Crude oil prices are on the move higher again, putting pressure on equities and precious metals. Treasuries are also modestly lower, while the dollar is flat.
Tensions flared again in the Middle East over the weekend, with the US and Iran trading strikes near the Strait of Hormuz. US attacks on air-defense systems, radar sites, and missile and drone launch facilities were reportedly the fiercest in several weeks. US WTI oil futures traded above $75 a barrel before easing back a bit. Prices are up about 28% year-to-date, but well off their April highs.
SK Hynix, Samsung (South Korean Shares, 1-Month % Change)
Source: TradingView
South Korean stocks cascaded lower in overnight trading, led by chipmakers like SK Hynix Inc. (SKHY) and Samsung Electronics Co. The former semiconductor giant just sold $26.5 billion in US-traded American Depository Receipts on Friday, the largest-ever sale of US stock by a foreign company.
Some analysts speculated foreign investors were pivoting out of SK’s Korean shares into its US ADRs. Bloomberg data showed 1.7 trillion Korean won (or about $1.1 billion) of selling on the country’s Kospi index by foreign investors Monday. SK stock is now down 20.2% in the last month, while Samsung stock is off 25%.
Finally, the bill for AI-related infrastructure just keeps growing. Meta Platforms Inc. (META) is constructing an enormous data center facility in rural Louisiana – and just hiked its project estimate by an additional $40 billion.
All told, CEO Mark Zuckerberg now plans to spend more than $250 billion on the 4,000-acre campus. It will provide at least five gigawatts of computing power. Plus, it’s just one of more than 30 facilities in Meta's development pipeline.
