Summary
- Wall Street’s three main indexes closed higher, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending the session in positive territory.
- The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged more than 6%%, while chip stocks including Intel, TSMC and Micron Technology posted strong gains.
- Based on the CME FedWatch Tool, markets continued to price in elevated odds of a benchmark interest rate increase, while the VIX index fell, signaling lower volatility.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
Wall Street’s three main indexes closed higher on June 18, led by strong buying in artificial intelligence and semiconductor stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 72.15 points, or 0.14%, to 51,564.70 on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 gained 80.48 points, or 1.08%, to 7,500.58. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 496.28 points, or 1.91%, to 26,517.93.
While the Dow, which is made up largely of industrial and blue-chip stocks, posted only modest gains, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged more than 6%. All 30 of its components advanced, with Intel jumping more than 10% after President Donald Trump said Apple and Intel had agreed to design and manufacture chips in the US.
The Intel news lifted sentiment across chipmakers. Micron Technology rose 8.7%, while Broadcom and AMD each gained more than 4%. TSMC climbed 7%.
Robert Conzo, chief executive officer of Wealth Alliance, said optimism over corporate partnerships is growing because of AI infrastructure and AI’s impact across industries. He added that the Apple-Intel partnership was one sign of what may lie ahead.
The rally also spread through the broader technology sector. Among technology companies with market capitalizations of more than $1 trillion, only SpaceX fell, dropping 3%. Nvidia and Amazon each rose nearly 3%, while Alphabet, Tesla and Meta also gained more than 1%.
By sector, technology led with a 2.68% gain. Communication services and consumer discretionary stocks also rose more than 1%. Energy fell 1.73%.
According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, the federal funds futures market priced in a roughly 36.1% chance of a 0.25 percentage-point rate increase by the end of December this year. The probability of a 0.5 percentage-point increase remained in the 34% range, while the odds of no change stood at 13.8%.
The Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, fell 2.04 points, or 11.06%, to 16.40.
Ko Jeong-sam, Hankyung.com reporter, jsk@hankyung.com
Korea Economic Daily
hankyung@bloomingbit.ioThe Korea Economic Daily Global is a digital media where latest news on Korean companies, industries, and financial markets.
