Analysis

TradingKey - U.S. stocks fell as stalled U.S.-Iran talks pushed oil prices and Treasury yields higher. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite dropped to their lowest levels in more than a week, while the Dow approached a three-month low.

TradingKey - On September 29, Japanese and South Korean stock markets showed weak performance in early trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index (JPN225) opened down 0.49% at 65,557.99 points, later narrowing its decline to 0.37% at 65,636.03 points; South Korea's KOSPI Index opened 0.7% lower at 6,844.41 points, subsequently trimming its drop to 0.25% at 6,872.71 points.

U.S. stocks fell across the board on Monday, weighed down by news of OpenAI slowing model training and a sharp rise in U.S. Treasury yields. AI hardware stocks faced a sell-off, with memory, chip, and optical communication stocks leading the declines.

Anthropic announced the launch of its new model, Claude Sonnet 5.5. As the second product in the Claude 5.5 series, it delivers an output speed more than 30% faster than the previous-generation Sonnet 5, requires fewer tokens to complete the same task, and reduces single-task costs by up to 30%.

On September 28, Eastern Time, Al Jazeera reported that the United States is willing to consider easing sanctions on Iran and unfreezing frozen assets if "concrete progress" is made on the Iranian nuclear issue. U.S. officials stated that the U.S. and Iran are engaged in active discussions through intermediaries, but no agreement will be reached if the nuclear issue cannot be resolved.

On September 28 Eastern Time, the three major US stock indexes fell across the board, with the Nasdaq Composite Index dropping over 1% and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling more than 3%. At the sector level, AI hardware stocks plummeted, with chip, memory, and optical communications stocks all suffering sell-offs. Among them, SK Hynix (SKHY) fell 6.20%, SanDisk (SNDK) dropped 6.05%, and Micron Technology (MU) slid 4.22%. Qualcomm (QCOM) fell 6.71%, Intel (INTC) dropped 6.18%, AMD (AMD) slid 5.37%, Marvell Technology (MRVL) declined 4.81%, and Corning (GLW) fell 4.50%.

TradingKey - Amgen’s latest Sjögren’s trial success adds to its pipeline, while Repatha growth and MariTide trials shape the AMGN stock outlook for 2026.

On September 28, Eastern Time, Tesla (TSLA) shares fell 3%, with the company expected to release its third-quarter 2026 delivery figures on October 2. Investment banks JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs both lowered their delivery forecasts, primarily due to weaker-than-expected performance in the U.S. and Chinese markets. Additionally, the Trump administration's plan to relax fuel efficiency standards has introduced policy variables to its automotive business.

TradingKey - Texas Instruments shares head toward Q3 earnings after stronger industrial and data-center demand. Assess TI’s guidance, dividend, cash flow and Silicon Labs deal.

TradingKey - SpaceX (SPCX) stock has recently remained volatile as the market's short-term focus shifts toward the latest Starship launch mission. According to SpaceX's official website, the 75-minute launch window for Starship Flight 14 will open at 8:15 a.m. Eastern Time, with the launch taking place at SpaceX's Starbase facility in Texas. As Starship testing gradually transitions from validating flight capabilities to orbital operations and satellite deployment, the outcome of this mission could serve as a key event impacting short-term sentiment for SPCX.

TradingKey - Nvidia (NVDA) announced on Monday that its board of directors has approved an additional $150 billion share repurchase authorization on top of its existing buyback program, bringing the company's total remaining authorization to $235 billion. This marks the largest buyback authorization increase in Nvidia's history, which the company expects to utilize by the end of fiscal year 2028. Following the announcement, Nvidia shares rose nearly 2% in pre-market trading on Monday.

TradingKey - Costco stock rebounded after Q4 earnings. Examine comparable sales, membership growth, tariff refunds, valuation and what to watch next.

TradingKey - On Monday, September 28 (Eastern Time), futures on the three major US stock indices fell across the board in pre-market trading. US President Trump rejected a peace proposal from Iran, sending international oil prices surging again and fueling simultaneous concerns over energy inflation and Federal Reserve rate hikes. US Treasury yields broke above 5.2%, putting pressure on tech stocks and other high-valuation assets. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting the release of US PCE inflation and non-farm payrolls data later this week.

TradingKey - Microsoft’s new Copilot features and strong Azure growth support the AI case, but more than $50 billion of Q1 capex raises the bar for returns.

TradingKey - As of the close on September 25, Eastern Time, AMD (AMD) shares hit another record high, closing at $630.63 after reaching an intraday high of $639, up 0.22% for the day. AMD previously surged on September 21, surpassing a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time, with its stock price subsequently remaining above $600.

TradingKey - On September 25, Eastern Time, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the matter, that Solidigm, the U.S. storage subsidiary of SK Hynix (SKHY), is considering a U.S. listing as early as 2027, with a potential valuation of up to around $150 billion and fundraising that could reach $15 billion.

TradingKey - Micron Technology (MU) will release its fourth-quarter fiscal 2026 financial results after the U.S. market close on September 30. As of the close on September 25 Eastern Time, Micron closed at $1,082.28, up 0.16%. Since reaching a low near $926 on September 16, the stock has rebounded by approximately 17%, with market focus now shifting to the upcoming earnings results and guidance for the next fiscal year.

TradingKey - On September 28, Japanese and South Korean stock markets trended lower together, with losses in the South Korean market widening markedly. The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) closed down 2.70% at 6,889.75 points, while Japan's Nikkei 225 Index (JPN225) fell 0.73% to close at 65,877.62 points.

TradingKey - Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS), in which TSMC (TSM) holds a stake, has launched its first 12-inch wafer fab in Singapore. Driven by sustained growth in demand for AI infrastructure, the new fab's capacity has been largely booked by customers around the start of production, leading the company to begin considering the construction of a second wafer fab locally.

TradingKey - On September 25, Eastern Time, Microsoft (MSFT) unveiled the next-generation Microsoft Copilot and announced three features: Home, Code, and Autopilot. Autopilot can carry out long-duration tasks in the cloud and continue working after users go offline, further expanding Copilot's scope of application in enterprise automation.