Happy Tuesday. U.S. stock benchmarks fell, led lower by continued declines in the tech sector, specifically semiconductor stocks. Those moves came just hours after Asian stock indexes made hefty moves lower, with South Korea's chip-heavy KOSPI index falling nearly 10%.
The fate of the market might weigh on results from Micron Technology, which reports on Wednesday and could make or break the memory demand trade. A deal between Micron and AI giant Anthropic went largely ignored on Monday, a sign of the growing unsettle in a corner of the market where good news used to be rewarded with double-digit day pops.
America was on the warpath to defeat decades-high inflation. Then, entanglements in the Middle East sent oil careening higher. As a result, Fed officials now expect interest rate hikes might be necessary to tamp down rising costs. And despite new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh insisting that policymakers at the central bank didn't feel the need to raise rates at their latest FOMC meeting, Bank of America is warning it's only a matter of time. In a new note, the bank warns that the Fed will raise rates three times this year. That move could be responsible for the market's recent moves lower, and open the door to more downside.
