US Market Key News Summary August 7, 2026

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U.S. July Non-Farm Employment Report

Trump Invokes Section 232: 15% Tariff on Polysilicon Products with Minimum Import Price, Effective December

On Thursday (August 6), President Donald Trump signed a proclamation imposing a 15% tariff on imported polysilicon-derived products under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, citing national security risks due to excessive reliance on foreign supply. The new measures will take effect on December 4. According to the announcement, polysilicon-derived imports—including silicon wafers, solar cells, and solar modules—will be subject to the 15% tariff. The government aims to bolster domestic production in clean energy technologies.

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U.S. Bans Export of Tungsten Scrap and Battery Waste to Strengthen Domestic Critical Mineral Supply Chain

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Thursday (August 6) that it will ban the export of tungsten scrap and battery waste to promote domestic recycling industries and enhance critical mineral production. President Trump signed an executive order last week authorizing federal officials to restrict the export of scrap materials containing high-value critical minerals to China and other countries. Items prohibited from export include 'black mass'—crushed lithium-ion batteries—and tungsten-containing scrap materials.

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SanDisk Falls Over 6% on Weak Financial Forecast; Memory Allocation to Extend Beyond 2027

SanDisk (SNDK-US) shares plunged 6.8% on Thursday (August 6) after the flash memory and storage device manufacturer reported first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue guidance below analyst expectations. Management stated that customer demand continues to outpace supply, and thus expects the memory bit allocation system to persist beyond 2027. In other words, the company will continue rationing memory supply to customers.

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Is Musk’s Halo Losing Value? Tesla and SpaceX Market Cap Wipes Out $1.4 Trillion

Elon Musk’s business empire spans energy, electric vehicles, rockets, robotics, and AI. At the core of these ventures is his ability to attract global attention and monetize it. However, a Bloomberg column suggests this 'attention economy' model, which has supported high valuations for Tesla (TSLA-US) and SpaceX (SPCX-US), is now declining. Investors are growing weary of Musk’s relentless stream of sci-fi visions.

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Who Captured the AI Dividend? U.S. Labor Compensation Share of GDP Hits 79-Year Low in Q2

Labor productivity in the United States grew more than expected in the second quarter, showing that businesses are producing more output with fewer labor hours despite rising costs. However, the benefits of higher productivity are not fully reaching employees—the share of labor compensation in economic output has fallen to the lowest level since records began in 1947. On Thursday (August 6), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that non-farm labor productivity—output per employee per hour—increased at an annualized rate of 1.4% in Q2, surpassing the revised 0.8% growth in Q1 and exceeding all but one economist’s forecast in a Bloomberg survey.

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