Whispering trouble

Ipek Ozkardeskaya ipekScope

The week started on a cautious note in Europe, but in a better mood for the US' tech-heavy indices. The Nasdaq 100 advanced more than 1% on Monday, with chipmakers leading gains. Broadcom, for example, jumped 3.7% after extending an agreement to provide new custom chips to Apple through 2031, while VanEck's Semiconductor ETF added 2% ahead of Samsung Electronics' earnings announcement today.

And the latter didn't go well. I mean, it did—looking purely at the numbers. Samsung delivered VERY strong – and stronger-than-expected – results. Its operating profit rose to nearly ₩90 trillion (the equivalent of $58bn), its quarterly profit surged 19-fold year-on-year and the profit margin for the memory chip business was around 80% – also showing the incredible pricing power the company has thanks to booming AI demand.

Yet, Samsung shares tanked 9% in South Korea after the results, pulling the Korean Kospi 8% down – yes, the index is down almost as much as a single company's stock – this is how overly dependent the Kospi is on the health of just two companies. Trading there was stopped again to give the market room to breathe!

Read the full article here.

Author

Ipek Ozkardeskaya

ipekScope

Ipek Ozkardeskaya began her financial career in 2010 in the structured products desk of the Swiss Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. She worked in HSBC Private Bank in Geneva in relation to high and ultra-high-net-worth clients.

GBP/USD gains as easing Fed hike bets weigh on US Dollar

GBP/USD continues its winning streak for the ninth consecutive day, trading around 1.3390 during the Asian hours on Tuesday. The currency pair rises as the US Dollar faces headwinds as market participants scale back expectations for Federal Reserve rate hikes this month and in September.

EUR/USD extends the range play above 1.1400 as Hormuz risks support USD

The EUR/USD pair extends its sideways consolidative price move during the Asian session on Tuesday, though it manages to hold comfortably above the 1.1400 mark. Moreover, spot prices remain well within striking distance of a nearly two-week high, touched last Thursday.

Gold extends pullback from $4,200 as eyes turn to Fed Minutes

Gold attracts sellers for the second straight day and drops to the $4,125-$4,124 region. Crude oil prices edge higher amid renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, reviving inflationary concerns, and in turn acts as a tailwind for the US Treasury bond yields and a key factor driving flows away from the non-yielding yellow metal.

Bitcoin loses steam around $63,000 – DeFi tokens rally

Bitcoin sustains above $63,000 at press time on Tuesday, upholding a streak of six consecutive days of gains despite Strategy selling 3,588 BTC on Monday. The broader crypto market sentiment holds while DeFi tokens such as DeXe and LayerZero emerge as top gainers over the last 24 hours.

Bye, forward guidance: How to trade when central banks choose silence

Central banks have spent years telling markets what might come next. Now, traders face the possibility that they say a lot less. From the Federal Reserve to the European Central Bank and the Bank of England, policymakers are pushing back against forward guidance, arguing that the current world demands more flexibility.