The three major U.S. stock indexes closed down across the board: chip stocks collectively fell sharply, and Chinese assets strengthened
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower on Thursday. Wind data shows that as of the close on July 16, local time, the Dow fell 0.2% to 52552.97 points, the S&P 500 fell 0.51% to 7533.77 points, and the Nasdaq fell 1.47% to 25881.95 points. Strong TSMC performance failed to boost the chip sector. This "good news" signal has significantly increased market concerns about the valuation of AI hardware stocks. TSMC shares fell more than 2% on Thursday.
All three major U.S. stock indexes closed lower on Thursday. Wind data shows that as of the close on July 16, local time, the Dow fell 0.2% to 52552.97 points, the S&P 500 fell 0.51% to 7533.77 points, and the Nasdaq fell 1.47% to 25881.95 points. Strong TSMC performance failed to boost the chip sector. This "good news" signal has significantly increased market concerns about the valuation of AI hardware stocks. TSMC shares fell more than 2% on Thursday. TSMC announced its second-quarter financial report that day. The company's second-quarter net profit increased by 77% year-on-year, hitting a record high and exceeding market expectations. However, the market has doubts about whether AI's ultra-large-scale capital expenditures can be sustained. Storage and chip stocks fell sharply again. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 4.29%. It has corrected more than 22% from its high on June 22, officially entering a technical bear market. In terms of individual stocks, Marvell Technology fell by more than 8%, Intel fell by nearly 6%, Micron Technology fell by more than 5%, ARM fell by more than 5%, AMD Semiconductor fell by more than 5%, Broadcom fell by more than 5%, and Qualcomm fell by more than 4%. The performance of large technology stocks was divided, with the Wind US Technology Big Seven Index falling 1.31%. Google fell by more than 4%, Facebook and Nvidia fell by more than 2%, Amazon fell by nearly 2%, and Tesla fell by 0.86%; Apple and Microsoft rose by more than 1%. SpaceX fell more than 3% on Thursday, closing below its IPO price for the first time. Analysts believe that despite TSMC’s impressive performance, the market has become more rational from the early enthusiasm for AI. Investors are beginning to scrutinize the high valuations of the semiconductor sector and are worried that investment in ultra-large-scale infrastructure for AI may slow down. Matt Maley of Miller Tabak said the trend of chip stocks remains the most critical variable in the stock market. They are showing clear cracks, and failure to mount a strong and sustained rebound will send real warning signs. Bloomberg strategist Tatiana Darie pointed out that the sell-off in chip stocks has approached the technical threshold that has bottomed out many times in recent years, but whether it can stabilize still depends on whether ultra-large-scale cloud computing manufacturers continue to raise their AI capital expenditure expectations. Michael Ball of Bloomberg also believes that this round of selling is more "mechanical" than driven by fundamentals. The main logic of AI capital expenditure has not yet broken. The record profits and raised forward guidance of TSMC and ASML confirm the continued expansion of AI infrastructure construction. In other sectors, most bank stocks fell. Goldman Sachs fell nearly 5%, Morgan Stanley fell more than 4%, Citigroup fell more than 2%, JPMorgan Chase fell more than 1%, Bank of America fell 0.13%, and Wells Fargo rose 0.64%. Airline stocks were mixed, with Boeing falling more than 1%, American Airlines falling 0.19%, and United Airlines falling more than 1%. Delta Air Lines rose nearly 1% and Southwest Airlines rose 0.37%. Energy stocks were mixed, with Exxon Mobil up 1%, Chevron up more than 1%, ConocoPhillips up more than 1%, Schlumberger down nearly 1%, and Occidental Petroleum down 0.22%. At the same time, Chinese concept stocks bucked the trend and strengthened, with the Nasdaq China Golden Dragon Index rising 1.79% and the Wind China Concept Technology Leading Index rising 0.83%. In terms of popular Chinese concept stocks, Tencent Music rose by more than 4%, Bilibili rose by nearly 4%, Yum China rose by more than 2%, Miniso rose by more than 2%, Vipshop rose by more than 2%, and Beike rose by more than 2%. In the European market, the three major European stock indexes closed with mixed gains. Among them, the German DAX index fell 0.34% to 24915.49 points, the French CAC40 index fell 0.05% to 8377.86 points, and the British FTSE 100 index rose 0.54% to 10572.24 points. In the crude oil market, despite the resumption of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, international oil prices fell back after rising high. As of the close on July 16, local time, the price of WTI crude oil futures closed at $79.58 per barrel, down 0.03%. Brent crude oil futures prices closed at $84.86 per barrel, down 0.11%. According to Xinhua News Agency, the U.S. Central Command posted on social media on July 16 that at 14:00 Eastern Time on the 16th, the U.S. military launched a new round of strikes against Iran for the "sixth consecutive night" to further weaken Iran's military capabilities.
Recently, the US military has launched successive military strikes against Iran. On July 15, it launched two rounds of strikes within one day. The targets included the Iranian command center, air defense facilities, missile and drone combat capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities. The US military also resumed its naval blockade against Iran on the afternoon of July 14, Eastern Time. Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group, said that in the absence of substantial upgrades, traders are unwilling to push oil prices significantly higher, and the physical market has not yet sent signals of serious supply shortages. In terms of precious metals, international gold prices fell below the US$4,000 mark again. Wind data shows that on July 16, local time, spot gold (London Gold Spot, the same below) closed at $3,977.41 per ounce, down 2.03%. Spot silver closed at $55.508 per ounce, down 4.02%. In terms of futures, COMEX gold closed at $3,979.9 per ounce, down 1.77%. COMEX silver was at $55.765 per ounce, down 2.90%. As of press time, spot gold prices have rebounded slightly and are one step away from US$3,980 per ounce. Spot silver prices have continued their decline and are barely holding on to the US$55 per ounce mark. (
Recently, the US military has launched successive military strikes against Iran. On July 15, it launched two rounds of strikes within one day. The targets included the Iranian command center, air defense facilities, missile and drone combat capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities. The US military also resumed its naval blockade against Iran on the afternoon of July 14, Eastern Time. Rebecca Babin, senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth Group, said that in the absence of substantial upgrades, traders are unwilling to push oil prices significantly higher, and the physical market has not yet sent signals of serious supply shortages. In terms of precious metals, international gold prices fell below the US$4,000 mark again. Wind data shows that on July 16, local time, spot gold (London Gold Spot, the same below) closed at $3,977.41 per ounce, down 2.03%. Spot silver closed at $55.508 per ounce, down 4.02%. In terms of futures, COMEX gold closed at $3,979.9 per ounce, down 1.77%. COMEX silver was at $55.765 per ounce, down 2.90%. As of press time, spot gold prices have rebounded slightly and are one step away from US$3,980 per ounce. Spot silver prices have continued their decline and are barely holding on to the US$55 per ounce mark. (