Tonight, the "Black Swan" strikes! U.S. stocks plummeted across the board, but memory chip stocks bucked the trend and rose
[Introduction] Another "black swan" appears in the Middle East. Hello everyone, the US stock market collapsed tonight. Let's take a look at what happened. On the evening of July 23, U.S. stocks plummeted, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 600 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index falling nearly 3%, and the S&P 500 Index falling about 1.5%. The Nasdaq 100 index, which is more concentrated in technology stocks, fell more than 2%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which is dominated by AI hardware, did not drop as much, only falling by about 1.5%. It can be seen from the above trends that the US technology sector has once again differentiated.
[Introduction] Another "black swan" appears in the Middle East Hello everyone, the U.S. stock market crashed tonight, let’s take a look at what’s going on. On the evening of July 23, U.S. stocks plummeted, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling more than 600 points, the Nasdaq Composite Index falling nearly 3%, and the S&P 500 Index falling about 1.5%. The Nasdaq 100 index, which is more concentrated in technology stocks, fell more than 2%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, which is dominated by AI hardware, did not drop as much, only falling by about 1.5%. It can be seen from the above trends that the US technology sector has once again differentiated. Looking at individual stocks, the "Seven Sisters" of U.S. stocks borne most of the decline, with Tesla plunging more than 14% and Google plunging more than 7%. The memory chip sector bucked the trend and rose. SK Hynix and Micron Technology rose about 3%, and SanDisk rose nearly 2%. There are two reasons for tonight's plunge. One is the "black swan" in the Middle East, and the other is the impact of Google's financial report. The conflict in the Middle East escalated and oil prices soared. Meanwhile, investors are assessing the latest quarterly results from two of the world's largest companies. Soaring oil prices put further pressure on stocks. Yemen's Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran, claimed to have attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in the Red Sea, triggering market concerns about the further expansion of conflicts in the Middle East. Oil prices also rose further after U.S. President Trump threatened to bomb Iranian infrastructure. Trump posted on Truth Social: "From now on, whenever Iran fires on any ship in the Strait of Hormuz, whether using missiles, rockets, drones, or any other device or weapon, the United States will bomb and destroy a bridge or a power plant, including those located near or within the capital of Tehran." Brent and U.S. crude prices both rose to their highest levels since before the U.S. and Iran reached a truce agreement last month. In addition, the latest news shows that Trump said that he is seriously considering relaunching large-scale military operations in Iran, including more severe strikes than during "Epic Fury". Trump acknowledged the decision would have consequences and stressed he had not yet made a final decision. Trump gave no deadline for the decision. Two other U.S. officials confirmed that no orders had been received and no new instructions had been given to the military. Trump said: "I am considering launching a large-scale attack on an unprecedented scale. I am close to making a decision and we are ready for it." Trump said that if he asked, Israel "will join the war in two minutes," but he also emphasized that "we do not need anyone" to launch new military operations against Iran. He also said that Israel would face some "consequences" if it participated in the strike, suggesting that Iran may take retaliatory measures against Israel. Some analysts said: "Inflation remains the market's biggest concern. As the situation in the Middle East continues to escalate, Brent crude oil prices continue to rise. The mutual attacks between the United States and Iran show no signs of easing. The Houthi armed forces said they attacked two oil tankers in the Red Sea yesterday, which intensified the market's concerns about the expansion of the scope of the conflict. As a result, oil prices were pushed to a seven-week high, and it also triggered market speculation about further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve." Samir Samana of Wells Fargo Investment Institute said: "Escalating tensions in the Middle East have pushed up crude oil prices, raising concerns that inflation could reaccelerate and delay a rate cut, possibly even forcing the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates. We think oil prices will eventually return to normal, but things may get worse before the situation improves." With only a few days left before the Federal Reserve's interest rate meeting, currency markets show that traders currently believe that the probability of the Fed raising interest rates at the July meeting is about 35%, while the probability was only about 10% a week ago. The market has fully priced in expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September at the latest. Gennady Goldberg of TD Securities said: "We think the risk of the Fed deciding to raise interest rates later this year is indeed quite high, but the market pricing of a rate hike at next week's meeting looks too aggressive. The Fed may want to wait and see how core inflation moves in the coming months before deciding whether to raise rates." The stock market was also dragged down by a 7% plunge in Google shares. Google's parent company raised its 2026 capital expenditure forecast to a maximum of $205 billion and said demand for artificial intelligence remains strong.
In recent months, investors have become more cautious about the huge expenditures on artificial intelligence by ultra-large-scale cloud computing companies. This further increase in capital expenditures has also intensified market concerns. Tesla shares fell more than 13%. The electric car maker's second-quarter profit fell sharply short of market expectations. During the reporting period, the company's operating expenses also grew faster than revenue growth.
In recent months, investors have become more cautious about the huge expenditures on artificial intelligence by ultra-large-scale cloud computing companies. This further increase in capital expenditures has also intensified market concerns. Tesla shares fell more than 13%. The electric car maker's second-quarter profit fell sharply short of market expectations. During the reporting period, the company's operating expenses also grew faster than revenue growth.