Wall Street equities advanced on Thursday, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.8 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite climbing 1.3 per cent, as a rally in semiconductor stocks overpowered the latest US-Iran military strikes. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index surged more than 5 per cent, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high, reversing the previous session’s sharp sell-off.

The chip sector was propelled by a series of positive signals. SK Hynix’s US depositary receipt offering was more than seven times oversubscribed, set to raise about $24.5 billion. Micron Technology announced plans to invest over $250 billion in American plants through 2035 to capture AI memory demand, while reports that China might permit domestic access to Nvidia’s H200 chips hinted at an additional demand channel. Simultaneously, oil prices fell, with WTI crude down nearly 1 per cent to around $72.80 a barrel, after President Trump said Iran had called seeking a new agreement. The remarks, though lacking detail, were taken by traders as a potential de-escalation signal, even as both militaries continued to exchange fire.

European markets followed the positive lead, with the Stoxx 600 up 0.78 per cent, driven by technology names such as Siltronic, Soitec and ASML. In Latin America, Mexico’s IPC and Brazil’s Ibovespa posted modest gains, though a drop in Vale shares limited the latter. The geopolitical situation remained tense: US forces struck roughly 170 targets in Iran, and Tehran claimed to have hit American bases in the Gulf, while tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz was nearly halted. Yet, analysts in London and Zurich argued that both sides have strong incentives to avoid a return to full-scale war. UBS Global Wealth Management strategists noted that the latest exchange ‘reinforces the difficulty of achieving lasting peace’ but that a large-scale conflict is not in either party’s interest.

The focus now shifts to the corporate earnings season, with S&P 500 profits forecast to rise 24 per cent year-on-year, heavily concentrated in technology. Investors will look for evidence that AI spending is generating returns and for any supply-chain fallout from Middle East instability. On monetary policy, minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting—the first chaired by Kevin Warsh—showed a few officials considered a rate increase before agreeing to hold steady; markets price a 25-basis-point hike by December. The next concrete milestones are the first batch of quarterly reports and any formal diplomatic move between Washington and Tehran.