Analysis

TradingKey - On Thursday, June 25 (Eastern Time), Apple (AAPL) shares closed down 6.12% at $275.15, after hitting an intraday low of $273.75. Looking at the session, Apple not only underperformed the Nasdaq today but also became one of the key heavyweights dragging down the performance of mega-cap tech stocks. The direct catalyst for the market sell-off was Apple's recent announcement of price hikes across multiple hardware products, triggering a reassessment by investors of its future demand, profit margins, and brand pricing power.

Despite plans to attend a national conference next week, stock prices for Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix failed to rise and instead plummeted by over 9%.

TradingKey - According to media reports, OpenAI is considering postponing its planned initial public offering to next year to secure a higher valuation and await more favorable market conditions. Sources say that OpenAI's advisors have presented two options to the company's management: either list as soon as possible while accepting a lower valuation, or wait until 2027 to proceed with the IPO to target a valuation of up to $1 trillion.

TradingKey - On June 25, Eastern Time, the three major US stock indexes closed mixed. Strong earnings from Micron (MU) reignited trading in AI memory and semiconductors, but declines in Apple (AAPL) and several mega-cap tech stocks offset the support from the rebound in chip stocks. Meanwhile, US May PCE inflation rose to a three-year high, and the market remained cautious about the Federal Reserve's subsequent rate hike path.

Japanese and South Korean stock markets opened lower and extended losses, with the KOSPI and Nikkei 225 indices falling around 3%, while Kioxia, SK Hynix, and Samsung Electronics plunged collectively.

TradingKey - Micron's earnings report ignited investor sentiment in memory stocks, while also proving that the consumer electronics industry, including Apple, faces cost pressures. The three major U.S. stock indexes continued their divergent trend, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average hitting an intraday record high and memory stocks leading the gains. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14% to 51,920.62 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.46% to 25,358.60 points; and the S&P 500 Index edged down 0.73 points to 7,357.49 points.

TradingKey - Apple has officially implemented its largest global hardware price hike in recent years, raising prices across its entire Mac lineup, iPads, and other products. As a benchmark of the global consumer electronics industry, Apple's decision to pass skyrocketing supply chain costs directly onto consumers has sent shockwaves through the market, causing its stock price to plunge over 5% at one point on Thursday, marking its largest single-day decline since February this year.

TradingKey - During Thursday's US pre-market session, IBM shares surged over 6% at one point. The company announced a milestone breakthrough in semiconductor technology, officially unveiling the world's first manufacturable sub-1nm chip technology.

TradingKey - Micron stock surged after reporting record Q3 revenue of $41.46B, up 346% YoY, with 84.6% gross margins and Q4 guidance for $50B revenue. HBM4 production and AI demand continue driving growth.

TradingKey - On June 25, Eastern Time, Germany's Merck Group announced that it will acquire US life sciences company Bio-Techne (TECH) for $73 per share in an all-cash transaction, representing an enterprise value of approximately $11.3 billion.

TradingKey - Sandisk stock trades near $2,151 after becoming the S&P 500's best-performing stock in 2026. Micron's record Q3 results reinforce the AI memory shortage, supporting SNDK's strong Q4 outlook and long-term NAND growth story.

TradingKey - On June 24, Eastern Time, at Nvidia’s (NVDA) annual shareholder meeting, CEO Jensen Huang set the tone for the next phase of the AI industry’s development in a two-hour speech. He declared the official arrival of the "era of useful AI," stating that agents will become the core engine driving computing power demand for decades to come, and characterized this computing paradigm shift as the largest industry reset in 60 years.

TradingKey - On June 25 ET, in U.S. premarket trading, the three major stock index futures rose in unison. As of press time, Dow futures were up 0.24%, Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 2.16%, and S&P 500 futures gained 0.73%.

TradingKey - After the US market close on June 24, memory chip giant Micron Technology (MU) released its fiscal third-quarter 2026 earnings report, completely reversing the market's pessimistic expectations for AI memory demand with its blockbuster core metrics.

TradingKey - After the market close on June 24, Eastern Time, following Micron Technology’s (MU) earnings release, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) immediately raised its price target from $550 to $1,540, maintaining an "Overweight" rating. This near-twofold upward adjustment reflects the bank's strong recognition of Micron's explosive earnings potential. Analyst Harlan Sur's upward revision was based on Micron's third-quarter revenue, gross margin, and earnings per share (EPS) all beating expectations.

Japanese and South Korean stocks surged 5% in a tsunami-like rally, with both Kioxia and SK Hynix skyrocketing over 12%.

At the inaugural FOMC meeting chaired by the newly appointed Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, the median dot plot shifted directly from rate-cut expectations to rate-hike expectations. Interest rate futures immediately priced in a roughly 70% probability of a rate hike in September, plunging the market into a rate-hike panic. This article argues that the market is highly likely overestimating the intensity of this rate-hike cycle. Even if rate hikes do resume in September, the move would fundamentally represent a robust tightening characterized by "withdrawing insurance rate cuts against the backdrop of a still-resilient economy," which is fundamentally different from the panic-driven tightening of 2022. For long-term investors in US equities, this shift presents opportunities that outweigh the risks. However, this assessment is conditional and must be dynamically adjusted using three indicators as anchors: core inflation, long-term inflation expectations, and the unemployment rate.

TradingKey - On June 24, Eastern Time, Qualcomm (QCOM) sent a major signal at its Investor Day: the company projects that its data center chip sales will exceed $15 billion by 2029, with revenue from the segment expected to reach $5 billion by fiscal year 2027. Meanwhile, Meta (META) will adopt its Dragonfly C1000 data center CPU, and Microsoft (MSFT) will deploy its HBC chips, marking Qualcomm's official entry into the AI data center market. Following the announcement, Qualcomm shares surged over 12% in after-hours trading.

TradingKey - Japanese memory chip giant Kioxia plans to issue American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and list in the United States as early as the spring of 2027, aiming to further expand its international investor base, enhance stock liquidity, and boost its valuation. Previously, Kioxia had announced that it was preparing to list American Depositary Shares (ADSs) on a US stock exchange, though the specific exchange, offering size, and final timeline remain subject to regulatory approvals and market conditions. Following the announcement, Kioxia’s stock price experienced minor intraday fluctuations. As of press time, the latest price stood at 99,930 yen, down slightly from the opening price.

TradingKey - On June 24, Eastern Time, the three major U.S. stock indexes closed mixed as the market continued to digest high AI valuations, capital expenditure pressures on tech giants, and expectations of another Federal Reserve rate hike this year. A sharp decline in oil prices eased inflation co