U.S. stock futures fell on Wednesday after President Donald Trump signaled that Iran negotiations were taking “too long” and threatened more action. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 0.5% and 0.7%, respectively. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 257 points, or 0.5%. Trump wrote Wednesday morning that Iran has “taken too long to negotiate a deal that would have been great for them; now they will have to pay the price!!!" Tensions in the Middle East ramped up again on Tuesday evening, after U.S. forces launched strikes against Iran “in response to yesterday’s downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter,” U.S. Central Command said. Trump had earlier accused Iran of shooting down the helicopter, which he said was patrolling over the Strait of Hormuz. Chip stocks came under pressure once again in early trading, also hitting futures. Shares of Micron Technology, Advanced Micro Devices, and Broadcom were lower in early trading, with chip stocks now seeing losses in four of the last five sessions. The iShares Semiconductor ETF was down by 3% in premarket trading following a rollover on Tuesday. Chip stocks were pummeled to end last week, culminating in a 10% decline for the ETF on Friday. The group then rebounded slightly Monday before the selling returned. The stocks are coming under pressure ahead of the SpaceX IPO on Friday, with some traders believing that investors, especially smaller retail participants, are shedding some of their hot chip stock winners to make room for the largest IPO ever in their portfolios. Others believe the weakness is just profit taking after such a rapid run. The chip ETF is still up more than 86% this year. Equity futures were off the lows after May’s core consumer price index reading, which excludes food and energy prices, was a bit lighter than expected. For the month, core CPI came in at 0.2%, below the 0.3% estimate, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Compared to a year ago, core CPI stood at 2.9%, in line with expectations. Still, the headline annual inflation rate climbed above 4% for the first time in three years. In regular trading Tuesday, chip stocks dragged the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite lower by 0.26% and 0.97%, respectively. On the other hand, the blue-chip Dow rose 86.10 points, or 0.17%. Tuesday’s rout was an extension of last week’s pullback, which followed a rally driven by artificial intelligence. “If we’re talking about the substance of what we’ve seen over the past few weeks, it’s really been concentrated in that memory semiconductor area that’s lifted the market. It’s been the real force behind everything, and really it’s run so hard that it feels very toppy at this moment,” said Marta Norton, chief investment strategist for Empower Investments, on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Tuesday afternoon. “So, does this mean that there’s some sort of fundamental deterioration?” she added. “I’m not so sure about that, but certainly there seems to be stretched sentiment that we’re getting some sort of correction too." The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield held steady Wednesday as investors pored through the latest data showing inflation at its highest in three years, though some pricing pressures weren’t as bad as feared. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note—the main benchmark for mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt—was little changed at 4.534%. Shorter- and longer-dated maturities were also steady. The yield on the 2-year Treasury note, which closely tracks short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, was unchanged at 4.131%. The 30-year Treasury yield, which traditionally reacts more to geopolitical events, also stood still at 5.013%. Asia-Pacific markets closed mostly lower Wednesday, with South Korea’s Kospi leading regional losses amid a tech sell-off and Middle East tensions. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.89% to 64,179.27, while South Korea’s Kospi slumped 4.52% to 7,730.82. The Hong Kong Hang Seng Index was trading 0.77% lower in its last hour of afternoon trade, while Mainland China’s CSI 300 lost 1.11% to 4,748.59. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 bucked the broader trend, dropping 0.57% to 8,653.30. Oil prices shot higher Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Iran will “pay the price” for being too slow to negotiate a peace deal. U.S. crude oil futures for July delivery jumped nearly 2% to $89.72 per barrel as of 7:15 a.m. ET, while Brent futures, the international benchmark, for August delivery rose 1.3% to $92.74 per barrel. Gold fell more than 1% on Wednesday to hit an 11-week low, as the dollar and oil prices rose on renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran, fuelling concerns about inflation and interest rate hikes. Spot gold lost 1.8% to $4,187.59 per ounce by 0230 GMT, hitting its lowest level since March 23. U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down 1.7% at $4,213.40. The dollar rose, making greenback-priced bullion more expensive for holders of other currencies.
U.S. cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike said China-based entities made over half of state-sponsored cyberattacks on tech firms for artificial intelligence assets.
JPMorgan Chase's move suggests long-running AI agents are close to clearing the security and governance hurdles that have slowed adoption inside big companies.
U.S. stock futures rose on Tuesday as chip stocks rebounded for a second day from last Friday’s rout and oil prices pulled back on hopes a U.S.-Iran deal is nearing. S&P 500 futures were up about 0.5%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.9%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures advanced 206 points or 0.4%. Micron Technology was higher by almost 5% in early trading, adding to a 10% comeback on Monday. The shares tumbled about 20% in the two days ending last week, including a 13% rout on Friday. Qualcomm was up nearly 3% in early trading, a second day of gains after falling 11% on Friday. The iShares Semiconductor ETF was up 2% following a 6% rebound on Monday. The ETF tumbled 10% on Friday for its worst day in six years as investors feared the AI-driven run in chips had risen too far, too fast. Chip stocks led the S&P 500 higher in regular trading Monday, with the index rising 0.3%. The tech-dominant Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.86%. Both averages clawed back some of their losses from last week’s tech rout. The blue-chip Dow, on the other hand, bucked the trend to shed 80.77 points, or 0.16%. Although artificial intelligence and chip trade have been the primary market driver on Monday and in other recent sessions, Brian Kersmanc, portfolio manager at GQG Partners, offered some skepticism over the trend’s longevity. “What the issue is on a longer-term basis is sustainability,” Kersmanc said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell: Overtime” on Monday afternoon. “So, how much further does this sustain on a longer-term basis?” “At the end of the day, a lot of these chip names are commodities,” the portfolio manager added. “And if you look at it in terms of a commodity, when you have a rapid price increase that you had—in some areas of memory, you had a 15x price increase over the course of last year or so—if I were to recontextualize that … a 15x increase in energy, going from $60 a barrel to $900 a barrel, how many energy stocks would people be buying right now?” OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO late Monday, adding to enthusiasm around the AI trade. Space and AI play. SpaceX is set to make its debut on Friday in what will be the largest IPO ever. The offering is seen by some as adding fuel to the AI-driven bull market, but some investors are wary that it could also mark a top in the trend with its $1.75 trillion valuation. Treasury yields were largely unchanged on Tuesday as bond markets took a breather ahead of more economic data releases later this week. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield—the key benchmark for mortgages, auto loans, and credit card debt—was last seen down less than 1 basis point at 4.542%. The 2-year Treasury note yield, which is typically more sensitive to short-term Federal Reserve interest rate decisions, was less than 2 basis points lower at 4.141%. Meanwhile, the longer-dated 30-year Treasury bond yield, which tends to react mainly to geopolitical risks, rose less than 1 basis point to 5.02%. In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was over 2% higher, ending the trading day at 65,416.63, while South Korea’s Kospi rebounded from Monday’s slump, jumping 8.18% to 8,096.93. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged 0.15% higher, while the mainland’s CSI 300 was up 1.87% to 4,801.81. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.24% to 8,604.2. Oil prices fell Tuesday as President Donald Trump sought to convince the market that a deal with Tehran was days away, despite the barrage of strikes between Israel and Iran this week. U.S. crude oil futures were down about 2% to $89.40 by 8:05 a.m. ET. Brent futures, the international benchmark, lost 1.7% to $92.65 per barrel. Gold edged higher on Tuesday, supported by lower oil prices, as tensions eased in the Middle East but concerns about U.S. interest rate hikes ahead of key inflation data this week capped gains. Spot gold was up 0.3% at $4,340.31 per ounce. The metal fell to its lowest level since March 23 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures for August delivery were unchanged at $4,364.90.
BYD expects China's competitive electric vehicle market to continue growing, even as manufacturers and analysts anticipate domestic demand to taper further.
