Contracts decline in New York, chip stocks fall – Broadcom by 14%

15:53

Macro in the USA – The number of Americans who submitted new applications for unemployment benefits rose to 225,000 in the week ending May 30, compared to 212,000 the previous week. The figure was higher than the forecasts of economists, who expected 215,000 new applications, but it is still in a range that is considered consistent with a strong and healthy labor market.

This means that despite certain signs of a slowdown in economic activity and concerns about the effect of the war with Iran on inflation, the American labor market continues to demonstrate relative resilience. As long as the number of claims remains in the region of 200-250 thousand per week, most economists do not see this as a sign of a significant weakening of employment.

For the Fed, the figure supports the assessment that there is no immediate pressure to lower interest rates, as the labor market continues to be stable despite high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty.

15:43

Wall Street contracts are now falling as investors take profits in chip stocks following disappointing Broadcom reports, while also following the recent escalation in the Middle East.

S&P 500 falls by 0.5%, Nasdaq by more than 1%, on the other hand the Dow Jones index rises by about 0.5%.

stock Broadcom Falling 13% in early trading after the company posted lower-than-expected quarterly revenue. Also a share Crowdstrike falling 10% after providing a disappointing revenue forecast for the next quarter.

The declines were felt in the entire chip sector, which led the recent rally to new highs. The SOXX basket fund falls by about 4% in early trading. Among the stocks that stand out in decline, ARM, Micron and Marvel.

The weakness comes after a day of negative trading on Wall Street, as tensions between the US and Iran continue to cloud sentiment. Iran attacked Kuwait’s international airport, while the US Central Command reported intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles and drones and carrying out defensive strikes on Qeshm Island in the Persian Gulf.

If the declines continue, the S&P 500 index is expected to move to a weekly decline, which could interrupt an impressive streak of nine weeks of gains.

From the point of view of the market, the interesting story is that the pressure is actually coming from chip stocks, the sector that led the gains in recent months. Therefore, investors will closely monitor whether this is a temporary realization of profits after a sharp rally, or the beginning of a wider rotation out of AI stocks and chips.

15:40

The Israeli fintech company Global-E Announced a new program for own purchase of shares (Buy Back) in the amount of up to 500 million dollars. Although the stock has increased by 15% in recent weeks, it still records a negative return of 19% since the beginning of the year. According to CFO Ofer Koren, the company has completed about 80% of the previous buyback program (in the amount of 200 million dollars), and he added that “the new program reflects our confidence in the company’s ability to generate a strong and sustainable cash flow while continuing to invest in strategic initiatives.”

13:25

Trading in Europe continues to be conducted in a mixed trend, the German DAX and the French CAC indices are trading in the green and register price increases of 0.6% and 1.1% respectively. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index strengthened and is currently trading with slight price increases of about 0.2%. On the other hand, the British Potsey index retreated by 0.3%. At the same time, the futures on Wall Street indicate a mixed opening. The Dow Jones rises by about 0.8%, the S&P 500 weakens by about 0.4% and the Nasdaq loses its value by about 1.3%.

In the commodities arena, the optimism surrounding the implementation of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon continues to push energy prices down. Brent oil loses about 3.5% and retreats to the level of $94.3 per barrel, and American oil (WTI) sheds about 3.8% and trades around $92.3 per barrel.

13:50

Trading in Europe has a mixed trend, the German DAX and the French CAC indices are trading in the green and register price increases of 0.4% and 0.6% respectively. On the other hand, the pan-European Stoxx 600 index weakened slightly by about 0.1%, and the British FTSE index retreated by 0.7%. At the same time, the futures on Wall Street indicate a mixed opening. The Dow Jones rises by about 0.7%, the S&P 500 weakens by about 0.3% and the Nasdaq loses its value by about 1.2%.

US government bond yields are taking a break and are trading relatively stable, as investors await the weekly unemployment claims data to be published later today, and especially the crucial government employment report tomorrow (Fri). The 10-year yield trades around 4.48%, while the 2-year yield weakens slightly to a level of 4.06%. On the CNBC network they emphasized that “Investors are waiting for the picture clearer view of the employment market in the US” to assess the continuation of the interest rate path of the Federal Reserve, noting that the geopolitical risks also keep the market on hold.

In the commodities arena, the optimism surrounding the implementation of the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Lebanon continues to push energy prices down. Brent oil loses about 1.1% and retreats to the level of 96.7 dollars per barrel, and the American oil (WTI) sheds about 0.9% and trades around 95.2 dollars per barrel.

Heavy pressure was also registered in the arena of digital currencies: Bitcoin loses close to 5% of its value and trades at a level of approximately $62,400.

11:10

Trading in Europe is in a slightly positive trend: the German DAX and the French CAC indices register price increases of about 0.6%, the European STOXX 600 index strengthens by about 0.4%, and the British FTSE adds about 0.2% to its value.

In the centers of commerce on the continent, the stock of the music giant Universal Music Group falls by about 6-7% and drags the French corporation Bolura with it. This is after the Pershing hedge fund Square of the billionaire Bill Ackman liquidated its holdings in the company worth about 1.5 billion dollars (during which it generated an estimated profit of 600 million dollars), and this after two takeover attempts by Ackman failed due to the opposition of the Bolura family. As part of a self-purchase program, Universal bought back about 14 million of its shares from the hands of Ackman’s fund, at a value of about 250 million euros.

At the same time, the reports from Europe also link the sentiment in the markets to the growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East (the escalation between the US and Iran on the one hand, and the reports of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon on the other). Against the background of trade, the OECD economists warn that “the continuation of the conflict in the Middle East could cut global growth in half”.

In Asia, trading closed with falling rates, the Japanese Nikkei index fell by about 1.4% and the Shanghai index lost 0.6%. Early trading on Wall Street opened with a mixed trend. The Dow Jones index rises by 0.2%, while the Nasdaq index weakens by about half a percent and the S&P 500 index falls by about 0.3%. In the commodity sector, the price of Brent oil decreases slightly and trades around the level of 96.2 dollars per barrel.

10:10

European stock markets open the day with a mixed trend. The DAX index rises by about 0.2%, the POTSI trades stably, and the CAC advances by about 0.4%.

9:35

Asia

Following yesterday’s declines on Wall Street, trading in Asia this morning is on a negative trend. The Tokyo Stock Exchange fell by about 1.4%, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange weakened by about 1.7%, the Shanghai Stock Exchange lost its value by about 0.7% and the Seoul Stock Exchange weakened by about 1.8%. The declines come against the background of the exchange of blows between the US and Iran and the relatively high levels of oil prices. In addition, the futures contracts are traded mainly with price decreases, with the contracts on the Nasdaq retreating by about 0.5%.

The one leading the negative trend is the Japanese investment giant Softbank, whose stock fell by 10.6%. The decrease comes, among other things, against the backdrop of growing concerns in the market about copycat betting and the high risk the company is taking on the AI ​​sector. The pressure did not escape the chip giants of South Korea, Samsung and SK Hynix either, which weakened up to 3.5%, against the background of the weak reports published by the chip giant Broadcom during the night – which led to a 13% drop in the stock during the night.

Meanwhile, the general pressure is adversely affecting India. The powerful AI boom that is catapulting Taiwan and South Korea (which recently overtook India in the global market capitalization rankings), highlights India’s lack of exposure to this sector. Foreign investors continue to flee the Indian market at an unprecedented rate, with sales of $27.6 billion since January (compared to $18.9 billion in all of 2025). In the background, a slowdown in private consumption in India, inflation, a weak rupee and fears that AI and automation will harm the competitive advantage of the cheap Indian labor force in the long term, cloud the local indices and lead to the consideration of a surprise interest rate hike already this week to protect the currency.

Wall Street

Last night in New York, the impressive streak of gains was interrupted, and the leading indexes retreated from the highs they set on Tuesday. The S&P 500 index fell by 0.7% and closed at 7,553 points, after nine consecutive days of gains. The Nasdaq index lost 0.9% and closed at a level of 26,853 points, and the Dow Jones index led the negative trend with a 1.2% decrease to a level of 50,687 points. Investors reacted nervously to the rise in US government bond yields (the 10-year bond yield climbed to 4.49%) and the renewed geopolitical pressures.

After the massive rally of chip stocks and AI infrastructure in the last few days, yesterday there was a lull in the sector. Many major names in the fields of AI and technology ended the day in the red, among them Nvidia , Alphabetical (Google) , Microsoft , dark andAmazon . Investors also took profits from some of the AI ​​players who made particularly sharp moves in recent days. stock poor which jumped by over 35% last week following the publication of particularly strong reports, recorded a decline, as did its share HPE which climbed over 20% following the reports earlier this week. on the other hand, Marvel which jumped about 30% yesterday after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang hailed it as the “next trillion dollar company,” climbed in trading.

The software sector also stood out negatively, with declines in shares such as Palantir , oracle andNow service . The hedge fund IGV, which tracks shares in the software sector, fell by more than 4%. On the other hand, the energy stocks strengthened, against the background of the increase in oil prices in the world, among them Exxon Mobile , misfortune andConoco-Phillips .

The cyber security stock Palo Alto Networks retreated yesterday from the peak it reached earlier this week. This, even though the company exceeded analysts’ forecasts in its reports for the third fiscal quarter. The company’s revenues grew by 31.1% compared to the corresponding quarter, mainly thanks to the contribution of the recent acquisitions of the Israeli Cyberark and the American Chronosphere (which together contributed 388 million dollars). However, in the line of profit according to GAAP rules, the company moved to a net loss of 177 million dollars, against the background of an increase in operating expenses and a decrease in gross profit to 67.6%. On the other hand, in Non-GAAP terms (excluding capital rewards and acquisition expenses), net profit jumped 21.9% to $684 million, with the company generating $781 million from current operations.

Yesterday, it was reported that Elon Musk’s SpaceX plans to set a fixed price of $135 per share ahead of the official marketing of its initial public offering, and that the company plans to start trading on the Nasdaq on June 12. CNBC reported that usually, at this stage of the process, new issuers offer a price range that allows the company and its advisers to test the sensitivity of demand at different price levels; but in this case, SpaceX took a more unique approach following a series of Exploration meetings before going to the roadshow.

The company plans to sell 555.6 million shares, which indicates an issue volume of $75 billion, when under a price tag of $135 per share, SpaceX’s value will be $1.75 trillion – a figure based on the assumption that its deals with EchoStar and Cursor will be closed. This valuation would make SpaceX the seventh largest company in the US, placing it above Tesla, whose market value is around $1.6 trillion.

During the night, the chip giant Broadcom the sixth largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization, fell more than 13% in late trading on Wall Street, after it released its financial results for its second fiscal quarter, missing analysts’ expectations on the revenue line. The company reported earnings per share of $2.44 compared to expectations for $2.4, and revenues of $22.19 billion compared to expectations for $22.27 billion.

CNBC reported that Broadcom is helping other tech companies develop custom chip architectures, providing intellectual property and other essential technologies that artificial intelligence (AI) chips require. The company is attracting increasing attention from investors, amid the trend in which the cloud giants are designing their own customized chips. As of the close of trading last night, Broadcom’s stock climbed close to 40% since the beginning of the year. The stock has surged over 700% since the end of 2022, when ChatGPT started the AI ​​boom.

The commodity and currency markets

In the oil market, energy prices climbed by over 2% yesterday, against the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty and the escalation between the US and Iran, as well as following reports of Iranian strikes in the Strait of Hormuz. This morning, prices are slightly down, after the agreement between Israel, the US and Lebanon on the ceasefire. Brent crude is trading around $97 per barrel, while US crude (WTI) is trading around $95 per barrel. JP Morgan estimated yesterday that the depletion of oil stocks will force the reopening of the strait as early as this June.

In the crypto market, the bitcoin currency weakened and fell by another 4% to the $65,000 area – its lowest level since the beginning of February. This morning, it continues to fall and is trading around $64,000 per coin. The decline is attributed to the continued outflow of funds from US bitcoin-following hedge funds and the abandonment of risk assets in favor of chip and technology stocks.

The market analysts emphasize that the month of May closed as the worst month for the US Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) since their launch, with unprecedented negative outflows of approximately $2.43 billion. The rotation of funds towards the large technology stocks, alongside the geopolitical concerns and the physical sales of large institutional investors, continue to divert liquidity out of the crypto-assets, which are considered For the riskier in this period, the next support level closely watched by technical traders is in the $65,000 area.

Macro

In the US macro sector, the ISM purchasing managers’ index in the services sector for the month of May presented a reading of 53.6, a decrease of 0.4 points compared to April and below analysts’ expectations of 53.9. The index estimates the proportion of companies reporting growth in the period under review, so a reading above 50 points indicates expansion, and a reading below this threshold indicates contraction.

The main macro event this week is the publication of the official employment report for the month of May tomorrow (Fri), when the expectation is for the addition of 95 thousand new jobs and a stable unemployment rate.

Yesterday, the ADP employment index was published, which is considered the key preliminary indicator for the government employment report that will be published on Friday. The report for the month of May shows that the private sector in the US added 122,000 new jobs, a figure that indicates a positive and stable momentum in the labor market heading into the summer. Hiring in the past month was particularly broad and distributed – eight out of ten central sectors showed growth, and the demand for workers was recorded among employers of all sizes. The education and health services sector led with an addition of 57,000 jobs, followed by trade, transportation and the infrastructure that added 36,000 jobs.

According to Ofer Klein, head of the economics and research division at Harel Insurance and Finance, “the latest inflation data and the continuation of the disruptions in Hormuz have increased the hawkish voices within the central bank that talk about the possibility of raising interest rates. The question of whether we will move from a theoretical discussion to an actual possibility depends mainly on the trend in the labor market, hence the importance of the announcement on Friday.” If the report also shows strong data, this could push the Fed towards raising interest rates.