🔥 Biya Morning Brief | Global Market Highlights for July 31 1️⃣ Macro The U.S. core PCE inflation rate for June declined to 3.3%, as markets continue to price in the Fed’s next policy path, with the probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike in September rising to 63.4%. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated again, as the U.S. conducted airstrikes on facilities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard; Iran has warned of retaliatory measures, keeping geopolitical risks in the Middle East elevated. South Korea plans to inject approximately $14 billion into its sovereign wealth fund, with a focus on artificial intelligence, data centers, and infrastructure. 2️⃣ Oil & Precious Metals WTI crude oil remains above $84 per barrel, while gold holds above $4,000 per ounce, as risk-off sentiment and Fed policy expectations continue to influence commodity markets. 3️⃣ Hong Kong Stocks Hong Kong stocks opened mixed, with the Hang Seng Index down 0.08% and the Hang Seng Tech Index up 0.3%. Memory chip stocks surged collectively: Southern 2x Long Hynix and Southern 2x Long Samsung Electronics rose nearly 15%; Flylight Fiber Optic and Cambridge Technology led gains among optical communications stocks. 4️⃣ U.S. Stocks U.S. major indices closed higher: the Dow rose 1.19%, the S&P 500 gained 1.66%, and the Nasdaq surged 2.78%. Microsoft rose over 15%, Micron Technology climbed more than 18%, SanDisk advanced nearly 26%, and SK Hynitz jumped over 17%, as the AI supply chain drove a broad rebound in memory and optical communications stocks. Meta fell nearly 8%, as markets remain focused on the pace of AI capital expenditures. 5️⃣ Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin remained range-bound near $64,000, with divergent institutional views: JPMorgan believes the likelihood of U.S. crypto regulatory legislation passing this year has decreased, while markets continue to monitor ETF fund flows and macro policy shifts. 6️⃣ Corporate Highlights SK Hynix’s Chairman Choi Tae-won increased his stake by 3,620 shares, valued at approximately $3.34 million, signaling management’s confidence in the long-term prospects of AI storage. Microsoft’s fourth-quarter earnings exceeded expectations, with Azure revenue growing 43% and surpassing $100 billion for the first time, reflecting continued strengthening of its AI commercialization capabilities. Amazon’s AWS revenue grew 37% year-over-year in Q2, with AI-related business annualized revenue exceeding $25 billion, accelerating AI growth momentum. OpenAI announced a price reduction for its entry-level GPT-5.6 model and launched Sol “acceleration mode,” further expanding its developer ecosystem. TSMC has initiated an internal “EMIB-like” advanced packaging project to further refine its AI chip packaging technology roadmap. AXT reported a return to profitability in Q2, driven by demand for AI data center optical connectivity; revenue surged 165% year-over-year, reflecting sustained strength across the optical communications supply chain.