Major U.S. stock indices declined overall on the night of May 21st. The Dow Jones Industrial Average saw a slight dip, while the Nasdaq Composite fell by approximately 0.5%.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index traded near flat.
Technology stocks showed a divergence in performance. The storage chip sector experienced a collective surge. Seagate Technology rose over 7%, SanDisk gained more than 5%, Western Digital advanced nearly 4%, and Micron Technology increased over 2%.
Optical communication concept stocks also saw sharp gains. Lumentum Holdings jumped over 9%, and Corning rose nearly 5%.
Conversely, Intel dropped more than 3%, AMD declined over 2%, and Nvidia fell more than 1.5%. Regarding Nvidia, the company not only easily surpassed Wall Street expectations for revenue and profit but also raised its performance guidance and announced an increase in its quarterly cash dividend to $0.25 per share. However, driven by the AI boom, investors have grown accustomed to Nvidia's pattern of "exceeding expectations and raising guidance." Consequently, despite the impressive earnings report, it failed to deliver additional surprises.
In other news, progress on U.S.-Iran negotiations continues to fluctuate. While Iran stated that the latest proposal submitted by the U.S. has narrowed differences to some extent, reports emerged that Iran plans to keep uranium within its borders, which the market interpreted as a potential setback for any peace agreement. Subsequently, a reversal occurred. According to Al Jazeera, a senior Iranian official denied reports that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had issued a new order requiring enriched uranium to remain in Iran, calling it "enemy propaganda." The official added, "No new order has been issued. Tehran's position has always been consistent—Iran will dilute these materials itself, and this will also be a topic for the next phase of negotiations." Furthermore, Iran is discussing with Oman how to establish a permanent fee mechanism to formally assert its control over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that establishing a toll system in the Strait of Hormuz would make a diplomatic agreement unfeasible. He later indicated some progress and positive signs on the Iran issue.
Shares of the established tech giant IBM surged over 7%. Reports indicate that the U.S. government has agreed to provide IBM with $1 billion in funding to build a wafer fabrication plant for producing quantum computing chips. This is part of a broader U.S. strategy to strengthen its leadership position in emerging industries.
Additionally, the Turkish stock market plummeted, triggering a circuit breaker mechanism. This follows a landmark court ruling in Turkey to remove the leader of the country's largest opposition party. This move could further consolidate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's power but may also trigger political instability and once again impact financial markets. The market reacted swiftly, with Turkey's benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 index falling over 6%, triggering a market-wide trading halt.
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