US Stocks Fall as Dow Drops 600 Points, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Bucks Trend Up 1.3%; Semiconductor Stocks Strengthen, Intel Rises 9%, SK Hynix Gains Nearly 5%

TradingKey - Ongoing tensions in the Middle East, coupled with the U.S. Treasury's upcoming announcement tomorrow regarding its bond buyback scale and the CPI report due this Friday, kept investors cautious ahead of key developments, suppressing market trading sentiment. U.S. stocks fell, while semiconductor stocks bucked the trend to gain.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.18% to 52,786.07; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.32% to 26,421.41; and the S&P 500 Index fell 0.58% to 7,673.52.

Tech Stock Performance

Intel (INTC) rose 9.05% to $104.47.

According to supply chain sources cited by Taiwan's DIGITIMES, Intel is expected to raise prices on its PC CPUs by another 10% on October 5, 2026. This marks Intel's third round of price hikes since late 2025—following a roughly 10% increase in the first quarter of 2026 and another price adjustment in July for select consumer and server CPUs, with price hikes ranging from tens of dollars to over $1,000.

SK Hynix ADR (SKHY) rose 4.83% to $185.55.

Among mega-cap tech stocks, Tesla (TSLA) rose 3.94%, SpaceX (SPCX) gained 3.73%, Broadcom (AVGO) advanced 2.98%, and TSMC (TSM) added 2.35%. On the downside, Nvidia (NVDA) fell 2.01%, Apple (AAPL) dropped 1.17%, Microsoft (MSFT) declined 1.15%, Amazon (AMZN) slipped 0.60%, Meta Platforms (META) edged down 0.53%, and Google (GOOGL) dipped 0.03%.

[Source: FutuBull]

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.3% to 11,886.87. Among its 30 constituents, 21 advanced and 9 declined.

Among chip stocks, Intel (INTC) rose 9.05%, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) gained 5.90%, Arm Holdings (ARM) climbed 3.74%, and Qualcomm (QCOM) advanced 3.17%.

Company News

Qualcomm Partners with Amazon in Multi-Generational Deal to Jointly Advance Custom AI Data Center Chips

Qualcomm announced a multi-generational collaboration with Amazon to supply customized chips for large-scale AI data centers and jointly advance AI inference. The two companies are also collaborating to develop optical interconnect solutions supporting up to 1.6T and future generations. Qualcomm plans to deepen its use of AWS AI infrastructure, including Amazon Bedrock, for electronic design automation (EDA) workloads, aiming to shorten chip design cycles. Qualcomm President and CEO Cristiano Amon stated that as AI demand accelerates, data center infrastructure requires dual breakthroughs in computing and connectivity, and Qualcomm is pleased to partner with AWS on customized chips and connectivity solutions. AWS Vice President Prasad Kalyanaraman said the collaboration builds on a solid partnership committed to delivering more efficient and cost-effective infrastructure to customers.

ChatGPT Images 2.5 Launches, Supporting More Precise AI Image Editing

OpenAI launched ChatGPT Images 2.5, a new version of its image engine, focusing on boosting AI image generation speed, character and pet consistency, and image editing precision. The new model generates images up to 50% faster than its predecessor, better preserves the original features of people and pets, and allows users to directly specify modification areas using sketches or region selections rather than relying entirely on text descriptions. The updated tool enables users to convert photos into different artistic styles, design logos, modify tattoo concepts, and more. OpenAI stated that Images 2.5 aims to engage users more deeply in the creative process rather than simply generating images. However, the upgrade comes amid controversies over AI image copyright and creator rights. Observers remain focused on whether generative AI models are trained on artists' work and the impact of AI-generated content on traditional creative industries.

Meta Launches Personal AI Agent Muse, Priced up to $100 Per Month

Meta Platforms launched Muse, a personal AI agent app that allows users to hand over digital tasks such as making appointments, filling out spreadsheets, and monitoring home security cameras to an AI assistant. Meta AI lead Alexandr Wang stated that Muse is powered by Meta's Muse Spark series of foundation models, offering a free version along with two subscription tiers at $20 and $100 per month. He noted that Muse operates in an isolated environment within Meta's computing infrastructure, does not read users' actual passwords or payment information, and requests confirmation before executing sensitive actions. Users can choose whether to allow Meta to use content from their interactions with Muse to train AI models; if permitted, Meta will strip key personally identifiable information before using the data for model improvements.

Industry & Macro News

Trump Holds Phone Call with Putin, Focusing on Ending Ukraine Conflict as Soon as Possible

According to media reports, the Kremlin stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump held a phone call that lasted for one hour. US President Donald Trump focused on efforts to end the Ukraine conflict as quickly as possible. Both Trump and Putin evaluated the visit by the US envoy, and Russia has no hostile plans toward Europe. Russian President Vladimir Putin supported the idea of restoring US-Russia relations, and Putin discussed a prisoner exchange with Trump. Putin also told Trump what steps the US could take to bring the conflict to a faster end, and provided Trump with Russia's assessment of the battlefield situation.

US Treasury to Announce Treasury Buyback Size; Market Focuses on Scale of Bessent's Action

According to media reports, the maximum planned buyback amount for 10-year to 20-year US Treasuries will be announced at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday. On September 10, the US Treasury will also disclose the exact amount actually purchased under the buyback program launched in May 2024. Previously, the US Treasury stated that before November 4, each buyback operation of long-term Treasuries would amount to at least $4 billion, up from $2 billion in previous operations. However, the Treasury retains the discretion to expand the buyback scale. Meanwhile, the market generally expects that Bessent's action will ultimately exceed the previously announced buyback targets.

HSBC: AI Earnings Growth Not Fully Priced In; US Stock Valuations Not as Expensive as They Look

HSBC stated that although current US stock market valuations are higher than Europe's, they are not as expensive as they appear on the surface, as productivity gains and earnings growth driven by artificial intelligence are not yet fully reflected in market prices. The institution noted that the S&P 500 Index currently trades at a forward P/E ratio of about 19x, compared with around 15x for the STOXX Europe 600 Index. Although US stocks still command a valuation premium, the P/E gap between the two has narrowed, and market concerns over the sustainability of US corporate earnings growth have been partially priced in. Artificial intelligence is driving a structural investment cycle. Compared with companies that have not yet adopted AI, particularly in the US market, firms aggressively deploying AI have demonstrated faster revenue, earnings, and margin growth, indicating that AI is delivering tangible productivity improvements rather than remaining merely conceptual.