HSBC raises target prices for Infineon and STMicroelectronics: Analog chip market recovery and AI demand drive accelerated profit recovery.
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US pre-market news highlights: EDA giants focus on AI chip design; SpaceX officially included in the Nasdaq 100 index; Analysts say AI computing power demand is far from peaking.
Mars Finance reports the following key financial news from the US stock market that investors should pay attention to: 1. US stock index futures showed mixed results. Dow Jones futures rose 0.29%, S&P 500 futures fell 0.15%, and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 0.94%. 2. International oil prices rose slightly. WTI crude oil futures rose 0.61% to $68.967 per barrel; Brent crude oil futures rose 0.74% to $72.526 per barrel. 3. International gold and silver spot prices fluctuated narrowly. Spot gold rose 0.03% to $4166.01 per ounce; spot silver fell 0.64% to $61.62 per ounce. 4. European stock indices all fell. The UK FTSE 100 rose 0.47%, the French CAC 40 rose 0.20%, and the German DAX 30 fell 0.63%. 5. EDA giant Synopsys informed more than 10 chip manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, in April and May that it would "suspend" some of its wafer fab manufacturing analysis software, shifting resources to the more profitable AI chip design business. 6. SpaceX, owned by Elon Musk, was officially included in the Nasdaq 100 index today, becoming the first company in the index with a space business at its core. JPMorgan Chase estimates its weight in the index at approximately 1.3%. Wall Street generally gave it an "initial bullish" rating, with a target price as high as $800. 7. Google invested over €400 million in Proxima Fusion, a European nuclear fusion "unicorn" company, with the aim of building a commercial fusion power plant by the 2030s. 8. Anthropic announced a 20-year AI data center lease agreement with AI data center operator TeraWulf. The project has a capacity of approximately 401 megawatts and is expected to be operational in the second half of 2027, reaching full capacity in early 2028. 9. A recent report from semiconductor research firm SemiAnalysis indicates that AI computing power demand is far from peaking. The firm predicts that Meta computing power procurement will accelerate, and capital expenditure may increase significantly next year. 10. Walmart and its Sam's Club announced price reductions on thousands of popular summer items and everyday essentials across the United States. 11. Microsoft raised its Microsoft 365 Enterprise subscription fee earlier this month, with increases ranging from 8% to 33%. Personal and Education versions are currently unaffected. (Cailian Press)
Capital B raises $24.5M for its Bitcoin treasury amid market uncertainty with BlockStream’s Adam Back chipping in
The French Bitcoin treasury firm’s private placement drew support from Adam Back and TOBAM, with warrant exercises potentially unlocking another $158 million.
U.S. chip stocks fell broadly in pre-market trading, with SanDisk (SNDK.O) down 6.3%.
According to data from Odaily Odaily, US chip stocks generally fell in pre-market trading. Arm (ARM.O) fell 3.8%, SanDisk (SNDK.O) fell 6.3%, and Qualcomm (QCOM.O) fell 2.2%. Nvidia (NVDA.O) fell 1.9%, Micron Technology (MU.O) fell 5%, AMD (AMD.O) fell 2.5%, and Intel (INTC.O) fell approximately 5%.
The STAR Market 50 Index rose more than 3%, with chip stocks strengthening again.
Mars Finance reports that the STAR Market 50 Index surged over 3%, led by semiconductor chip stocks, with SMIC, Cambricon, Hua Hong Semiconductor, and Shengmei Shanghai among those rising sharply. (Cailian Press)
Trump pressures retailers to cut prices to combat inflation, demanding supermarkets lower beef prices.
According to a report by the WSJ on July 8th, the Trump administration recently pressured major supermarket chains such as Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons to lower beef prices during the Independence Day shopping season to alleviate food inflation pressures. Walmart subsequently announced price reductions on thousands of items, with ground beef prices dropping by up to 12%. Trump later stated that Walmart was lowering prices "at the request of the government" and called on other retailers to follow suit. This action is part of the Trump administration's efforts to control inflation. In addition to pushing for lower food prices, Trump has previously called for lower gasoline prices, capped credit card interest rates, and reduced drug prices, hoping to alleviate voter dissatisfaction with high prices before the midterm elections. However, with U.S. cattle herds at a 75-year low, tight supply continues to push up beef prices. U.S. ground beef prices rose 12% year-on-year in May, indicating that food inflation pressures have not yet fully eased.
Analysis: The AI investment boom is cooling down, and the market is reassessing the sustainability of chip and data center spending.
According to Odaily Odaily, the AI infrastructure investment boom is cooling down, and the market is beginning to reassess the sustainability of chip and data center spending. As investors re-examine whether AI infrastructure investment can be sustained, "AI deals" covering the semiconductor, memory chip, and data center industry chain are showing signs of cooling. Recently, AI-related chip stocks such as Micron Technology (MU) and SanDisk (SNDK) have been under pressure. Samsung Electronics previously reported record second-quarter results, but revenue fell short of market expectations, causing its stock price to drop nearly 7%, dragging down the entire AI chip sector. Market concerns are growing that the current AI boom, driven by GPUs, high-bandwidth memory (HBM), and data center construction, may face repricing as cloud computing giants (Hyperscalers) may slow their investments in AI infrastructure. Meanwhile, South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix's stock price has fallen about 25% from its all-time high ahead of its US IPO, which is also attracting some funds away from existing chip stocks. Analysts point out that after SpaceX's massive IPO boosted valuations of AI-related assets, investors are reassessing the growth logic for the next phase of the AI market. If the AI investment fervor cools further, some funds may flow back from the AI industry chain to other risky assets, including crypto assets. (CoinDesk)