Midday: U.S. stocks continue to rise, chip stocks generally rise
In the early morning of July 10th, Beijing time, U.S. stocks continued to rise in midday trading on Thursday. The general rise in chip stocks combined with the fall in oil prices gave support to the stock index. Traders continued to assess U.S.-Iran tensions. Trump said Iran called to seek a deal after the U.S. strike, adding that it was unclear whether the war would resume. The Dow rose 177.83 points, or 0.34%, to 52526.22 points; the Nasdaq rose 236.91 points, or 0.92%, to 26107.56 points; the S&P 500 rose 49.06 points, or 0.66%, to 7531.77 points. VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) climbs 3%, with Technology led the gains, rising 7%. European stock markets also rebounded on Thursday, as investors focused on renewed tensions in the Middle East. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.7%, with mixed performance across regional markets and sectors. In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed up 1.4%, and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.62% in choppy trading. The U.S. Central Command said the United States launched a new round of strikes against Iran for the second consecutive day. The strikes come in response to Iran's attack on commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz, which has slowed shipping traffic in the key waterway. However, crude oil futures prices were lower after U.S. President Trump said Iran had called to seek a deal. This comes after Trump said on Wednesday that he may no longer be interested in negotiating a deal with Iran. Earlier, he said the ceasefire between the United States and Tehran "is over" after another round of attacks in the Middle East. "It's highly inflationary, highly uncertain, and highly uncertain," said Megan Honeyman, chief investment officer at Verdence. "It could end tomorrow, or it could turn into something bigger. We don't know. So in this situation, you have to be well diversified in global equity allocations." Honeyman believes market conditions will remain volatile going forward, given that investors may be "somewhat numb" to the conflict's "volatile" dynamics. She also said that stock prices at current levels may not factor in the possibility of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates at least once in the second half of 2026. "This is shaping up to be a persistent inflationary issue for the rest of the year," she said, adding that "it's not just oil prices." While continued investment in artificial intelligence may be disinflationary in the long term, she said: "In the short term, all this investment, strong (economic) growth and consumers who continue to spend, these are inflationary."