Analysis

TradingKey - During the week of May 18 ET, SpaceX will launch a 5-for-1 stock split, clearing high-price barriers for the world’s largest-ever IPO. Boosted by the news, the U.S. commercial space sector opened higher across the board on Monday.

TradingKey - The Nikkei 225 Index edged up 0.6% at the open, with intraday gains steadily expanding to 1%. In contrast, South Korea's KOSPI Index exhibited a weak consolidation pattern, falling 1.2% early in the session before intensified selling pressure pushed the decline to 2%.

U.S. tech stocks fell on AI bubble fears and semiconductor pressure, while the Dow rose. Geopolitically, Trump postponed an Iran military strike at the request of Gulf allies, easing crude oil prices. Meanwhile, Nvidia began mass shipping its agent-specific Vera CPUs to top AI laboratories.

TradingKey - OpenAI plans to launch its IPO in the fourth quarter of 2026, with market valuation expectations near $8,520. Previously, OpenAI's valuation once crossed the trillion-dollar threshold. However, due to order uncertainty, internal governance controversies, Elon Musk's lawsuit, and regulatory investigations, its valuation has seen a significant drawdown following a capital market repricing. These events are casting substantial uncertainty over the upcoming IPO.

TradingKey - Micron Technology has become one of the biggest winners of AI in the semiconductor industry. Previously viewed mostly as a cyclical manufacturer of memory chips, Wall Street is now starting to see Micron as an important AI infrastructure company.

TradingKey - Elon Musk's SpaceX plans to officially list on June 12, which would mark the largest IPO in global market history. Reuters reports that the company intends to release its prospectus as early as Wednesday. Prior to the listing, the third-generation Starship (Starship V3)—the largest and most powerful launch vehicle to date—is scheduled for its maiden test flight this Tuesday (May 19) ET. This test may be critical for the upcoming IPO.

TradingKey - Nvidia CEO at Trump-Xi Beijing summit, $40B AI investments, IREN gigawatt deal. Q1 FY2027 May 20: $78–79B revenue expected, $300–$320 analyst targets. NVDA at $225, Fib 0.236 support.

TradingKey - Impacted by the US-Iraq War, oil prices continued to climb, with Brent crude breaking above $111 per barrel and WTI crude rising to approximately $108. The surge in oil prices exacerbated the sell-off in the bond market, sending US Treasury yields higher across the board, with the 30-year yield reaching its highest level in nearly three years. Volatility was even more pronounced in the Japanese bond market, where the 10-year JGB yield touched its highest level since 1996, and the 30-year JGB yield hit a record high since the tenor was first issued in 1999.

TradingKey - SpaceX IPO targets June 12, 2026 on Nasdaq (SPCX). Raising up to $75B at $1.75T valuation — largest IPO in history. Starlink 9M+ users, $15–16B 2025 revenue. Dual-class shares. Musk keeps control.

TradingKey - According to South Korean media reports, Samsung has "decisively won" against the labor union, even though the planned strike has not yet commenced. On May 18, management and labor at Samsung Electronics initiated a second round of post-dispute mediation. Although the court approved part of the injunction application filed by Samsung, it ordered the union in South Korea to ensure that the strike does not impact the company’s production volume. Samsung’s stock price fell nearly 3.1% during Monday’s intraday session but reversed course to close nearly 4% higher. Does this mean Samsung has emerged victorious from the labor-management conflict, or has the dispute merely exposed deeper internal contradictions within the company?

TradingKey - During Monday's (May 18) Asian trading session, the 10-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yield climbed to 2.8%, hitting a new high of approximately 29.5 years since October 1996. Last Friday (May 15), the 30-year JGB yield broke above 4% for the first time in history. The yield continued to reach new highs on Monday, peaking at 4.205%.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on May 18, a court suddenly halted global memory chip giant Samsung Electronics' planned 18-day general strike just three days before its scheduled commencement.

Cisco Systems is transitioning from legacy networking hardware to a secure, software-driven platform ecosystem.

The Trump family trust’s first major entry into the cryptocurrency sector has instantly ignited Wall Street.

Tradingkey - Asian equity markets were mostly lower on Monday, with technology stocks leading the decline. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran escalated over the weekend, while rising safe-haven demand and surging oil prices weighed on market sentiment. Last Friday, U.S. Treasury yields climbed to historical highs, putting broad pressure on U.S. tech stocks; as of writing, U.S. stock index futures remain under pressure. Furthermore, the market is awaiting earnings from AI giant Nvidia (NVDA), scheduled for release this Wednesday (May 20). Investors are looking to the results to gauge whether the global stock market rally driven by artificial intelligence can be sustained.

TradingKey - Walmart (WMT) will release its first-quarter fiscal 2026 earnings report before the market opens on May 21, Eastern Time. Market consensus expects revenue of approximately $174.57 billion, up 5.36% year-on-year, and earnings per share (EPS) of $0.66, up 7.9% year-on-year.

TradingKey - Following the collapse of wage negotiations on May 13, Samsung Electronics and its largest labor union entered a new round of government-mediated talks today (May 18). Should these negotiations fail, the union is scheduled to launch an 18-day strike starting May 21.

Discussions between the U.S. and Israel regarding renewed strikes on Iran have triggered an accelerated pullback in Bitcoin prices; the future rally hinges on whether the $75,000 support level can hold.

Tradingkey - Geopolitical tensions escalated sharply over the weekend. Following the conclusion of Trump's visit to China, tensions between the U.S. and Iran flared up once again. Renewed expectations of a long-term blockade of the Strait of Hormuz pushed both major crude oil futures to nearly two-week highs. As of press time, Brent crude broke above the $110 mark, rising 1.80% to $111.45 per barrel, having touched its highest level since May 5 during intraday trading. WTI crude oil futures rose 2.39% to $103.41 per barrel.

TradingKey - During the early Asian trading session on May 18, the Nikkei 225 Index dropped nearly 1% in early trade as investor concerns over rising global interest rates intensified. Simultaneously, the 10-year Japanese Government Bond (JGB) yield surged to 2.8%, hitting a nearly 30-year high since 1997.