By Stephen Culp
NEW YORK, July 9 (Reuters) – A microchip rebound on Thursday helped investors look past roiling Middle East tensions and the potential of renewed hostilities fueling longer-term inflation.
I will go into more detail on today’s market moves below. If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.
1. Iran retaliated overnight, striking U.S. targets in Kuwait and Bahrain after President Donald Trump said an interim agreement to end the war was ‘over’
2. The sales of pre-owned U.S. homes unexpectedly fell in June
3. Democratic Senate candidate Graham Planter of Maine suspended his campaign following an allegation of sexual assault
4. Meta to put AI chip into production in September as part of its plan to boost its overall computing power to 14 gigawatts next year, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters
5. South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix intends to price its U.S.-listed shares at $149 to raise about $26.5 billion
6. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government plans to file criminal complaints in the U.S. regarding Mexican citizens who have died in immigration custody or while being targeted by anti-immigration operations
Today’s Key Market Moves
• STOCKS: Nasdaq led other U.S. stock indexes higher on chip rebound; Europe’s STOXX 600 rose for the first session in four
• SECTORS/SHARES: Seven of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors ended green, led by tech shares; consumer staples were the biggest laggards; chips gained 3.1%
• FX: The dollar dipped on stable jobs data, heightened U.S.-Iran tensions
• BONDS: U.S. Treasury yields fell as bonds gained following selloff
• COMMODITIES/METALS: Front-month WTI and Brent crude prices settled down 2.0% and 2.2% respectively; Gold rose over 1%
Today’s talking points
* U.S. markets brace for renewed funding pressure as leverage rises
U.S. equity funding markets remain stretched following last month’s spike in short-term borrowing costs, as near-record stock prices and a frenzy over popular technology shares fuel demand for leverage.
The concerns center on the equity repurchase or repo market, where investors and traders borrow short-term cash against stock holdings. Ahead of April-June quarter-end, the cost of financing equity positions climbed 200 basis points above the federal funds rate on June 26, according to Morgan Stanley data, the highest since December 2024.
* Trump’s cancellation of food security survey could make measuring U.S. hunger more difficult
Last year, Trump did away with the USDA household food security survey, which last showed 13.7% of U.S. households were food insecure, a 10-year high.
Without the survey, it will be difficult to determine whether his cuts to the food stamp program led to a rise in U.S. hunger, particularly among children.
* Putin likely to escalate Ukraine war, despite Trump peace push, sources say
Russian President Vladimir Putin is rejecting calls to negotiate peace with Kyiv after Ukraine’s recent drone strikes on Russia’s oil refineries and ports, which have strengthened his resolve to keep fighting, according to three sources close to the Kremlin.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was a “high probability” that Putin will escalate the conflict in the coming months.
The comments come after Trump said on Monday that Putin wanted the war to end and that a resolution was “closer than people realize.”
What could move markets tomorrow?
• Developments in the Middle East
• Energy market moves
• Social media posts from Trump
• Netherlands manufacturing output (May)
• Germany CPI (June)
• France CPI (June)
• Norway CPI, PPI (June)
• Norway manufacturing output (May)
• Denmark CPI (June)
• Czech Republic CPI (June)
• Italy industrial output (May)
• Portugal CPI (June)
• Portugal trade balance (May)
• Brazil CPI (June)
• Canada employment (June)
• Russian CPI (June)
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Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.
(Editing by Nia Williams)
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