Andy Chen

Three regional Fed presidents supporting a rate hike at the policy meeting, along with President Trump’s statement that the U.S. military would respond forcefully to Iran, dampened market sentiment. The three major U.S. indices saw losses widen following the meeting, with memory and chip stocks leading the declines while software stocks showed resilience. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.19% to 51,594.14 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.74% to 24,442.94 points; and the S&P 500 Index fell 1.52% to 7,316.15 points.

On July 29, Eastern Time, the Federal Reserve announced the results of its July interest rate decision. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted 9-3 to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.5%–3.75%, in line with mainstream market expectations. Notably, this meeting saw a rare three dissenting votes against maintaining the current interest rate, marking the first time since 2016 that the Fed has recorded three dissents in the same direction within a single policy decision.

On July 29 (ET), Tesla (TSLA) fell below the $300 mark, hitting a near one-year low. Reportedly, during an earnings call, Tesla executives stated that the production line for the Optimus humanoid robot in Fremont will start at the end of 2026, with a long-term planned annual capacity of 1 million units, while the second line in Texas has a long-term total annual capacity target of 10 million units. However, Ross Gerber, CEO of investment firm Gerber Kawasaki, warned that it may take a long time for Elon Musk to achieve commercial success with the Tesla Optimus robot, as it is not only difficult to manufacture but also unlikely to generate revenue in the short term.

On July 29, Eastern Time, driven by the continuous escalation of geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and significantly heightened risks to the global energy supply chain, international crude oil prices reversed their recent downward trend and rose once again. As events such as the Yemeni Houthi rebels' attack on Saudi tankers and joint US-Saudi strikes against pro-Iranian militias in Iraq continued to unfold, the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea—two critical shipping routes—faced simultaneous pressure. Rapidly mounting market concerns regarding crude oil supply disruptions led to a renewed strengthening of oil prices. As of press time, Brent crude (UKOIL) rose 6.64%, reclaiming the $90 threshold, while WTI crude (USOIL) rose 6.61% to $84.5.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose approximately 600 points, boosted by strong corporate earnings, falling oil prices, and sector rotation from the semiconductor industry to other areas. Memory and chip stocks extended yesterday's losses, while software stocks rebounded. Investors are focused on tomorrow's Federal Reserve interest rate decision and the technology earnings reports scheduled for this week.

On July 28, ET, international crude oil prices fell further, marking the official entry of oil prices into a correction phase. Brent crude (UKOIL) saw losses widen to over 5%, while WTI crude (USOIL) dropped more than 4%, reflecting the market re-pricing the prospects of easing supply risks in the Middle East.

On July 28 ET, Micron (MU) lost the $800 level during intraday trading, hitting a low of $789.09, its lowest point since late May. Jefferies analysts stated in a research report that memory chip prices may be nearing their peak. Although the market expects third-quarter memory chip prices to rise by another 25%-30% quarter-on-quarter, Jefferies' latest industry checks suggest a more moderate increase of between 15% and 20%.

On July 28, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices diverged. The sell-off in chip stocks continued to intensify, and AI hardware stocks extended their recent declines. The Dow Jones Industrial Average strengthened, while the Nasdaq 100 Index fell more than 1% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped over 5%.

On July 28, Eastern Time, impacted by today’s slump in South Korean stocks, SK Hynix ADR (SKHY) fell below the $130 psychological level to hit a new record low since listing. As of publication, SK Hynix was down 8.76% at $130.49.

TradingKey - Nvidia is advancing AI infrastructure deals totaling $750 billion, and the successful listing of Chinese memory manufacturer ChangXin has impacted AI hardware stocks. The three major U.S. stock indices ended mixed, with memory and chip stocks leading the declines, while cloud providers and software stocks rose against the trend. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.51% to 52,210.08 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.18% to 24,932.08 points; and the S&P 500 Index rose 0.02% to 7,413.18 points.

ASML shares fell over 8%, hitting their lowest level since early June. As of press time, the stock remained down 5.56%, trading at $1,659.32. According to a report by The Information, a Shanghai state-backed enterprise has commenced mass production of immersion DUV lithography machines, with plans to produce 5 units this year and expand output to 20 units next year. Although mass production is still in its early stages, the development has triggered market concerns regarding ASML's monopoly position.

On July 27, Eastern Time, Nvidia (NVDA) fell over 5%, marking its largest decline since February 2026. The stock price broke through multiple moving averages from 5 to 120 days, reaching a low of $195.44. Reportedly, Nvidia and South Korea's SK Group announced an AI cooperation agreement exceeding $500 billion last Friday evening. Meanwhile, the company is in negotiations with OpenAI over a guarantee agreement valued at up to $250 billion to assist the latter in leasing a data center project in Ohio developed by a SoftBank subsidiary.

Amazon (AMZN) has officially submitted an application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), planning to launch up to 5,105 internet satellites to construct a direct-to-device (D2D) space network. In April this year, Amazon announced the acquisition of satellite operator Globalstar for approximately $11.6 billion, securing the latter's satellite resources and spectrum licenses. The core logic of a D2D network is straightforward: providing network connectivity directly to mobile phones and other devices via satellite, bypassing traditional terrestrial base stations.

On July 27, Eastern Time, Apple (AAPL) shares hit a new all-time high, reaching a peak of $339.57. Its total market capitalization reached $4.96 trillion, once again surpassing Nvidia's (NVDA) $4.8 trillion market value. Apple is scheduled to report its latest quarterly earnings after the market close on July 30. Media reports indicate that institutional capital in the options market is aggressively purchasing in-the-money call options, while speculative funds are betting the stock price will break past record highs by this Friday. Meanwhile, the post-earnings move implied by options pricing is near 4%, far exceeding the average historical volatility level of approximately 1% over the past year.

On July 27 Eastern Time, SanDisk (SNDK) fell by more than 14% intraday to a low of $1,226.9, hitting its lowest level since early May. It is reported that Chinese memory chip company ChangXin Technology went public today, completing an $8.6 billion initial public offering (IPO). The stock surged 466% on its first day of trading, reflecting market confidence in the growth of China's memory chip market share.

Since SpaceX (SPCX) listed on June 12, its share price has seen a retracement of over 40% from its post-IPO high. Currently hovering around $116, it remains below its $135 offering price. As the sentiment anchor for the entire space sector, the correction in SpaceX quickly spread to the broader industry. In fact, the aerospace sector has recorded a one-sided downward trend since SpaceX's listing on June 12. The Roundhill Space & Technology ETF (MARS), which tracks space themes, fell 8% on the day of SpaceX’s listing and has seen a cumulative decline of approximately 23% over the past month, with more than half of its top 10 holdings being dragged down.

Investors are still evaluating the latest developments in the Middle East conflict, and the three major U.S. stock indices closed mixed. Memory and chip stocks led the declines, while software stocks bucked the trend to strengthen. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.46% to 51,947.25 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.64% to 24,975.82 points; and the S&P 500 Index rose 0.05% to 7,411.98 points.

On July 24, Eastern Time, Intel (INTC) shares fell more than 5% during intraday trading, dropping below the $100 psychological level following the release of its Q2 2026 financial results. Although Intel's earnings and guidance were significantly better than expected, causing after-hours shares to surge by double digits at one point, the market subsequently shifted its focus to the "significant upward revision of capital expenditures." As a result, the gains narrowed sharply, and the stock later turned negative.

On July 24 ET, Apple (AAPL) shares once again neared an all-time high of $344.99. Apple is scheduled to report its third-quarter financial results on July 30. Bank of America expects the quarterly performance to exceed Wall Street consensus, forecasting revenue of $109 billion and earnings per share of $1.89. Both metrics are slightly above the consensus estimates of $108 billion and $1.87 per share. Based on these projections, Apple's year-on-year revenue growth would be 16%, approaching the upper end of the company's guidance range of 14%–17%.

Nvidia (NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang made his first post on the social media platform X on Friday, calling for open-source AI models. The post noted that early open-source pioneers broke the traditional notion that software progress relies solely on companies strictly controlling their code, instead establishing a transparent ecosystem that global developers can study, modify, and improve. Today, open-source software supports most of the internet, the core systems of the world's largest technology companies, and even critical missions for the U.S. military and federal agencies.