Chip Earnings Boost AI Rally

The event centers around a mixed day in global markets, primarily driven by strong earnings and forecasts from chipmakers Micron Technology and Qualcomm, which reignited the AI rally and boosted tech-heavy indices in Asia and U.S. futures. Micron Technology reported robust profit and revenue, while Qualcomm raised its revenue forecast and announced a new data center chip that Meta Platforms plans to use. This positive sentiment in the chip sector helped to alleviate some investor concerns about stretched valuations for AI-related companies. However, the broader U.S. stock market experienced mixed trading, with Apple Inc. shares dropping after hiking prices for its products to counter rising chip costs, and other tech giants like Microsoft and Alphabet Inc. also seeing declines. In other significant developments, oil prices, specifically Brent Crude, extended their decline to pre-war levels following an initial accord to end the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, easing supply concerns and potentially reducing inflation pressure. Despite this, U.S. inflation increased further in May, supporting expectations of a United States — Federal Reserve rate hike, which in turn boosted the U.S. dollar and put pressure on the Japan — Japanese yen and Gold prices.