Overview
- U.S. benchmarks rose with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closing nearer record highs after a chipmaker-led rally that accelerated on SK Hynix’s high-profile U.S. listing.
- SK Hynix priced its American depositary receipts at $149 and raised roughly $24–26 billion, with the ADR debut closing well above the offering price and reported heavy oversubscription on July 9.
- The market lift came even as the U.S. and Iran traded strikes this week, a sequence that pushed oil higher at times but left WTI crude more than 1% lower on Thursday which helped airline and cruise stocks.
- Economic signals were mixed: weekly U.S. initial jobless claims fell to a six-week low of 215,000, supporting risk appetite, while analysts expect roughly mid-20% S&P 500 Q2 earnings growth driven largely by AI-related tech spending.
- Risks remain concentrated because gains are focused in a few big tech and chip names, valuations look stretched, and upcoming inflation data and Fed commentary create a narrow margin for error as earnings season begins.