On the evening of May 21, Beijing time, futures for the three major U.S. stock indices turned lower across the board. As of 6:40 PM, Dow futures were down 0.28%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.42%, and Nasdaq futures declined 0.59%.
Chip stocks mostly advanced in pre-market trading. Micron Technology and ARM rose over 2%, while SanDisk and Marvell Technology gained more than 1%. Nvidia increased by approximately 0.7%, with Seagate Technology and Western Digital also moving higher. Intel and AMD, which had surged significantly the previous night, retreated in pre-market activity.
Quantum computing stocks saw a collective pre-market rally. IBM surged 8%, while RGTI, QBTS, and QUBT jumped over 10%. Reports indicate the U.S. will allocate $2 billion to nine quantum computing companies, with the government receiving equity stakes.
Among U.S.-listed Chinese stocks, NIO Inc. (NIO) rose nearly 5% pre-market. The company reported an operating profit of 668 million yuan for the first quarter, marking its second consecutive quarter of profitability. Total revenue for the quarter reached 25.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 112.2%. Other popular Chinese stocks weakened, with Alibaba and Baidu falling over 4%, Bilibili down nearly 4%, and KE Holdings and NetEase declining more than 3%.
Gold and silver experienced a short-term sell-off. As of 6:40 PM, spot gold was down over 0.7% on the day, trading above $4,500 per ounce. Spot silver losses widened to 1.6%, quoted at $74.61 per ounce.
International oil prices surged sharply. WTI crude and ICE Brent crude both rose over 2%. WTI crude reclaimed the $100 per barrel level, while ICE Brent crude surpassed $107 per barrel. Reports citing Iranian media stated that Iran is responding to a U.S. negotiation text, currently discussing its "general framework, some details, and trust-building measures as guarantees." The report noted the U.S. text has somewhat "narrowed differences," but further progress requires the U.S. to abandon its "war tendency."
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