The goal is to end the ongoing war that has displaced millions and killed thousands in Ukraine.

The hope is that this meeting will lead to peace in the region. Its ending, and potential scrapping of some of Russia’s tariffs will help to lower the cost of energy and inflation, which may boost the Nasdaq 100 Index.

US retail sales data and Fed speak

The other key catalyst for the Nasdaq 100 Index and the QQQ ETF is the upcoming US retail sales data. Economists see the data showing that the retail sales slowed from 0.6% to 0.5% because of Donald Trump’s tariffs. 

The US will also publish the latest export and import prices, manufacturing and industrial production, and consumer expectations. Like the inflation report, these numbers will influence what the Federal Reserve does and when it starts to cut rates.

The Nasdaq 100 Index does well when the Fed is cutting interest rates or when it signals that it will do that. Some Fed officials like Tom Barkin will talk this week and hint of when the bank will cut.

The post Top catalysts for the Nasdaq 100 Index and QQQ ETF this week appeared first on Invezz

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In Business

Lawsuit accuses Apple of stealing trade secrets to create Apple Pay

2 Mins Read

Apple has been sued by a Texas company that accused the iPhone maker of stealing its technology to create its lucrative mobile wallet Apple Pay.

In a complaint made public on Thursday, Fintiv said Apple Pay’s key features were based on technology developed by CorFire, which Fintiv bought in 2014, and now used in hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and MacBooks.

Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Fintiv, based in Austin, Texas, said Apple held multiple meetings in 2011 and 2012 and entered nondisclosure agreements with CorFire aimed at licensing its mobile wallet technology, to capitalize on fast-growing demand for contactless payments.

Instead, and with the help of CorFire employees it lured away, Apple used the technology and trade secrets to launch Apple Pay in the United States and dozens of other countries, beginning in 2014, the complaint said.

Fintiv also said Apple has led an informal racketeering enterprise by using Apple Pay to generate fees for credit card issuers such as Bank of America, Capital One, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, and the payment networks American Express, Mastercard and Visa.

“This is a case of corporate theft and racketeering of monumental proportions,” enabling Cupertino, California-based Apple to generate billions of dollars of revenue without paying Fintiv “a single penny,” the complaint said.

In a statement, Fintiv’s lawyer Marc Kasowitz called Apple’s conduct “one of the most egregious examples of corporate malfeasance” he has seen in 45 years of law practice.

The lawsuit in Atlanta federal court seeks compensatory and punitive damages for violations of federal and Georgia trade secrets and anti-racketeering laws, including RICO.

Apple is the only defendant. CorFire was based in Alpharetta, Georgia, an Atlanta suburb.

On August 4, a federal judge in Austin dismissed Fintiv’s related patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, four days after rejecting some of Fintiv’s claims, court records show.

Fintiv agreed to the dismissal, and plans to “appeal on the existing record,” the records show.

This post appeared first on NBC NEWS

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In Politics

Kash Patel celebrates major FBI achievements and record seizures during Trump’s first 200 days in office

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FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media on Saturday to celebrate the bureau’s successes in the first 200 days of the Trump administration. 

‘200 Days of Trump Admin, From Jan 20 to Present: FBI has arrested over 1,600 people for violent crimes against children, to include 270 arrests for human trafficking,’ Patel wrote on his official X account.

Patel added that 1,500 kilos of fentanyl – ‘enough lethal doses to kill 113,850,000 Americans’ – has also been seized in that time, which he said was a 25% increase from the same time last year, and the ‘most ever.’

He added, ‘We look forward to working with our @SecDef and DoD partners to getting after it even more, thanks @realDonaldTrump for the new authorities.’ 

In a third post, Patel said the FBI had identified and located 4,000 child victims. 

‘FBI investigations targeting Foreign Terrorist Organizations has resulted in 1,000 arrests of those wanting to harm our nation. Seized 6,300 Kilos of methamphetamines = lives saved,’ he wrote, adding the hashtag ‘#SummerHeat.’

The White House also posted an article on X on Saturday, touting ‘200 Days of American Renewal,’ including ‘historic border security to infrastructure revitalization.’ 

Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who had considered resigning over the administration’s handling of the Epstein files earlier this summer, according to a source, reposted Patel’s post, writing, ‘This isn’t even the beginning of the beginning. More coming.’ 

Many in MAGA world have also been frustrated with the lack of transparency over the Epstein files. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has denied the existence of an Epstein client list, and President Trump defended Attorney General Pam Bondi last month, saying ‘she’s really done a very good job.’ 

This post appeared first on FOX NEWS

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