Analysis

TradingKey - On October 15, TSMC (TSM) released its third-quarter financial results for 2026. Driven by sustained growth in demand for AI chips and advanced nodes, the company's revenue and net profit both reached record highs, with net profit surging nearly 69% year-over-year and beating market expectations.

TradingKey - On October 15, the sell-off in Asian tech stocks escalated further, with South Korea's KOSPI Index extending its intraday decline to over 8%, triggering a circuit breaker and halting stock trading for 20 minutes. This marks the tenth time the South Korean stock market has triggered a circuit breaker this year.

TradingKey - As investment in AI infrastructure continues to grow, demand for advanced processes and advanced packaging is rising in tandem. On October 14, Eastern Time, Reuters reported that TSMC (TSM) is expected to post a record quarterly profit for the sixth consecutive quarter, with the market forecasting a third-quarter net profit growth of roughly 65% year-over-year to NT$746.3 billion. Robust demand for AI chips and CoWoS advanced packaging orders are the primary drivers of this profit growth.

TradingKey - According to Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter, Anthropic disclosed at an IPO investor presentation at its San Francisco headquarters that its third-quarter 2026 revenue reached $16.8 billion, up approximately 46% from $11.5 billion in the second quarter.

TradingKey - During the Asian trading session on October 15, the South Korean stock market dropped sharply, with the intraday decline of the KOSPI Index once widening to around 7%. As of press time, SK Hynix fell over 11%, and Samsung Electronics dropped more than 9%. The Korea Exchange activated program trading curbs, including the Sidecar mechanism, as market risk-off sentiment surged noticeably.

TradingKey - On October 14, Eastern Time, U.S. September CPI data came in higher than market expectations, fueling expectations of a Fed rate hike in October and dampening market sentiment, causing U.S. stocks to decline. AI hardware, technology, and banking stocks led the declines.

TradingKey - On October 15, Japanese and South Korean stock markets fell sharply in early trading, with South Korean equities experiencing particularly pronounced losses. The Nikkei 225 opened 1.28% lower at 66,880.37 points before extending its decline to 2.39% at 66,124.77 points; the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) opened 5.59% lower at 5,673.01 points before rebounding to 5,736.59 points, narrowing its drop to 4.53%.

U.S. stocks fell as U.S. September CPI data came in higher than market expectations, fueling expectations of a Fed rate hike in October and dampening market trading sentiment. AI hardware, tech, and bank stocks led the declines. At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.09% to 51,621.48 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 1.88% to 26,692.87 points; and the S&P 500 Index lost 1.11% to 7,718.94 points.

Shares of Dell (DELL) fell more than 12% to a low of $502, touching a near one-month low after Barclays downgraded the stock to a "Hold" rating. Barclays stated that Dell Technologies' valuation has risen excessively and that a material inflection point in enterprise AI has yet to materialize.

On October 14, Eastern Time, shares of CoreWeave (CRWV) plummeted over 15%, hitting their lowest level since late July. D.A. Davidson analyst Gil Luria stated on the Prof G Markets podcast that once the AI investment boom cools down, high-cost borrowing could render the AI cloud provider unable to meet its debt obligations, potentially leaving shareholders with a total loss.

Re-accelerating U.S. inflation data prompted the market to reprice the Federal Reserve's interest rate trajectory, weighing on Oracle (ORCL) shares. On October 14 Eastern Time, Oracle's stock fell more than 7% intraday. Pre-market price action indicates that the stock plunged noticeably following the release of the September Consumer Price Index (CPI) data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics at 8:30 a.m. ET, largely coinciding with the publication of the inflation report.

US September CPI came in higher than expected, sending Bitcoin below $83,000 in response. Where is the next line of defense?

TradingKey - Qualcomm's Arm verdict and potential $60 billion Amazon chip arrangement support diversification, while handset weakness and $176 support test QCOM.

SpaceX suffers a six-day losing streak, retreating to its debut opening price of $150. Can the bulls hold their line of defense?

TradingKey - On Wednesday, October 14, Eastern Time, futures on the three major US stock indexes traded mixed in pre-market action as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of the US September CPI data. Earnings from major financial institutions diverged significantly: BlackRock (BLK) reported strong results, while Bank of America was weighed down by regulatory fines and missed earnings expectations. Meanwhile, shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz pushed international oil prices higher once again.

TradingKey - ASML's €11.66 billion Q3 sales and €44–45 billion annual outlook spotlight AI demand through 2028. Watch Q4 guidance and $1,686 support.

TradingKey - Morgan Stanley's $10 trillion client asset platform faces a Q3 test after record earnings. See wealth inflows, private credit risks and $184.50 support.

TradingKey - Bank of America's $1.2 billion regulatory charge clouds Q3 earnings as NII, credit trends and $52.23 support shape the BAC stock outlook.

TradingKey - In Wednesday's US pre-market trading, SK Hynix (SKHY) shares fell more than 3%. Market sources indicated that deliveries of some back-end equipment orders for the company's sixth-generation High Bandwidth Memory (HBM4) might be delayed, raising investor concerns over the pace of capacity expansion and mass production progress.

TradingKey - As of October 13 Eastern Time, SpaceX (SPCX) shares fell 4.21% to $156.54, touching an intraday low of $156.05. The stock has now broken below the $160 mark and its 10-day moving average (around $161.16). However, it remains above its 20-day moving average (around $156) and significantly above its 60-day moving average ($140.98), indicating that while short-term momentum has weakened, the medium-term rebound structure remains intact.