Finance

The chip-making sector suffered a sharp broad-based downturn, with the VanEck Semiconductor ETF losing over 4% while prominent equities like AMD and Teradyne plummeted roughly 8%. The selloff was primarily fueled by reports that a state-backed Chinese competitor, CXMT, had a major debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and began producing deep ultraviolet lithography machinery. This structural threat to Western dominance overshadowed any immediate macroeconomic relief, keeping investors on edge.

Global energy markets saw significant relief as Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate futures fell between 5% and 7%, retreating well below the $100 per barrel mark seen during peak hostilities. The drop came after reports surfaced that international intermediaries were making progress on resuming peace talks between the United States and Iran. Analysts note that a sustained cooling of energy prices could take pressure off consumer budgets and alleviate inflation anxieties.

A divergence in trading saw Apple shares gain momentum while Nvidia faced consecutive losses, pushing the iPhone maker's market cap to $4.9 trillion and positioning it to overtake Nvidia as the world's most valuable company. The shift highlights growing investor sensitivity to massive corporate expenditure on artificial intelligence ahead of upcoming financial reports from Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon. Wall Street remains intensely focused on whether tech giants can demonstrate responsible spending trajectories.