Today’s Market Recap: Unexpected PPI Drop Boosts Markets, Apple Hits All-Time High, AI Hardware Stocks Remain Under Pressure, Micron, SanDisk Slump

Tracking Market Trends

TradingKey - On July 15, Eastern Time, the three major US stock indexes closed higher for the second consecutive trading day. The unexpected decline in the US June PPI further strengthened expectations of cooling inflation, while the start of the corporate earnings season continued to beat market expectations, driving capital back into the stock market. Although the US-Iran conflict continues and crude oil prices remain high, investors on the day focused more on cooling inflation, earnings resilience, and the performance of mega-cap tech stocks.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.29% to 52,664.28 points; the S&P 500 Index rose 0.38% to 7,572.40 points; and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.62% to 26,269.23 points.

In terms of sectors and individual stocks, storage and AI hardware stocks continued to be under pressure. Micron Technology ( MU) fell 8.02%, SanDisk ( SNDK) fell 8.12%, Marvell ( MRVL) fell 7.27%, Intel ( INTC) fell 4.43%, AMD ( AMD) fell 3.46%. Profit-taking continued in AI hardware and storage chip stocks that had previously seen excessive gains, indicating a divergence within the AI trade: software, cloud, and mega-cap tech platforms remained relatively strong, while volatility in the hardware chain amplified significantly.

As for mega-cap tech stocks, Apple ( AAPL) rose 3.97% to $327.50, hitting a new record high, with its market value further approaching $5 trillion; Alphabet ( GOOGL) rose 3.17%, and Nvidia ( NVDA) ticked up 0.29%. In contrast, the performance of semiconductor and AI hardware stocks diverged, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index falling about 2%, indicating that capital has not fully returned to the chip sector.

In commodities, WTI ( USOIL) crude oil closed up 0.54% at $80.25; Brent crude ( UKOIL) closed down 0.09% at $85.07. After the US launched a new round of strikes against Iranian coastal defense systems and cruise missile facilities, the market remains focused on shipping security in the Strait of Hormuz. Spot gold ( XAUUSD) rose 0.17% to $4,059.93. The unexpected decline in US PPI weighed on the US dollar and Treasury yields, providing support for gold; however, the Middle East situation kept oil prices high, which also raised concerns that subsequent inflation could rebound, thereby limiting the upside of gold's rebound.

Market News

US PPI unexpectedly declined in June, further boosting expectations of cooling inflation. Data from the US Department of Labor showed that the producer price index (PPI) for final demand fell 0.3% month-on-month in June, below market expectations for a flat reading. This is another positive signal from inflation data following the previous cooling CPI. The market believes that two consecutive moderating inflation reports will give the Federal Reserve more reason to keep interest rates unchanged at its July meeting, while also reducing the pressure for another rate hike in the near term.

Earnings from major financial institutions continue to beat expectations. Morgan Stanley ( MS) second-quarter profit beat market expectations, mainly driven by improvements in its trading and investment banking businesses; BlackRock ( BLK) second-quarter profit also beat expectations, with assets under management rising to a record high. The earnings performance of financial stocks indicates that despite the uncertainties brought by high interest rates and geopolitical conflicts, active capital market trading and the recovery of IPO and M&A activities are improving the earnings outlook for major Wall Street financial institutions.

ASML raised its 2026 outlook, as AI chip demand continues to support the semiconductor equipment cycle. ASML reported stronger-than-expected second-quarter results and raised its full-year revenue and margin guidance, while planning to expand capacity to meet AI chip demand. As the core global supplier of advanced process EUV lithography machines, ASML's improving performance indicates that investment in AI infrastructure is continuing. However, US semiconductor indices still fell on the day, showing that the market remains cautious regarding short-term valuations and profit-taking pressure in the chip sector.

Anthropic accelerates IPO plans, potentially listing ahead of OpenAI. Market sources report that AI startup Anthropic is accelerating its IPO preparations, planning to hold intensive investor meetings in the coming weeks, and could list as early as October this year. The company's valuation has risen to approximately $965 billion, with Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan Chase expected to serve as joint lead underwriters. Growing enterprise AI demand supports Anthropic's listing, but AI regulation, model safety reviews, and whether the market will accept its high valuation remain key variables affecting its subsequent performance.

The US-Iran conflict remains the largest uncertainty in the energy market. The US launched a new round of strikes against Iranian military targets and reinforced its blockade of Iranian ports and shipping. Iran, meanwhile, continued to threaten to restrict regional energy exports. Although crude oil prices rose only slightly on the day, WTI and Brent crude remained at recent highs, indicating that the market has not yet fully eased concerns over shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz and energy supply disruptions.

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