Andy Chen

TradingKey - On July 20, ET, Oracle (ORCL) shares fell as much as 4% at one point, hitting their lowest level since April 2025. As of press time, the stock was down 2.94% to $122.69. It is reported that S&P Global recently downgraded the company's credit rating to BBB—just one notch above junk status. Although the share price recovered slightly from its intraday lows, market debate regarding the veteran tech giant continues.

TradingKey - On July 20, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indices diverged once again. Technology stocks regained their upward momentum, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average declining while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index rose. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained over 2%, with 26 of its 30 components advancing. At the time of publication, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.18% to 52,051.10 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.82% to 25,728.81 points; and the S&P 500 Index rose 0.41% to 7,488.09 points.

TradingKey - On July 20 (ET), chip giant AMD (AMD) is preparing to deliver its first rack-scale AI system, Helios, to customers. According to CNBC, this represents the first true competitor in years to Nvidia’s (NVDA) Blackwell and Vera Rubin systems. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced it will deploy the Helios system in its data centers. AMD will begin shipping to customers, including Microsoft, later this year; specific financial terms and computing scales were not disclosed.

TradingKey - According to a report from The Information citing two people familiar with the matter, Google (GOOGL) is developing a new server chip capable of directly embedding the underlying architecture of the Gemini large model into the chip hardware to significantly enhance the operational efficiency of AI services for users. Internally codenamed "Frozen v2," this AI inference chip directly addresses Google's current severe shortage of AI computing power. Sources revealed that the computing capacity gap has triggered internal resource conflicts and even forced Google Cloud to reject numerous orders from external customers. The research and development team estimates that once the chip is officially deployed, the number of tokens processed per unit of power consumption will be 6 to 10 times that of the latest generation of Google's existing self-developed AI chips.

TradingKey - Against the backdrop of a general pullback in the AI sector, Apple (AAPL) has staged an independent rally, driven by its unique ecosystem moat and robust financial performance. After reaching an all-time high of $323.45 on July 13, the share price hit another record high of $327.5 on Ju

Tradingkey - The Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX (SPCX) is in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Defense to sell computing power. The deal could be valued at billions of dollars, and if finalized, would mark the latest major infrastructure contract for Elon Musk’s integrated rocket, satellite, and artificial intelligence conglomerate. The report noted that the partnership model for this deal is similar to previous agreements SpaceX reached with Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL) and AI firm Anthropic. The negotiations come as the U.S. military seeks to construct data centers within its military bases to bolster its autonomous computing capabilities.

TradingKey - The U.S.-Iran conflict continues to escalate, with both major crude oil benchmarks rising by over 4%. Market focus on upcoming earnings reports next week from tech giants—Google, Tesla, Intel, and SAP—contributed to dismal trading activity. All three major U.S. indices declined as tech stocks faced a sell-off, while memory chip stocks stabilized. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.77% to 52,146.42; the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.40% to 25,520.24; and the S&P 500 Index declined 1.01% to 7,457.69.

TradingKey - Meta Platforms (META) has made substantial progress in the commercialization of its cloud computing infrastructure. According to media reports, Meta is in early-stage talks with leading AI company Anthropic to lease computing resources from its proprietary data centers, a two-year partnership that could be worth up to $10 billion. If finalized, the deal would represent a landmark transaction, marking Meta's transition from using its computing assets solely for internal operations to external commercialization. Driven by the news, Meta's stock price recovered significantly, narrowing from an early-session decline of over 5% to less than 2%. As of press time, shares were down 2.06% at $650.82.

Tradingkey - In early U.S. trading, Apple (AAPL) briefly overtook Nvidia (NVDA) as the world's largest company by market capitalization. Nvidia shares fell as much as 3% in early trading, with its market cap dropping to approximately $4.84 trillion, while Apple's market cap hovered near $4.88 trillion. Both companies' stock prices subsequently rebounded. As of press time, Nvidia's decline narrowed to about 1.5%, with a market cap of $4.95 trillion; Apple rose slightly by 0.08%, with its market cap reaching $4.91 trillion.

TradingKey - Despite multiple institutions raising their price targets for TSMC (TSM) following its strong second-quarter earnings report, the stock fell below the $400 mark today, hitting its lowest level in nearly two months. As of press time, shares were down 2.43% at $399.80. Data shows that the company's second-quarter net profit grew 77% year-on-year, while revenue, gross margin, operating margin, and third-quarter revenue guidance all exceeded market expectations. Meanwhile, the share of advanced process technologies continues to rise, with AI-related orders remaining the primary driver of growth.

Tradingkey - On July 17 (ET), as the conflict between the U.S. and Iran continued to escalate, the two major crude oil futures rose again, returning to price levels seen in mid-June. As of press time, WTI crude futures rose over 3% to $81.05, while Brent crude futures also gained more than 3% to $87.01. The confrontation between the two sides has intensified as the fragile ceasefire agreement signed by the U.S. and Iran last month shows further signs of breaking down.

Tradingkey - Intel (INTC) announced Thursday that it has officially upgraded its multi-year strategic partnership with Google Cloud, a subsidiary of Google (GOOGL), to fully implement Google Cloud’s Gemini Enterprise model across Intel’s internal systems. The deployment covers two major areas—enterprise-wide office productivity and core chip R&D—to accelerate the semiconductor giant's end-to-end digital transformation. Under the agreement, Intel will roll out generative AI capabilities to its global workforce, optimizing the efficiency and scale of traditional workflows such as engineering, supply chain, and corporate operations. Simultaneously, by leveraging Google Cloud’s scalable infrastructure to upgrade its semiconductor R&D environment, Intel aims to compress chip design cycles through customized agent workflows and strengthen cross-departmental collaboration.

Tradingkey - On July 15 ET, the three major U.S. stock indices diverged. The Dow Jones rose independently, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite Index retreated. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index tumbled more than 4%, with all 30 constituents declining across the board. At the time of publication, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.17% at 52,745.56; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.84% to 26,048.62; and the S&P 500 Index dropped 0.23% to 7,554.93.

TradingKey - Micron Technology (MU) has officially expanded its core AI memory strategy from data centers to the intelligent connected vehicle sector. By signing long-term strategic customer agreements with Qualcomm, Hyundai, and several leading automotive technology suppliers, the company has secured downstream demand for high-end automotive memory and completed its full-scenario AI memory business portfolio. As the automotive industry accelerates its transition toward software-defined vehicles (SDV), the continuous iteration of in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and high-level intelligent vehicle features is driving rapid growth in demand for advanced memory performance and capacity. Consequently, long-term supply stability and predictability have become core requirements for automakers and the supply chain.

Tradingkey - On July 16, spot gold prices declined as US Treasury yields climbed and oil prices resumed their rally amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran. Following a US strike against Iran in retaliation for attacks on merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the armed conflict has intensified. Iran responded forcefully, warning that it would close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the US attacks its power infrastructure. In an interview on Tuesday night, Trump reportedly stated that the US military would launch strikes on Iran's critical infrastructure next week if no diplomatic breakthrough is achieved.

TradingKey - US inflation data continued to cool, boosting market expectations that the Federal Reserve will not need to raise interest rates significantly this year. The three major US stock indices all finished higher as mega-cap tech stocks strengthened, though chip and memory stocks faced a market sell-off. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29% to 52,658.64 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.62% to 26,269.23 points; and the S&P 500 Index climbed 0.38% to 7,572.40 points.

TradingKey - The latest Federal Reserve Beige Book shows that the U.S. economy continued to expand at a "slight to modest" pace from late May through June, with 11 out of 12 districts reporting growth, a performance slightly better than the previous period. On the macroeconomic front, the Beige Book indicated that the U.S. economy maintained a steady tone during the reporting period. Several districts reported that robust data center construction and machinery demand directly drove modest expansion in the manufacturing and construction sectors. In districts like San Francisco, while companies have reduced hiring, they are further directing capital into the AI field.

Tradingkey - Apple (AAPL) shares hit a new all-time high, reaching a peak of $328.53. As of publication, the stock was up 4.16% at $327.97. Reportedly, Apple has cleared a critical regulatory hurdle regarding AI compliance in China. On July 15, the Cyberspace Administration of China released its latest list of filings for on-device generative AI services, with seven AI products approved, including "Apple Intelligence."

TradingKey - According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, Anthropic is moving forward with preparations for a mega IPO, with a potential listing as early as this October. Lead investment banks for the offering have begun arranging investor meetings for the coming weeks, and the company has previously submitted a confidential IPO filing.

TradingKey - On July 15, Eastern Time, Intel (INTC) shares are approaching the $100 mark; as of press time, the stock was down 5.55% at $101.78. On the news front, Intel has made significant progress in its next-generation process technologies, including 18A and 14A. The yield for Intel's 18A process has increased from 65% in the previous quarter to 85%, second only to the 90% yield of TSMC’s N2 process. However, a research report from BofA Securities shows that although server CPU demand remains strong in 2026, Intel's market share is expected to drop from 41% to 24% amid a new round of competition in the server CPU market.