Morning Reads
- Yen Spikes to 10-Week High and Sparks Intervention Speculation
- US Gasoline Hits $4.50, Nears All-Time High as Iran Fuel Crunch Grows
- High Gas Prices Wreak Havoc on America’s Army of Supercommuters
- The Message Isn’t More Housing Supply, It’s Don’t Own a Home
- How Blue States Go From Rent Seeking to Rent Losing
- A Fight Over Dirt in Utah Hints at the Future of America’s Public Lands
- How Trump’s $12 Billion Stash of Critical Minerals Risks Distorting Markets
- The DOJ Is Breaking Its Own Rules to Litigate in the Media
- Mnuchin Says There Is No ‘Break-the-Glass’ Solution for US Borrowing
- Powell Is Right to Demand Clarity on Fed Independence
- End Quarterly Earnings Reports? Here’s the Debate
- Inside the Debate About Drastically Expanding Trump Accounts
- Morgan Stanley Debuts Crypto Trading, Undercuts Rivals on Price
- X User Tricks Grok Into Sending Them $200,000 In Crypto Using Morse Code
- Buffett’s Big Bets Will Haunt the Abel Era at Berkshire
- Santander Pitches Buy Now, Pay Later Loan Risk to Investors
- Illegal Lotteries Are Beating Governments at Their Own Game
- A Proposed Billionaire Tax Exposes the Dual-Share Racket
- SpaceX Proposes $55 Billion to Begin Terafab Project in Texas
- Parents and Tech Companies – Not Government – Must Protect Children
- American Factories Lag in Adopting A.I. This Drugmaker Is an Exception
- Bayer to Buy Eye-Drug Developer Perfuse Therapeutics for Up to $2.45 Billion
- CVS’s Results Add to Positive Momentum for Health-Insurance Industry
- Nintendo Under Pressure to Raise Switch 2 Prices to Protect Margins
- Disney Films, Parks Lift Profit in Debut Quarter for New CEO
- New Disney CEO Gives Vision for Company as Revenue Rises
- With Spirit’s Mugging, Antitrust Imagined An Economy That Didn’t Exist
- Airlines Are Cracking Down on Portable Power Banks
- Storied Toolmaker Closes Its Last Hometown Plant—and Blames Its Tape Measures
Project Freedom: Trump pauses the U.S. effort to help ships exit the Strait of Hormuz to see if a deal can be reached with Iran.
Stellar results: AMD (AMD) soars as strong AI infrastructure demand pushes earnings and guidance above Street forecasts.
AI updates: Anthropic (ANTHRO) unveils 10 AI agents for financial services, and inks a $200B pact with Google (GOOGL).
AI chip rally
South Korea's benchmark stock index has crossed the 7,000-point mark for the first time ever, led by chip giant Samsung Electronics (SSNLF). Investor sentiment was lifted by the global AI-driven chip rally a day ago and strong economic data released on Monday.
Record high: The KOSPI index closed 6.5% higher at 7,384.56 on Wednesday, paring some gains after reaching a record intraday high of 7,426.60. The index's top gainers were Samsung, whose Seoul-listed shares rose over 14%, and Nvidia supplier SK hynix, which gained about 11%. Samsung's market cap also surpassed $1T, making it the second Asian company to join the trillion-dollar club after Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM). KOSPI's latest rally added to Monday's gains, which were fueled by strong manufacturing activity and exports due to AI-driven chip demand. The stock market was closed on Tuesday. The index gained 71% YTD, and is up about 187% over the past year. To note, KOSPI rose 76% in 2025, which was its best annual performance since 1999.
Bigger picture: "If the demand for AI chips continues at this level, KOSPI could reach 10,000 points by the end of this year," Seo Sang-young, analyst at Mirae Asset Securities, told Reuters. "But if the demand collapses with worries over inflation and weak growth due to the Iran war, it could plummet to as low as 4,500." Inflation in South Korea accelerated in April, but government measures like food vouchers and a gasoline price cap helped absorb some of the Iran war-driven energy shock. But inflation is expected to heat up going forward. "Strong exports, driven by semiconductors, will support overall growth, but the domestic economy will likely be hit harder by energy price hikes," ING Economic and Financial Analysis projected.
SA commentary: According to SA analyst Ricardo Fernandez, the most compelling reason to invest in South Korea is that Samsung and SK hynix "are witnessing spectacular demand due to AI data center construction." These companies together account for over 60% of the memory chip market. "The market believes this sector can nearly double by 2030, and given the scarcity, companies have pricing power that has driven margins to the 50% level," Fernandez noted. "This has translated into extraordinary EPS growth, while valuations remain very cheap at under 6x PE." In an earlier analysis, FinHeim Research pointed to another catalyst - the multi-year unwinding of the "Korea Discount," which refers to the persistent valuation gap between South Korean stocks and global peers.
Here's the latest Seeking Alpha analysis
AGNC Is Yielding 13%, And Top Rated: We Predict A Dividend Hike In 2027
My 2 Ultimate 10%+ Yielding Retirement Income Compounders
Quantum Computing: Moving Out Of The Lab
8 Numbers That Should Concern Prudent Investors
Sandisk's SaaS Illusion: Anatomy Of A Big Exit
What else is happening...
Hormuz warnings: Ken Griffin on recession; Exxon (XOM) on oil market.
These companies agree to give U.S. early access to evaluate AI models.
DEEPSEEK may be valued at $45B as China's Big Fund eyes investment.
Brockman: OPENAI leadership had concerns about Musk's AI knowledge.
Intel (INTC) hits record high, driving 420% return on U.S. government stake.
GameStop's Ryan Cohen explains how he would turn around eBay (EBAY).
Bezos' Blue Origin (BORGN) revamps staff incentives ahead of SpaceX IPO.
SEC proposes option for semi-annual earnings reports instead of quarterly.
Novo Nordisk (NVO) lifts outlook on strong early demand for Wegovy pill.
Trump administration pressures FDA to move faster on flavored vapes.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan closed. Hong Kong +1.2%. China +1.2%. India +1.2%.
In Europe, at midday, London +2.3%. Paris +2.8%. Frankfurt +2.6%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow +0.9%. S&P +0.8%. Nasdaq +1.4%. Crude -9.9% to $92.16. Gold +3.1% to $4,711.20. Bitcoin +1.8% to $82,168.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -8 bps to 4.35%.
On The Calendar
Companies reporting today include Disney (DIS) and Realty Income (O).