Weekend Takeout Coupons Pack a Punch; Musk Says He Doesn’t Support a Merger Between xAI and Tesla | Today’s Top News Recap

0714 | Dolphin Research Focus:

🐬 Macro/Industry

1. On July 12 local time, Trump announced a 30% tariff on products imported from Mexico and the EU to the US starting August 1, 2025, citing Mexico's "insufficient effectiveness" on related issues and the EU's "non-reciprocal" trade with the US. He also stated that the policy might be adjusted if the counterparts make progress. This will have a significant impact on the global trade landscape, potentially escalating trade tensions, putting pressure on export companies in the relevant countries and regions, and possibly leading to adjustments in the global industrial and supply chains. Related foreign trade concept stocks in the stock market may be affected.

2. Over the weekend, Meituan, Taobao Flash Sale, and JD.com Delivery platform launched a new wave of instant retail subsidies, with frequent large discounts such as "0 yuan milk tea coupons" and "18.8 off 18.8". Meituan's instant retail daily order volume exceeded 150 million on July 12, Taobao Flash Sale and Ele.me jointly broke 80 million daily orders again, and JD.com Delivery subsidized 100,000 servings of crayfish. In the short term, this can indeed stimulate consumer enthusiasm and activate urban online and offline consumption vitality. However, for the platforms, beyond subsidies, they need to build a sustainable business model through differentiated competition to stand out in the fierce instant retail market competition.

🐬 Individual Stocks

1.$Intel(INTC.US)

Intel will lay off about 2,400 employees in its Oregon Hillsboro and Aloha campuses, far exceeding the previously announced 529 employees. This layoff involves key positions such as chip design and process engineering and is part of the cost-cutting plan implemented by Intel's new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, to address competition from rivals like Nvidia in the AI and high-performance chip markets. It reflects Intel's disadvantage in technological competition, necessitating measures like layoffs to survive and realign its business layout to reestablish its position in the semiconductor market.

2.$Tesla(TSLA.US)

Musk stated on the X platform that he does not support the merger of xAI with Tesla. He believes the two have significant differences in technical routes and business goals, with Tesla focusing on autonomous driving and electric vehicle technology, while xAI is dedicated to general artificial intelligence research. Previously, Musk had tilted Tesla's resources towards xAI, causing shareholder dissatisfaction. This statement may help alleviate internal conflicts and stabilize shareholder confidence, while also reflecting Musk's planning for the different development paths of the two companies.

🐬 Leading Sectors

Shanghai and Shenzhen: Water and soft drinks, precious metals and minerals, kitchenware;

Hong Kong stocks: Silver, research and consulting services, trading and payment services;

US stocks: Shipping ports - operators, silver, precious metals and minerals.

🐬 Focus for Tomorrow

1. China's retail sales of consumer goods year-on-year, China's industrial output above designated size year-on-year, China's GDP annual rate.

2. US New York Fed Manufacturing Index, US seasonally adjusted CPI monthly rate, US seasonally adjusted core CPI monthly rate, US unadjusted CPI annual rate, US unadjusted core CPI annual rate.

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