[New York Stock Exchange] Dow Jones Hits Record High... Semiconductor Sector Loses Momentum

WTI Falls Below $90
U.S. Treasury Yields Also Decline

On May 27 (local time), the three major U.S. stock indexes all closed higher as optimism continued that a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran would be reached despite ongoing differences between the two sides, and international oil prices fell. The Dow Jones Index hit a record high.

On this day, at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow Jones Index) finished at 50,644.28, up 182.60 points (0.36%) from the previous trading day. The S&P 500 Index, which focuses on large-cap stocks, rose 1.24 points (0.02%) to close at 7,520.36, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Index gained 18.554 points (0.07%) to end at 26,674.735.

New York Stock Exchange. New York, USA - Photo by Yoonjoo Hwang

The market reacted strongly in early trading to a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a ceasefire reported by Iranian media. According to Iranian reports, the draft included the withdrawal of U.S. forces stationed around Iran and the lifting of the maritime blockade against Iran. As a result, international oil prices immediately plunged by more than 4%. However, the White House dismissed these reports as "completely fabricated."

Accordingly, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, July delivery of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 5.6% from the previous session to $88.68 per barrel. On the ICE Futures Exchange, July delivery of Brent crude declined 5.3% to $94.29 per barrel from the previous session.

The upward momentum of the semiconductor sector, which has recently driven gains in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, appeared to lose steam. On the previous day, shares of Micron Technology surged over 19%, pushing its market capitalization past $1 trillion for the first time ever, but today, after retreating from intraday highs, it closed up 3.6%. Another semiconductor company, Intel, showed a similar trend. Unlike the previous day’s gains, both Intel and Qualcomm ended lower.

Eric Parnell, chief market strategist at Great Valley Advisor Group, commented, "No matter how much we emphasize it, the revolutionary impact that artificial intelligence (AI) will have in the coming years and decades cannot be overstated. However, the current stock prices of many semiconductor companies that provide the computing infrastructure necessary for AI implementation are excessively inflated and do not accurately reflect reality." He added, "While semiconductor stocks are currently experiencing a boom, it is important to remember that, historically, a downturn has followed periods of prosperity."

JP Morgan also closed down about 2%. Investor sentiment appeared to weaken after Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, suggested at a conference the possibility of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) worth up to $20 billion (approximately 30 trillion won) within the next two years.

Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields are trending downward. According to Investing.com, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasuries is at 4.481%, down 1.1 basis points (1bp = 0.01 percentage points) from the previous session. The yield on 30-year U.S. Treasuries has dropped 1.6 basis points to 5.009%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.