Asian Stocks Surge as Micron's $22B Orders Ease AI Fears
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- Micron reported $22B in customer commitments for memory chips while Qualcomm projected $15B in data-center sales by 2029, helping calm fears that AI-related valuations had become stretched after weeks of volatile trading.
- Japan's Nikkei jumped 4% and South Korea's KOSPI gained 5.5% on the chip-fueled rally, while MSCI Asia-Pacific ex-Japan rose 1.6%, S&P 500 futures climbed 0.5%, and Nasdaq futures surged 1.8%.
- SK Hynix announced plans to raise up to $29.52B through a secondary Nasdaq listing, with the KOSPI now up 112% year-to-date — the world's best-performing stock market — powered by chip giants including Samsung Electronics.
- Brent crude fell 1.6% to $72.53/barrel and WTI dropped over 1% to $69.36/barrel, fully erasing war-era gains as stranded tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz after an initial accord ended the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
- The yen hovered at 161.73 per dollar near a 40-year low as rate-hike expectations lifted the dollar index to 101.6 — its highest since May 2025 — while gold slid below $4,000/oz for the first time in 2026, trading at $3,990.
- Thursday's PCE report is expected to show core prices rose 0.3% in May (3.4% annualized), with investors now pricing in at least one Fed rate increase this year — a setup that could limit the AI rally's runway.
Why it matters: One chip earnings beat ($22B in Micron orders, $15B Qualcomm data-center target) was enough to reignite a global AI rally that had been wobbling on valuation fears, lifting the KOSPI 5.5% and Nasdaq futures 1.8%. But the piece itself flags skepticism: analysts told Reuters the relief trade is fragile, and with rate-hike bets pushing the yen to a 40-year low and gold below $4,000, the Fed's inflation dilemma just got more complicated even as oil eased.
