South Korean chip stocks were hit hard, giving back almost all of the sharp gains recorded over the past week.
In a report by Chaoxiang Research, market sentiment in the U.S. turned sharply higher after Donald Trump said the United States and Iran were already in talks. He described a two-step process: first reopening the Strait of Hormuz, then moving on nuclear disarmament talks. That headline sent oil prices lower and eased pressure on Treasury yields. At the same time, momentum from the latest earnings cycle continued to lift large-cap tech, pushing the Magnificent Seven index up 3.6% in a single session.
Oil falls about 5% after Trump comments on Iran talks
U.S. stocks climbed across the board, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 1.32%, the S&P 500 rising 1.48%, and the Nasdaq gaining 2.13%.
Trump said talks with Iran would proceed in two stages. The first step would be reopening the Strait of Hormuz, followed by discussions on denuclearization. He added that the waterway could reopen as soon as the next day. After those remarks, international crude futures dropped sharply. WTI settled down 5.11%, while Brent fell 4.73%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield slipped 4 basis points to 4.69% after earlier touching its highest level since January 2025.
In commodities, COMEX gold rose 0.15% to $4,113 per ounce, and COMEX silver gained 1.08% to $58.4 per ounce. In crypto, Bitcoin opened Monday at $63,497.25, up 1.2%, before easing to $62,643 in early trading. Ether opened at $1,883.15, up 2.2%, and later pulled back to $1,840.70.
Even as oil fell, Trump kept up pressure on energy majors. He said companies such as Exxon Mobil and Chevron had made “too much money” from the Iran conflict and called on them to give part of those profits “back to the public.” The report noted that he had made similar comments in late June.
Magnificent Seven index jumps 3.6% as Google passes Apple
The Magnificent Seven index surged 3.6% on the day, its strongest single-session performance since March 31. Google rose more than 4% and moved past Apple in market capitalization to become the world’s second-largest company by market value. Amazon also climbed more than 4%, reached another record high, and topped $3 trillion in market value, becoming the fifth listed company to clear that threshold. Nvidia added nearly 3% and moved back above a $5 trillion valuation. Meta gained 6% ahead of its planned appearance at a White House artificial intelligence meeting the following day. Microsoft rose nearly 5% and extended its gain over the past three trading sessions to almost 25%.
The report said much of the strength came from earnings released in recent days. Microsoft’s cloud growth, Amazon’s AWS performance, and Meta’s spending commitments all helped improve confidence around the AI trade. The geopolitical headline then added another boost.
Korean chip stocks tumble as Samsung and SK Hynix sink
Markets on the other side of the Pacific moved in the opposite direction. South Korea’s KOSPI fell more than 5%, and Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix both dropped more than 8% at one point, dragging down the broader Asian semiconductor sector. The Korea Exchange activated a sidecar mechanism for the KOSDAQ, halting program trading for five minutes.
Only last Friday, the KOSPI had posted a record 18% one-day jump. This latest sell-off nearly wiped out that move.
U.S.-listed names tied to optical communications and storage mostly advanced. Kioxia ADR rose about 14%, Lumentum and Coherent gained more than 9%, SanDisk and Corning rose more than 6%, and Credo added more than 5%. Western Digital, Seagate, and SK Hynix’s U.S. shares were the exceptions, each posting slight declines. The report described the contrast as two very different pricing paths within the same supply chain.
Macro relief and earnings confidence drove the day’s move
According to the report, two themes were at work in the market. One was a macro sentiment rebound tied to easing geopolitical tension, reflected in lower oil prices and softer Treasury yields. The other was confidence built during earnings season, with recent results from companies such as Microsoft and Amazon encouraging investors to add to positions in the largest technology stocks. Together, those forces produced a broad rally.
The split between Korean semiconductor shares and U.S. storage names also stood out. The report said Korean equities appeared to be more affected by leveraged flows and short-term profit-taking, while U.S. names traded more in line with demand signals seen during earnings season. It added that whether the Strait of Hormuz actually reopens the next day, as Trump said it could, would be an early test of how far the latest wave of optimism can run.
