US Stocks Close: Three Major Indices All Decline, Nasdaq Falls 0.57%, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index Edges Up 0.44%, SpaceX Shares Hit New Record Low, Market Eyes Upcoming Google and Tesla Earnings

TradingKey - As the US-Iran conflict continues to escalate, the market awaits post-market earnings reports from Google and Tesla. The three major US stock indexes were little changed, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index edged up 0.44%.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.01% to 52,219.35 points; the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.57% to 25,690.90 points; and the S&P 500 Index fell 0.14% to 7,499.04 points.

Tech Stock Performance

SpaceX (SPCX) fell 6.7% to $115.26, with its share price hitting a new all-time low.

According to estimates by S3 Partners, approximately 206 million SpaceX shares are currently shorted, representing about 32% of its publicly traded float, with the nominal short position valued at about $25 billion. This proportion has risen significantly recently. S3 Partners' data show that just last week, shorted SpaceX shares stood at approximately 185 million, representing 29% of the float; about a month ago, the estimated short position was around 40 million shares, accounting for about 5% to 7%.

Among megacap tech stocks, Broadcom (AVGO) rose 2.67% and Nvidia (NVDA) gained 2.30%. On the downside, SpaceX (SPCX) dropped 6.70%; Meta Platforms (META) fell 2.58%, Microsoft (MSFT) declined 1.86%, Google (GOOGL) shed 1.46%, Tesla (TSLA) lost 1.30%, Amazon (AMZN) slipped 1.09%, and Apple (AAPL) dipped 0.56%.

[Source: FutuBull]

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.44% to close at 12,410.66 points. Among its 30 constituents, 17 gained and 13 declined.

Among memory stocks, Seagate Technology (STX) rose 1.82%, Western Digital (WDC) gained 1.51%, and SanDisk (SNDK) advanced 0.62%. On the downside, SK Hynix (SKHY) slid 3.88% and Micron Technology (MU) fell 1.17%.

Company News

Cerebras Systems and CrowdStrike Form Strategic Partnership

Cerebras Systems announced a partnership with cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike to power AI detection and response on its inference platform. CrowdStrike will leverage Cerebras' top-tier inference computing power to support its Falcon AI Detection and Response (AIDR) system, while Cerebras will fully deploy the CrowdStrike Falcon platform to secure its own operations. Together, the two companies aim to merge ultimate inference computing power with native AI security capabilities for enterprise customers building and deploying AI at scale.

Trump Administration Accuses Moonshot AI of Suspected Illicit Acquisition of Nvidia Blackwell Chips

Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, singled out Chinese AI firm Moonshot AI, accusing it of obtaining servers powered by Nvidia GB300 (Blackwell series) chips through Thailand to train its Kimi K3 model, and building a "complex internal platform" to perform large-scale distillation of U.S. models.

Amazon Lays Off Staff in Its Artificial General Intelligence Unit

Amazon has laid off employees in its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) department, the latest in a series of smaller job cuts since its massive layoffs in January. An Amazon spokesperson stated: "We have been building large-scale AI models for years, and this remains one of our most important initiatives. We are concentrating our focus on the projects that matter most to our customers to move faster in key areas. This focus means making some difficult decisions, including eliminating certain roles within the AGI organization."

Nike Terminates Partnerships with Hundreds of Online Distributors in China

Nike announced the termination of its partnerships with hundreds of online distributors in China, planning to close its digital stores in the country starting in January 2027 while retaining only select authorized partners. Currently, Nike has over 1,000 online sellers in China. The company stated that these stores created an "overly complex and fragmented consumer experience" and that the market urgently needs to be reshaped. It is understood that Topsports International and Pou Sheng International have confirmed receiving termination notices. As part of the adjustment, Nike will increase investment in its more than 200 self-operated stores in China and upgrade the offline partner store experience.

SpaceX AI Reportedly Planning Large Data Center in Texas

According to a report by The Information, SpaceX AI has scouted multiple potential sites in Texas and has begun laying the groundwork for at least one large-scale data center. The company has already dispatched some of its existing data center employees to the area and recently posted several infrastructure-related job listings in Austin, Bastrop, and Corone.

Apple Plans to Upgrade Mac Product Line

Apple plans to overhaul its Mac product line, with people familiar with the matter saying the company plans to roll out new versions of all its Mac products starting this autumn through next year, including highly anticipated desktop updates, multiple laptops, and a redesigned MacBook Pro. This new round of Mac product updates will kick off with an entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro. This device will be among the first Mac models to feature the brand-new M6 chip, and Apple will also release its first iMac update in two years.

Industry and Macro News

US Media: Trump Administration Considering Military Action in Mali

According to media reports, the Trump administration is considering military action against the West African nation of Mali to strike an al-Qaeda-linked group known as "Support of Islam and Muslims" (JNIM). If approved, Mali would become the eighth country where President Trump has ordered airstrikes since the start of his second term. However, senior US officials are divided over whether to launch strikes against the militant group. According to several current and former officials, Sebastian Gorka, senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council, is a strong advocate for using force. When the White House was asked for comment, an administration official declined to say whether the president intends to conduct military strikes, but said the US has been urging North and West African governments to "purchase US equipment and services to support their war efforts to fight terrorists."

Iran Directly Responds to Trump Threat: Infrastructure Attacks Will Face Retaliation

According to Iran's Tasnim News Agency, citing an Iranian military source, Iran warned that if the US takes action against Iran's bridges or power plants, Tehran will in turn strike infrastructure and bridges in the Middle East, including energy facilities in which the US has interests. This is a direct response from Iran to Trump's latest threat, following Trump's warning to Iran that for every vessel attacked in the strait, the US would destroy a bridge or power plant. The source said: "If vessels coordinate with Iran when passing through the Strait of Hormuz and follow Iranian arrangements, they will be able to pass safely; otherwise, Iran will not abandon its firm resolve to control the strait and believes this is in the interest of the strait's long-term security."

World Bank Warns Continued US-Iran Conflict Could Slow Global Economic Growth to 1.3%

Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, said in an interview with the media on the 22nd that a renewed escalation of the conflict between the US and Iran could push up inflation and interest rates, slowing global economic growth to 1.3% this year. Gill said that given the high uncertainty of the war in the Middle East, the World Bank modeled three outcomes in its June economic forecasts, and the worst-case scenario of a conflict lasting six months or longer is close to becoming a reality. In this scenario, global inflation would reach 4.5% this year. He said the prolonged conflict and damage to oil infrastructure in the Middle East would also disrupt shipments of fertilizers, helium, and sulfur needed for agriculture, worsening food insecurity and triggering a series of chain reactions. Gill also noted that poor nations that have not yet recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic could face more severe food insecurity as a result, while spending on education, health, and other critical services in highly indebted countries could take a hit as interest rates rise. Once inflation accelerates, highly indebted countries could face severe debt-servicing problems within a few months.