Finance

Shares of prominent memory chipmakers Sandisk and Western Digital declined despite forecasting revenues above consensus estimates based on robust artificial intelligence demand. Other key chip manufacturers and major software companies like Salesforce experienced similar downward pressure. Market strategists point to exceptionally elevated expectations and profit-taking after massive year-to-date rallies.

Energy markets remain in focus as investors await concrete details regarding potential international diplomatic agreements involving Iran. The continuing deliberations regarding the critical Strait of Hormuz have pushed international benchmarks like Brent crude upward. Higher energy costs continue to exert pressure on domestic inflation data, causing investors to closely monitor central bank policy expectations.

The largest digital assets, Bitcoin and Ethereum, traded firmly above recent support levels following softer domestic private payroll metrics and diplomatic movements in the Middle East. Traders appear to be rotating toward large-cap tokens for relative safety while leaving smaller alternative cryptocurrencies behind. Meanwhile, decentralized finance flows face shifting dynamics as centralized regulated products prepare to compete.