Market Snapshot
On the afternoon of June 16, according to Iranian media reports cited by Xinhua News Agency, Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi stated that a new round of negotiations between Iran and the United States may take place in Switzerland on June 19, with Iranian Parliament Speaker Qalibaf and U.S. Vice President Vance attending the signing ceremony of the Iran-U.S. Memorandum of Understanding. On the evening of June 16, U.S. President Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would be fully reopened by Friday.
Additionally, U.S. ADP employment change for the week ending May 30 was +25,500, compared with a prior reading of +29,000. Over the four weeks ended May 30, 2026, private-sector employers added an average of 25,500 jobs per week.
U.S. stock index futures were mixed, with Dow Jones futures up 0.15%, Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.05%, and S&P 500 futures up 0.05%; international oil prices declined, while spot gold rebounded.
$Star Tech Companies (LIST2518.US)$Most stocks fell in pre-market trading, with Amazon rising nearly 1%, Tesla and Intel down over 1%, Microsoft down nearly 1%, Qualcomm up over 4%, and Micron Technology up over 3%.
$China Concept Stocks (LIST2517.US)$Most stocks declined in pre-market trading, with Baidu down over 3%, Alibaba down over 2%, Nio down nearly 2%, Tencent Music down over 1%, and PDD Holdings down nearly 1%.
$Data storage stock (LIST23925.US)$All stocks rose in pre-market trading, with Western Digital up over 8%, Seagate Technology up over 6%, Micron Technology up nearly 3%, and SanDisk and Silicon Motion up nearly 2%.
$Gold (LIST2110.US)$Stocks broadly rose in pre-market trading, with Pan American Silver up over 2%, Newmont and Agnico Eagle Mines up over 1%, and Barrick Mining up nearly 1%.
Individual Stock News
Qualcomm rose over 3% in pre-market trading, reportedly in talks to acquire Tenstorrent to expand its AI chip capabilities.
$Qualcomm (QCOM.US)$It is reported that Qualcomm is in discussions to acquire startup Tenstorrent to enhance its AI chip capabilities. Sources indicate that the two companies are discussing a price range of at least $8 billion to $10 billion. Negotiations are ongoing at this stage, and the price may be adjusted; the talks could also potentially collapse.
If this transaction closes at the upper end of the valuation range at $10 billion, it would become one of the largest acquisitions in the global AI chip sector in the past three years, underscoring Qualcomm’s strategic commitment to accelerating its transformation into high-end AI computing and data center hardware.
Western Digital rose nearly 8% in pre-market trading, while Seagate Technology gained over 5%, as Morgan Stanley warned that hard drive shortages will persist through at least 2028.
Morgan Stanley published a research report on the IT hardware sector, noting that analyst Erik W. Woodring and his team conducted intensive field visits across Asian markets over the past three weeks—including participation in the Taiwan AI Summit, COMPUTEX exhibition, and Western Digital’s Asia roadshow—gathering critical firsthand data. Their assessment is that the HDD industry’s upcycle is extending, shortages are more severe than previously anticipated, and suppliers’ pricing power is significantly stronger than the market currently recognizes.
The firm raised its$Seagate Technology (STX.US)$price target from USD 767 to USD 1,035,$Western Digital (WDC.US)$and from USD 488 to USD 650; under an extremely optimistic pricing scenario, both companies could see their EPS grow approximately tenfold between CY25 and CY28.
“Celebrity retail investor” Serenity: AMD is urgently securing CW laser supply, benefiting AAOI and SIVE
“Celebrity retail investor” Serenity posted on X that$NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$has fully locked up EML (Electro-absorption Modulated Laser) capacity, creating an industry-wide bottleneck; it is now employing the same strategy to secure CW laser capacity (primarily through$Lumentum (LITE.US)$、$Coherent (COHR.US)$, and potentially$Marvell Technology (MRVL.US)$long-term supply agreements with Celestial). To ensure its future production capacity is not constrained by NVIDIA,$Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$Urgently scrambling to secure CW laser supply.
Serenity's analysis of the current supply chain status for related products is as follows: Major manufacturers such as Lumentum and Coherent are already largely booked out, leaving very few remaining independent or merchant suppliers (e.g.,$Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI.US)$、$MACOM Technology Solutions (MTSI.US)$, SIVE), forcing all parties to compete for these limited sources. Independent CW laser-related companies such as AAOI and SIVE have become key beneficiaries.
Alibaba Launches Its First Embodied Large Model Series, Qwen-Robot
$Alibaba (BABA.US)$Launched the Qwen-Robot series of embodied AI foundation models, comprising three core models: the Vision-Language-Action manipulation model Qwen-RobotManip, the Vision-Language-Navigation mobility model Qwen-RobotNav, and the world model Qwen-RobotWorld. This marks the first complete embodied intelligence model series within the Qwen family—equipping robots with dexterous hands, navigational feet, and a thinking brain. These models can be deployed individually or operate collaboratively, providing a reliable 'universal foundation' to enable diverse robotic forms to achieve real-world deployment.
SpaceX rises nearly 4% in pre-market trading on news of a proposed $60 billion acquisition of Cursor developer Anysphere.
$SpaceX (SPCX.US)$On Tuesday, it announced plans to acquire Anysphere, the developer of the popular AI coding agent Cursor, for $60 billion to expand its footprint in the enterprise artificial intelligence market. SpaceX expects the transaction to close in the third quarter of 2026. Like OpenAI and Anthropic, Cursor is one of the Silicon Valley startups that has attracted a large number of developers in recent years.
These companies leverage AI to enable automatic code generation, and AI-powered programming has become one of the earliest commercially viable applications of artificial intelligence. This deal could help xAI—which merged with SpaceX in February—further strengthen its position in the AI coding market. xAI developed the chatbot Grok but has so far lagged behind competitors in AI programming. The transaction would also provide Cursor with greater computing resources to develop its AI models.
Goldman Sachs: Raises Tesla’s Q2 delivery forecast to 420,000 units, maintains 'neutral' rating
In a research note, Goldman Sachs stated that based on the latest sales data,$Tesla (TSLA.US)$With strong performance across markets including the U.S., Europe, China, South Korea, and Australia, the company’s second-quarter vehicle deliveries are expected to exceed market expectations. Accordingly, the second-quarter delivery forecast has been raised from 405,000 units to 420,000 units—above the consensus market expectation of 400,000 units—while maintaining a “Neutral” rating and unchanged target price of USD 375.
The firm also slightly adjusted its full-year 2026 delivery forecast upward from 1.72 million units to 1.73 million units, while keeping its forecasts for 2027 and 2028 unchanged at 1.88 million and 1.96 million units, respectively. The 2026 earnings per share (EPS) forecast, inclusive of share-based compensation expenses, was revised upward from USD 1.30 to USD 1.35, with EPS forecasts for 2027 and 2028 remaining unchanged.
Rumors circulate that SK Hynix is 'planning a shareholder return program worth 100 trillion Korean won'; the company responds: it has never discussed such a specific scale.
On the evening of June 16, according to Jiemian, in response to market rumors that 'SK Hynix plans to introduce a shareholder return policy worth KRW 100 trillion,' the company clarified that the reported scale of returns is inaccurate. SK Hynix stated, 'We are exploring various options to enhance shareholder value, but we have never discussed specific details such as the scale of shareholder returns mentioned in the report.'
Applied Materials launches new deposition and etch equipment to advance 3D wafer manufacturing processes
$Applied Materials (AMAT.US)$Two new systems targeting advanced semiconductor manufacturing have been launched, designed to address core challenges in precision processing of high-aspect-ratio 3D structures, further enabling scaling of logic and memory chip processes. Against the backdrop of continuously expanding AI computing demand, the global semiconductor industry is accelerating its transition toward architectures such as gate-all-around (GAA) transistors and high-layer-count 3D NAND.
Applied Materials has introduced the Centris™ Spectral™ SiN ALD system for dielectric film deposition and the Producer™ Selectra™ Mo Etch system for selective metal removal—two critical process steps. These systems have already been adopted by leading logic and memory chip manufacturers for high-volume production of advanced nodes.
Salesforce acquires AI agent platform Fin for USD 3.6 billion.
$Salesforce (CRM.US)$It has agreed to acquire customer agent company Fin for USD 3.6 billion to strengthen its Agentforce AI agent platform. Salesforce stated that it expects Fin’s suite of products and proprietary models to complement Agentforce and offer capabilities that can be rapidly deployed.
Fin’s AI agents are powered by the company’s proprietary Apex model and can handle customer inquiries across channels including live chat, email, WhatsApp, SMS, phone calls, and Slack. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2027.
Global Macro
Trump Says U.S.-Iran Deal Negotiations Enter Second Phase
According to Xinhua News Agency, Trump stated that the U.S. and Iran have successfully signed a memorandum of understanding online, and negotiations on a U.S.-Iran agreement have now entered a second phase, which 'should be easier than the first.' He also said the U.S. would not invest any funds in Iran.
Bank of America Survey: Most Investors Expect the Federal Reserve to Hold Steady
Bank of America's June Global Fund Manager Survey shows that investors broadly expect the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady on Wednesday. Approximately 55% of investors anticipate a 'hawkish hold'—meaning rates remain unchanged and new Fed Chair Volcker signals that higher rates will be maintained for longer. Meanwhile, 33% expect a 'dovish hold,' in which Volcker leaves the door open for further rate cuts.
The European Parliament votes to approve legislation related to the EU-U.S. trade agreement
On June 16 local time, the European Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France, gave final approval to legislation related to the EU-U.S. trade agreement. Under established procedures, the legislative text will now be submitted to the Council of the European Union for approval. On May 20, representatives of the European Parliament and the Council reached an agreement on the legislative proposal concerning the EU-U.S. trade deal, agreeing to grant tariff concessions on U.S. imports into the EU while strengthening safeguard mechanisms to protect the interests of the EU and its member states. U.S. President Trump previously warned that if the EU fails to implement the agreement by July 4, the U.S. would significantly increase tariffs on EU exports.
Legendary investor Klarman warns: AI boom exhibits bubble characteristics; his fund refrains from investing in OpenAI and Anthropic
Seth Klarman, founder of the hedge fund Baupost Group—often dubbed the 'Boston Buffett'—has recently issued a stern warning about the current artificial intelligence (AI) investment frenzy, stating that market valuations already display clear signs of a bubble. His fund has entirely abstained from investing in large language model companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Klarman has managed Baupost for 44 years, during which the fund recorded losses in only five years, earning renown for its rigorous downside risk protection.
He believes that current tech market valuations are 'extremely stretched,' with investors making overly optimistic assumptions about a distant future simply to align with prevailing new-era thinking. He explicitly stated that Baupost has not invested in any trillion-parameter large language model companies, as these firms continue to burn vast amounts of capital and face existential risks should their technology fall behind—criteria that fail to meet his definition of a great business.
The market tends to categorize companies simplistically into 'AI winners,' 'AI losers,' and 'AI agnostics,' with capital pouring frenetically into the first group. Baupost is currently focusing on 'AI agnostics' whose valuations have been unfairly depressed—companies that either will not be disrupted by AI or for which AI has virtually no impact on their business. Additionally, the team is evaluating certain credit assets perceived by the market as 'AI losers,' believing they may present mispricing opportunities.
South Korean banks tighten restrictions on margin trading; Goldman Sachs advises clients to hedge against downside risk in Korean equities
The risk signals in South Korea’s stock market go beyond merely 'rising too fast.' More critically, part of the capital fueling the rally has come from credit loans and overdraft facilities—a funding channel now being tightened by banks. Major Korean banks initially restricted mortgage lending and have now extended controls to credit loans, overdraft accounts, and online lending platforms, with a clear objective: to curb borrowing for stock investments.
In a client note, Goldman Sachs trader Alvin So stated that the AI and semiconductor thesis remains robust and valuations are still attractive, but 'a new structural dynamic has become more significant in the market than ever before.' This dynamic refers to the amplification effect driven by leveraged ETFs and derivatives positions. The core message is not an immediate bearish call on Korean tech stocks, but rather a reminder to clients: maintain core long positions, but hedge against short-term drawdowns using options.
Top 20 pre-market trading volume stocks in the U.S.
Reminder of the US stock market macroeconomic calendar
(The following times are in Beijing Time)
In the early hours of the following morning,
04:30 U.S. API Crude Oil Inventories for the Week Ended June 12 (in 10,000 barrels)
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