Trump Pledges to Escalate Iran Attacks, ASML Fuels Tech Stock Rally | The Opening Trade 7/15/2026

ASML Holding N.V.

Direct beneficiary of lithography demand; guide-up above all estimates is a high-signal catalyst.

AMAT is an equity of Applied Materials, Inc., a Technology-sector company in the Semiconductor Equipment & Materials industry.

Broad WFE spending typically lifts applied materials ecosystem when leading-edge capacity expands.

Memory tied to AI demand; highlighted as notably strong in the session.

In addition, the company offers Coronus bevel clean products to enhance die yield; and Da Vinci, DV-Prime, EOS, and SP series products to address various wafer cleaning applicatio…

Second-order WFE beneficiary; tends to follow ASML-led guide cycles.

Process control leverage to leading-edge ramps and yield intensity.

Key actionable items: (1) TSMC earnings beat potentially revives AI/semi sentiment; (2) push-pull between TSMC and ASML on tool pricing/capex expectations after ASML’s volatile reaction; (3) geopolitical headline: US strike on Iranian-linked oil tanker raises short-term crude risk premium and refiner margin uncertainty; (4) mention of an Anthropic “mega-listing” is not directly tradable yet (no ticker).

AI Rally Stalls Despite TSMC Earnings Beat | The Pulse 7/16/2026 >> NEWSMAKERS AND MARKET MOVERS. THIS IS "THE PULSE" WITH FRANCINE LACQUA. FRANCINE: GOOD MORNING. WELCOME TO "THE PULSE." TSMC HAS RAISED ITS CAPITAL SPENDING AND REVENUE PROJECTIONS FOR THE YEAR, A SHARP INCREASE THAT REFLECTS THE COMPANY'S CONFIDENCE IN GLOBAL DEMAND FOR AI INFRASTRUCTURE. IT HAS ALSO REPORTED A FASTER THAN ANTICIPATED RISE IN QUARTERLY NET INCOME SO LET'S GET MORE FROM MATT BLOXHAM, SENIOR ANALYST WITH BLOOMBERG INTELLIGENCE. I LOVE SPEAKING ABOUT AI, BECAUSE EVERY DAY THERE IS SOMETHING NEW AND YOU CAN LOOK ABOUT EARNINGS AND SAY WHAT IS BAD. WHAT DID YOU TAKE OUT OF TSMC? MATT: THE UNDERLYING THEME IS STILL THE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE HAS A HUGE CONFIDENCE IN THE NEXT LET'S SAY THREE YOUR OUTLOOK FOR DEMAND FOR CAPACITY. I GUESS THAT IS NOT SURPRISING. WE HAVE SEEN THE CAPEX NUMBERS FROM THE BIG HYPERSCALERS GO UP A LOT, OVER $700 BILLION OF THIS YEAR OR MAY BE AS MUCH AS $900 BILLION NEXT YEAR, AND I THINK IT'S BEEN DIFFICULT FOR THE MARKET TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT IS GOING TO TRICKLE DOWN INTO THE SUPPLY CHAIN. TSMC IS A BIG PART OF THAT SUPPLY CHAIN, BEING THE MAIN SUPPLIER FOR NVIDIA AMONGST OTHER

Rotation Trade Has More to Play Out: 3-Minutes MLIV lower liquidity futures or US traders or US based two times ETFs, etcetera, so that there's the Hong Kong two times ETF which will trade. So I think that the price action in semis and chip stocks is remaining That puts pressure on Trump. When you don't have clarity on that, the going to try doing nothing for as long as possible. fading until an earnings season change. And what I'm looking for in earnings So to me, you know, my my base case is we're another earnings season away single hyper scalar earnings report as soon as CapEx gets slashed.

Bloomberg Daybreak notes Asia equities are pressured by a semiconductor selloff led by South Korea (KOSPI down >6% with a volatility “sidecar” trigger). SK Hynix and Samsung are cited as key drags. Bank of Korea is reported to have hiked rates for the first time in 3+ years and signaled more hikes, with inflation tied to the AI trade. Separately, TSMC earnings (imminent) are framed as a potential “rescue” for chips sentiment after a selloff. Macro/risk backdrop includes reported Strait of Hormuz blockade, with Brent stabilizing just under $80, and upcoming US Retail Sales plus Netflix earnings.

US Launches Fresh Strikes on Iran | Horizons Middle East & Africa 7/16/2026 >> THIS IS HORIZONS MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA. STRIKES INTENSIFY. THE U.S. LAUNCHES FRESH ATTACKS ON IRAN AS TENSIONS MOUNT IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ. TRUMP VOWS TO CONTINUE UNTIL TEHRAN STOPS TARGETING COMMERCIAL SHIPPING. SEMICONDUCTOR STOCKS EXTEND THEIR SELLOFF. ATTENTION TURNS TO TSIM SELLS FOR THE NEXT SIGNAL. AND WE TURN TO MOHAMMED ALABBAR ON HIS $20 BILLION PLAN TO HELP REBUILD SYRIA. I’M JENNIFER IN JO HANS BURKE AND BEFORE WE GET TO SOME OF THOSE STORIES, QUITE A BIT WE ARE FOLLOWING. LET’S GET YOU A CHECK ON YOUR MARKETS RIGHT NOW. IF YOU LOOK AT U.S. EQUITY FUTURES, THEY’RE MARGINALLY HIGHER ON THE DAY AFTER WE SAW A LARGELY POSITIVE SESSION ON WALL STREET FOR WEDNESDAY. WE HAVE SPEAKING, THOUGH, QUIET A BIRTH AS WE PARSE THROUGH COMPANY STATEMENTS AND EARNINGS OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS BUT STILL QUITE A BIT TO GO. THE S&P CLOSED IN THE GREEN FOR A SECOND STRAIGHT DAY ON WEDNESDAY. STILL A LOT TO WATCH OUT FOR BUT STILL CHIP STOCKS UNDER PRESSURE IN ASIA. MORE ON THAT IN A BIT. FOR MORE INSIGHT INTO WHERE WE’RE SEEING SOME OF THE PRICE ACTION IN ASIA BUT ASIA PACIFIC INDEX DOWN JUST OVER 1% AS YOU CAN

Oil Shock Puts Global Growth at Risk Amid Iran Tensions | Insight with Haslinda Amin 7/16/2026 >> THEY WANT TO SETTLE SO BADLY. WE WILL FIND OUT OR NOT WE SETTLE OR JUST FINISH IT OFF. HASLINDA: PRESIDENT TRUMP IS REITERATING IRAN WANTS A DEAL, EVEN THOUGH TEHRAN HAS NOT PUBLICLY EXPRESSED ANY SUCH DESIRE. RISKS ARE MOUNTING IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IN BOTH SIDES CONTINUE TO LAUNCH ATTACKS. LIVE FROM SINGAPORE, THIS IS "INSIGHT WITH HASLINDA AMIN" WITH CRUCIAL CONTEXT AND ANALYSIS. AI CHIP STOCKS ARE LEADING A SELLOFF ACROSS ASIA. THE PLUNGED -- KOSPI FUNDS. OIL IS EXTENDING ITS RALLY UP TO LATEST U.S. STRIKES ON IRAN. THE GLOBAL ECONOMY FACES BIG RISKS IF DISRUPTIONS IN THE STRAIT DRAG ON. MACRO STRATEGISTS WILL ASSESS THE RISKS INVESTORS OVERLOOK AS TENSIONS PERSIST. INDIA IS TURNING TO OVERSEAS INDIANS TO HELP BOOST FOREX RESERVES AND SUPPORT THE RUBY. THE VICE CHAIR AND CEO JAYESH METAH ON WHETHER THE PLAN CAN DELIVER. OUR TOP STORY IS THE U.S. HAS LAUNCHED AIRSTRIKES ON IRAN FOR THE FIFTH STRAIGHT DAY. THEY COMES AFTER PRESIDENT TRUMP PLEDGED TO INTENSIFY THE BOMBARDMENT UNTIL TEHRAN STOPS ATTACKING SHIPS IN THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ AND AGREES TO OPEN THE WATERWAY. THE U.S. MILITAR

TSMC reported Q2 results beating estimates with very strong margins and reaffirmed ~36% revenue growth. The piece ties strength to sustained AI demand. It also notes ASML raised full-year net sales outlook again but its stock was flat; mentions potential margin pressure for TSMC from capex intensity and pushback on ASML tool price increases, and highlights weakening PC demand as a headwind.

Innolight Said to Near Approval for $7B HK Listing | The China Show | 7/16/2026 We'll be watching those stocks at the bottom of the hour and the banks numbers, credit data for the first half also falling short of projections. them announcing measures on single stock leverage ETFs, which really has been And I wonder whether the stock market has become one of the things that the Right. And I wonder where the stock market It's not going to be micron. It's not gonna be a shortage forever. And then you have CSMT, right? So, um, I mean, markets look ahead. TSMC also reports today that's also something to consider when you look at the I trade at 1.7% on the Asia Pacific benchmark. Lots of individual stock moves to track ex palm Alibaba, Apple suppliers uh what have you ZTE I was going to be very much in focus there. So we'll we'll we'll we'll do a proper preview of the individual stocks we're already discussing raising the minimum deposit required to trade these rebalancing trades throughout the day instead of concentrating them near the Opposition lawmakers have publicly called for these products to be delisted, arguing that they are exacerbating volatility in stocks that And president L