Oil breaks US$100, Wall Street retreats and bond yields rise, inflation is becoming the market’s biggest risk again Global markets are starting Thursday in a more defensive position. Brent crude has broken above US$100 a barrel , U.S. Treasury yields are pushing higher, and Wall Street fell for a third straight session as investors reassess whether central banks may need to keep tightening rather than easing. For Malaysian investors, the key chain today is increasingly clear: Oil → inflation → interest rates → bond yields → USD/MYR → Bursa valuations. 30-second market snapshot Market / Asset Latest 🇺🇸 S&P 500 7,636.36, -0.48% 🇺🇸 Dow Jones 52,380.66, -0.77% 🇺🇸 Nasdaq 26,253.34, -0.64% 🇲🇾 FBM KLCI 1,714.34, virtually flat 💵 USD/MYR ~4.06 🇺🇸 U.S. 10Y Treasury ~4.84% 🇺🇸 U.S. 2Y Treasury ~4.42% 🥇 Gold ~US$4,396/oz 🛢️ Brent crude US$101.21/bbl 🛢️ WTI crude US$96.05/bbl ₿ Bitcoin ~US$79,300 🇯🇵 Nikkei ~64,760, -0.6% this morning Brent jumped about 3.4% Wednesda...
Micron Technology (MU.US) is experiencing its steepest stock decline since March 2020, with shares tumbling as much as 18.6% during trading on Thursday, before recovering slightly to close 16.6% lower. The semiconductor giant’s weaker-than-expected earnings outlook triggered a surge in put options trading, as investors moved to hedge against further losses.
Key Highlights
Stock Performance
- Stock Price: Dropped to an intraday low of $84.61, the lowest since early September.
- Steepest Decline: If it closes at this level, it would mark the worst one-day drop since March 2020 during the pandemic sell-off.
Put Options Activity
- Heavy Trading Volume:
- Over 316,000 put options traded across 19 expiration dates, five times the 20-day average.
- Total options contracts traded (including calls) reached 755,400, making Micron the third most active stock option behind NVIDIA and Tesla.
- Most Traded Put Contract:
- The $85 strike price expiring tomorrow attracted the highest volume, with 22,000 contracts traded.
- Price of this put contract surged 84% as the probability of being in-the-money increased.
Earnings and Outlook
- Q2 Forecast Misses Estimates:
- Revenue projection: $7.9 billion ± $200 million, below the consensus of $8.99 billion.
- Adjusted earnings forecast: $1.43 ± 10 cents, falling short of the $1.92 analysts expected.
- Q1 Highlights:
- Aided by a 400% jump in data center revenue and increased demand for AI-related materials.
Market Concerns and Analyst Views
- CEO Sanjay Mehrotra:
- Highlighted weaker consumer-oriented markets in the near term but anticipates growth resumption in the second half of the fiscal year.
- Analyst Reactions:
- Bloomberg Intelligence: Warned of weak NAND sales and potential margin compression into Q3.
- JPMorgan: Optimistic about long-term prospects, expecting memory market recovery in late 2025 driven by tight DRAM supply and AI server demand.
Average Target Price Revised Downward
- Bloomberg Analysts: Lowered Micron's average target price to $135.33 from $142.35 following the earnings announcement.
Comments
Post a Comment