Risk appetite returned sharply to US markets on Tuesday. The catalyst was a 90-day trade truce between Washington and Beijing. The deal slashed US tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%. China cut its duties on American imports from 125% to 10%. Markets responded immediately.
Semiconductor names led the charge. Micron, AMD, and Intel all drew heavy bullish options flow. Intel is up 251% year-to-date. Options traders continued piling into calls, betting on further gains. SanDisk has gained a remarkable 512% so far in 2026.
Doximity moved the other way. The healthcare tech firm dived after reporting weak Q4 earnings and soft guidance. It was the sharpest single-stock drop of the session.
Short sellers took heavy losses on the trade news. Wolfspeed remains the most extreme case — short interest sits at 74.4% of free float with zero shares available to borrow. A sustained market rally will squeeze that position hard.
UK gilt yields surged to multi-decade highs. The 30-year gilt yield hit its highest level this century. Political uncertainty around Prime Minister Starmer rattled bond investors. Cabinet pressure on the PM added to market nerves.
European AI stocks bucked the gloom. Investors hunted for pure-play AI names as the US tech rally went global. Tencent and Alibaba were left out of the move. Markets focused on companies with direct AI exposure rather than broad Chinese tech.
The IEA warned of potential oil price spikes. Inventories are falling rapidly despite softer demand from Iran-related disruptions.
NVDA reports Q1 FY2027 results on May 20. That event looms large over the entire semiconductor trade.
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.
