Semiconductor stocks dominated today's session. NVIDIA and Micron led the charge. Options flow on both names remained heavily bullish despite elevated RSI readings. Qualcomm was the outlier — shares sank 11% as profit-taking overwhelmed a $20 billion buyback announcement. Evercore's bold $1,000 target on Seagate added momentum to the AI storage theme.
PayPal reached a $30M settlement with the US Department of Justice over an alleged unlawful DEI programme. The stock saw muted reaction.
On the short interest front, Choice Hotels hit 100% utilisation today. All available borrow is lent out. The stock fell 2.2% to $104.23. Forward Air saw the opposite move — short interest dropped 25.6% in a single day as the stock rebounded 6% after an earnings miss.
The Fed backdrop remains uncertain. New Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was confirmed, but reports suggest Trump's push for rate cuts may backfire. Markets are now pricing in a possible hike.
UK bond markets are flashing red. Thirty-year gilt yields hit their highest level this century. A cabinet revolt against Prime Minister Starmer rattled investors. Sterling slid sharply. European equities closed lower on the political turbulence.
On the macro side, Iran's Strait of Hormuz closure continues to tighten oil and fuel supplies. Saudi Aramco warned fuel stocks are heading toward critically low levels. European defense stocks slipped as peace talk hopes briefly resurfaced, then stalled.
Alibaba and Cisco report tomorrow. Applied Materials, Klarna, and Figma follow on Wednesday. All eyes on Alibaba for signals on China's AI-driven recovery.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
