Middle East, latest news! Trump speaks out, gold and silver soar! Nasdaq lower
U.S. stocks opened on Wednesday (July 22), and the three major indexes were mixed. As of press time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43%, the S&P 500 rose slightly, and the Nasdaq fell 0.29%.
U.S. stocks opened on Wednesday (July 22), and the three major indexes were mixed. As of press time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43%, the S&P 500 rose slightly, and the Nasdaq fell 0.29%. In terms of sectors, the storage sector experienced a correction after continuous gains. SK Hynix once fell by more than 5%, Micron fell by 3%, and SanDisk fell by 3%; the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell by 0.5%, ARM, Teradyne, TSMC, etc. fell by more than 1%; the Big Seven Technology Index fell by 0.45%, Microsoft and Amazon fell by more than 1%, and Google, which is about to release its financial report, rose slightly by 0.4%. Gold and silver, on the other hand, surged straight higher in the evening. As of press time, spot gold rose by nearly 2%, and spot silver soared by more than 3%. In terms of news, there are two major factors that may disturb the market. One is the escalation of the situation in the Middle East. According to Xinhua News Agency, US President Trump said on the 22nd that from now on, every time Iran fires on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will bomb and destroy an Iranian bridge or power plant. In addition, the US debt of 40 trillion has caused concern. Some analysts believe that long-term US Treasury yields continue to remain high, which means that the pressure on the US government to repay debt and control fiscal costs will further increase in the future. SK Hynix denies acquisition of US wafer fab On Wednesday, South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix officially denied market rumors that it was in talks to acquire Intel's New Albany, Ohio, semiconductor campus. After U.S. stocks opened on Wednesday, SK Hynix opened down more than 5%. Previously, Korean media reported that in response to pressure from the U.S. government and continued rising demand for AI chips, SK Hynix is actively seeking to establish a memory manufacturing base in the United States and has set its sights on Intel's wafer fab facilities under construction in Ohio. The report even claimed that SK Hynix has passed internal review and government approval and is advancing acquisition negotiations. But SK Hynix quickly clarified in a formal regulatory filing through the Korea Exchange (DART) that although it has been evaluating global investment opportunities, it has "neither sought nor decided to acquire Intel's factory and fab in Ohio." After the denial statement, SK Hynix's gains in the Seoul stock market fell from 11% to a closing gain of 4.7%. AT&T earnings beat expectations U.S. communications giant AT&T delivered a financial report on Wednesday that exceeded market expectations. In the second quarter ended June 30, the company achieved revenue of US$31.6 billion, a year-on-year increase of 2.3%. Although slightly lower than market expectations, the adjusted profit reached US$12.3 billion, slightly higher than expected. The company reiterated its fiscal 2026 adjusted earnings per share target of $2.25 to $2.35 and free cash flow of more than $18 billion. AT&T opened up 4%. Although the financial report data is impressive, the real challenge facing AT&T comes from Musk's SpaceX. Judging from Musk's public stance and the company's prospectus, SpaceX's ambition has been upgraded from a "satellite broadband supplementer" to a "direct challenger to terrestrial mobile networks." In June of this year, it was reported that SpaceX had revealed to investors that it planned to provide mobile services directly to U.S. consumers and that it had been negotiating with Charter Communications to cooperate in launching consumer-oriented mobile services. SpaceX's IPO prospectus has clearly positioned Starlink Mobile as a direct competitor to Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. US debt of $40 trillion raises concerns U.S. Treasury yields edged higher on Wednesday as investors continued to assess escalating tensions in the Middle East and weigh the direction of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy in the coming months. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield, the core benchmark for U.S. government financing, was roughly flat at 4.626%; the 2-year U.S. Treasury yield, which more closely reflects the Fed's short-term interest rate policy, fell 1 basis point to 4.251%; the long-term 30-year U.S. bond yield remained unchanged at 5.132%. In fact, long-term U.S. bonds have suffered a new round of selling since July, with the 30-year U.S. bond yield continuing to hover above 5%, approaching the longest period since 2007. If the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield remains above 5% until Wednesday, it will set a rare record in the past 20 years.
Some analysts believe that long-term U.S. Treasury bond yields continue to remain high, which means that the pressure on the U.S. government to repay debt and control fiscal costs will further increase in the future. The scale of U.S. debt is now close to $40 trillion, and long-term investors have begun to re-evaluate U.S. debt allocation strategies. Brij Khurana, fixed income fund manager at Wellington Management Company, said that the U.S. Treasury bond market is experiencing changes in the buyer structure. Overseas investors have reduced their purchases, requiring domestic investors to bear more demand, but they tend to increase their bond allocations when the stock market is under pressure. Market participants believe that if the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield further rises to around 5.25%, the U.S. fiscal sector may begin to feel pressure, because excessively high long-term interest rates may affect stock valuations and financial market stability.
Some analysts believe that long-term U.S. Treasury bond yields continue to remain high, which means that the pressure on the U.S. government to repay debt and control fiscal costs will further increase in the future. The scale of U.S. debt is now close to $40 trillion, and long-term investors have begun to re-evaluate U.S. debt allocation strategies. Brij Khurana, fixed income fund manager at Wellington Management Company, said that the U.S. Treasury bond market is experiencing changes in the buyer structure. Overseas investors have reduced their purchases, requiring domestic investors to bear more demand, but they tend to increase their bond allocations when the stock market is under pressure. Market participants believe that if the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield further rises to around 5.25%, the U.S. fiscal sector may begin to feel pressure, because excessively high long-term interest rates may affect stock valuations and financial market stability.