US Stocks Close: S&P 500 Hits Record High, Nasdaq Gains for Second Day; Memory Stocks Lead as SanDisk Surges Over 13%

TradingKey - U.S. inflation data continuously signaled easing, reviving risk appetite in U.S. stocks. All three major U.S. stock indexes advanced, with the S&P 500 Index reaching an all-time high. Memory stocks led the gains.

As of the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.13% to 53,839.99; the Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.81% to 26,803.03; and the S&P 500 Index added 0.65% to 7,798.99.

Tech Stock Performance

SanDisk (SNDK) rose 13.67% to $1,528.11.

SanDisk unveiled a long-term financial model at its 2026 Investor Day, setting a series of financial targets for FY2028 through FY2030, including maintaining mid-to-high double-digit revenue growth during this period. The company also committed to returning 100% of remaining cash to shareholders after funding business investments. Additionally, it disclosed that it has signed New Business Model (NBM) agreements with eight customers, which currently cover approximately 50% of FY2027 bit shipments and about two-thirds of FY2028 bit shipments.

Among mega-cap tech stocks, Tesla (TSLA) rose 3.80%, Meta Platforms (META) gained 2.78%, Apple (AAPL) added 1.00%, Microsoft (MSFT) advanced 0.90%, Google (GOOGL) climbed 0.82%, Nvidia (NVDA) edged up 0.54%, and Broadcom (AVGO) ticked up 0.43%; SpaceX (SPCX) fell 3.33%, and Amazon (AMZN) slipped 0.80%.

[Source: FutuBull]

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.46% to 12,456 points. Among its 30 constituents, 18 advanced and 12 declined.

Among memory stocks, SanDisk (SNDK) rose 13.67%, Western Digital (WDC) gained 7.31%, SK Hynix (SKHY) climbed 7.29%, Seagate Technology (STX) added 4.91%, and Micron Technology (MU) advanced 4.23%.

Company News

AMD Reportedly Plans Investment-Grade Bond Sale to Raise Up to $5 Billion

According to media reports, AMD plans to raise up to $5 billion through an investment-grade bond offering that could mark the largest in company history, joining a wave of corporate debt issuance driven by the artificial intelligence boom. According to people familiar with the matter, the final size of the bond sale has not been determined and may be adjusted based on market demand. Another person familiar with the matter said AMD plans to issue the bonds in four tranches, with maturities ranging from 3 to 10 years. Among them, the initial price guidance for the 10-year bond is set at 115 basis points over U.S. Treasuries. AMD stated in a filing that the proceeds from the bond offering will be used for general corporate purposes, which may include debt repayment.

Google Launches Gemini 3.7 Flash, Delivering Major Leap in Coding and Agent Capabilities

Google has launched Gemini 3.7 Flash, further accelerating iterations of low-cost agent models. As the latest version of the Flash series, Gemini 3.7 Flash focuses on coding, AI agents, and complex knowledge-work scenarios. Google said the new model shows marked performance improvements over 3.6 Flash in software engineering, web development, and knowledge-intensive tasks. In terms of coding capabilities, Gemini 3.7 Flash can better handle debugging, problem fixing, and production-grade code generation tasks.

SanDisk Expects Mid-to-High Double-Digit Revenue Growth from FY2028 to FY2030

SanDisk unveiled its long-term financial model at its 2026 Investor Day, outlining a series of financial targets to be achieved from FY2028 to FY2030, including maintaining mid-to-high double-digit revenue growth during this period. The company also pledged to return 100% of remaining cash to shareholders after completing business investments.

Industry & Macro News

Advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader: Conflict May Escalate If Conditions Are Not Met

Mokhber, an advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader, posted on social media on the 13th that if Iran's conditions are not met, the Supreme Leader has made a clear strategic decision to respond by escalating the conflict. Mokhber said the current situation has demonstrated the US's lack of capacity to protect its Persian Gulf allies. He added that the most enduring path to establishing a new regional order lies in promoting the implementation of the "Hormuz Economic Security Mechanism" to shed reliance on US military guarantees.

US July PPI Comes in Below Expectations, Producer Inflation Cools Significantly

Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Thursday showed that the US Producer Price Index (PPI) was flat month-over-month in July, below the market expectation of a 0.2% rise; year-over-year, it rose 4.7%, down significantly from 5.5% in June and below the market expectation of 4.9%, indicating that producer-level inflation pressures in the US are cooling. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% month-over-month, below the market expectation of 0.3%; year-over-year, it increased 4.2%, declining further from the previous value of 4.7%. The US July CPI, released a day earlier, also dropped from 3.5% to 3.4% year-over-year, with two consecutive inflation reports showing an easing of price pressures.

Fed's Hammack: The Fed Must Raise Rates Now

Fed official Hammack recently stated: "The Fed must raise interest rates now because current policy is not restrictive, and inflation has risen following recent shocks. Rapid growth could exert additional pressure on prices. Raising rates may bring pain, but economic growth and investment cannot be allowed to proceed so quickly that the economy overheats. Inflation today is widespread and not confined to certain sectors. It is crucial that the Fed takes responsibility for inflation data."