Financial Daily: U.S. chip stocks rebound, but divergence persists; KOSPI triggers circuit breakers, Middle East tensions ease, global market uncertainty intensifies

- Key Focus

– South Korea's KOSPI index closed down more than 8%, triggering circuit breakers twice during the session

– Iran and Israel have temporarily ceased fire

– A U.S. federal judge ruled that Trump’s increase in H-1B visa fees was unlawful

– Apple unveiled its next-generation Siri AI and a suite of software upgrades; however, shares plunged intraday as the announcement fell short of market expectations

Content compiled by 'Harbor Family Office,' a subsidiary of Henry Jia Group. It does not constitute any investment or trading advice. Stay tuned.

- Stock Market

[U.S. Markets] The three major U.S. equity indices ended mixed, with semiconductor stocks rebounding

On Monday, tensions in the Middle East eased somewhat. Crude oil prices gave back most of their earlier gains after an initial rally. The three major U.S. equity indices ended mixed: semiconductor and tech stocks, which had plummeted on Friday, attracted significant bargain hunting, driving rebounds in chip stocks and lifting the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to close higher, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average edged slightly lower. However, declining stocks still outnumbered advancing ones within the S&P 500, indicating the market hasn’t fully turned positive yet. Persistent concerns over interest rate hikes remain a key worry for investors, although market panic has somewhat subsided.

At the close, the S&P 500 rose 0.30% to 7,405.73 points; the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.86% to 25,929.663 points; the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.16% to 50,786.01 points. The VIX fear gauge dropped 12.04% to 18.92 points. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged 5.61% to 12,906.693 points.

The index of the Magnificent Seven U.S. tech stocks closed down 0.22%. Among them, Tesla rose 4.59%, NVIDIA gained 1.73%, Amazon fell 0.33%, Microsoft dropped 1.18%, Meta and Google each declined more than 1.2%, and Apple, which plunged intraday, ultimately closed down 1.56%. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index fell 0.62% to 6,323.38 points. Among notable Chinese ADRs, Meituan declined about 3%, Baidu dropped over 2%, and Li Auto rose approximately 2.4%. In individual stocks, Taiwan Semiconductor gained 2.77%, and Circle rose 2.75%.

[European Markets] Major European equity indices ended mixed, trading near previous session closing levels

On Monday, major European equity indices ended mixed, generally fluctuating modestly around the prior session's closing levels. At the close, the pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.15% to 621.73 points, while the Euro STOXX 50 index edged up 0.01% to 6,062.29 points.

Germany's DAX 30 index fell 0.58% to close at 24,616.22 points; France's CAC 40 index declined 0.23% to close at 8,199.29 points; the UK's FTSE 100 index rose 0.05% to close at 10,373.20 points; and Italy's FTSE MIB index gained 0.63% to close at 50,208.13 points.

[Asian Markets] Asian equities broadly declined on Wednesday, with South Korea’s benchmark index plunging and triggering circuit breakers twice during the session.

Asian stock markets broadly declined under the impact of last Friday’s sharp selloff in U.S. equities, particularly technology stocks, with South Korea’s benchmark index triggering circuit breakers twice intraday. At the close, Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 3.85% to 64,024.60 points; South Korea’s KOSPI plunged 8.29% to 7,484.41 points; Singapore’s Straits Times Index fell 1.65% to 4,966.47 points; and Thailand’s SET Index declined 1.32% to 1,561.68 points.

[Hong Kong Market] Hong Kong stocks continued their downward trend, with all three major indices falling more than 1%.

Hong Kong stocks came under pressure and declined on Monday, with all three major indices finishing lower and the Hang Seng Tech Index falling nearly 3.5%. At the close, the Hang Seng Index dropped 1.74% to 24,527.93 points; the Hang Seng Tech Index slid 3.48% to 4,718.29 points; and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.64% to 8,298.33 points. In sector performance, semiconductor stocks—hit hard by last Friday’s U.S. market selloff—underperformed, with Montage Technology down 5.80% and GigaDevice falling nearly 3.9%. AI application-related stocks also saw significant pullbacks, with MINIEYE and Qunhoo Tech each dropping over 12%, MINIMAX falling 8.14%, and Baidu Group declining 7.64%. Gold stocks tumbled broadly as gold prices were pressured by the ICE U.S. Dollar Index rising above the 100 mark, with Zijin Mining International and Jihai Gold each falling over 8.5%, and Lingbao Gold and Zhufeng Gold down around 7%.

[A-Share Market] Mainland China’s A-share market saw a notable pullback, with all three major indices closing lower.

Mainland China’s A-share market experienced a significant correction, led by tech stocks dragging all three major indices into negative territory, with both the Shenzhen Component Index and ChiNext Index falling more than 3%. At the close, the Shanghai Composite Index declined 1.70% to 3,959.34 points; the Shenzhen Component Index dropped 3.22% to 14,821.19 points; and the ChiNext Index slumped 3.69% to 3,811.79 points. Across sectors, tech stocks suffered broad-based losses, with Novanex and Dongwei Semiconductor each down nearly 11.4%, and nearly 20 stocks falling over 8%. Optical module stocks generally weakened, with Keli Tech and Eoptolink hitting their daily trading limits on the downside. On the other hand, the robotics sector gained strength after NVIDIA and OpenAI signaled strategic moves into humanoid robots, with Ningbo Donly surging to its daily limit, Zhongda Lide rising 9.72%, and Leader Harmonious Drive up 8.97%. Sectors including chips, semiconductors, commercial aerospace, AI computing infrastructure, and fintech all pulled back.

- Bonds

[U.S. Treasuries] U.S. Treasury yields moved higher with volatility, with the 10-year yield rising by 2.79 basis points.

U.S. Treasury yields moved higher with volatility. At the New York close, the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose by 2.79 basis points to 4.5582%, while the two-year yield increased by 0.85 basis points to 4.1555%.

[Non-U.S. Bond Markets] Sovereign bond yields in major European countries broadly rose, with France’s 10-year yield surging nearly 15 basis points.

Sovereign bond yields in major European countries broadly rose. Germany’s 10-year yield climbed 2.2 basis points to 3.060%, and its two-year yield rose 1.4 basis points to 2.706%. The UK’s 10-year yield gained 4.0 basis points to 4.943%. France’s 10-year yield jumped 14.6 basis points, Italy’s 10-year yield rose 3.3 basis points, and Spain’s 10-year yield increased by 2.8 basis points.

[China Bond Market] Treasury futures declined across the board on Monday

On Monday, treasury futures declined across the board. As of the close, the front-month 30-year treasury contract fell 0.25%, the 10-year treasury contract dropped 0.10%, the 5-year contract declined 0.07%, and the 2-year contract slipped 0.01%.

– Foreign exchange

[US Dollar] The US dollar weakened slightly, with the ICE Dollar Index still closing above the 100 mark

The US dollar saw minor fluctuations on Monday. At the New York close, the ICE Dollar Index fell 0.05% to 100.017, briefly dipping below the 100 level during the session; the Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index declined 0.06% to 1,211.11.

The US dollar was broadly modestly stronger against major global currencies. It fell 0.04% against the Japanese yen to JPY 160.23, remaining firmly above the 160 level. The euro rose slightly against the dollar to USD 1.1531, while sterling edged up to USD 1.3390.

[Renminbi] The offshore yuan traded at 6.7847 per US dollar

At the New York close, the offshore renminbi weakened by 60 pips from the previous session's close, trading at 6.7847 per US dollar. The onshore renminbi depreciated by 132 pips from the prior day’s close, ending at 6.7844 per US dollar.

[Digital Assets] Cryptocurrencies rebounded, with Bitcoin rising about 2.6%

Cryptocurrencies reversed course on Monday, turning losses into gains. Bitcoin rose approximately 2.6% to above USD 64,000, recovering about 4% from its intraday low.

– Products

[Energy] With Middle East tensions easing somewhat, US crude oil futures prices rose 0.8%

Oil prices, which had risen more than 5% intraday, gave back gains after Israel and Iran halted hostilities under mediation by U.S. President Trump. At the New York close, U.S. crude futures rose 0.8%, settling at $91.30 per barrel; Brent crude futures gained 1.3%, settling at $94.25 per barrel.

[Precious Metals] Precious and non-ferrous metal prices saw minor fluctuations

Precious Metals:Gold prices fluctuated lower. At the New York close, spot gold was essentially flat compared to the previous session, trading at $4,326.91 per ounce; COMEX gold futures declined 0.34%, settling at $4,350.30 per ounce.

Metals Futures Market:At the New York close, spot silver rose 0.45% to $68.1553 per ounce; COMEX silver futures fell 1.25% to $68.250 per ounce; COMEX copper futures gained 0.6% to $6.3315 per pound; spot platinum rose 1.2%, while spot palladium declined 0.8%.

[Disclaimer]

The above content is provided by Harbor Family Office (hereinafter referred to as "Harbor Family Office"), summarized from various market information sources. Harbor Family Office and its group members did not participate in preparing the content nor explicitly or implicitly endorse it. This article is for reference only and does not constitute any investment or trading advice. Investment involves risks. Readers should independently assess and judge this material and are advised to seek professional opinions before making any related investments or trades. Without authorization, no one may reproduce, copy, or publish this content in whole or in part to the public in any manner. Copyright belongs to Harbor Family Office and related providers.

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