SK Hynix joins trillion-dollar club as US futures rise on Iran peace hopes
SK Hynix shares surge 12% to reach a $1 trillion valuation, while US stock futures extend gains on tech optimism and cautious peace talk expectations.
US stock futures rose early on Wednesday, extending a rally that saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hit record highs on Tuesday. The benchmark S&P 500 futures traded up 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures remained largely flat. Market optimism was underpinned by sustained confidence in the artificial intelligence sector and potential progress in US-Iran peace negotiations.
SK Hynix shares surged more than 12% on Wednesday, pushing the memory chip maker to a $1 trillion valuation in Asia. The milestone was reached just hours after peer Micron Technology crossed the same mark on Tuesday. Samsung Electronics had previously joined the trillion-dollar club earlier in May. The valuation surge reflects soaring demand for High-Bandwidth Memory chips, which have become a critical bottleneck in the AI trade, with production for these major beneficiaries allocated through 2026.
Despite the Strait of Hormuz remaining largely closed to commercial traffic, crude oil prices continued to drift lower. Brent crude fell to $94 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate traded at $90. This decline occurred even as US forces hit targets near the strait and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported firing at multiple US aircraft after they entered Iranian airspace. At least two non-Iranian supertankers exited the chokepoint on Tuesday, marking the first movement of unsanctioned crude in a week.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned that formalising a peace deal with Iran would take days. Key sticking points in the negotiations include Tehran’s $24 billion in frozen assets and its reluctance to allow free passage through the vital waterway, which transports a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas during peacetime. The uncertainty surrounding a conclusive end to hostilities has left the market outlook murky, though the prospect of a deal has provided a floor for equity prices.
In domestic developments, President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet at the White House on Wednesday, moving from the originally planned location at Camp David due to weather. Meanwhile, the US earnings season continues to wrap up, with Marvell Technology, Salesforce, Snowflake, and Abercrombie & Fitch set to report their results on Wednesday. The combination of tech strength and geopolitical monitoring defined the early trading session.
