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MARKET BRIEFING · US

Chip stocks snapped an eight-day losing streak, but a 10-year yield back above 5% held the rest of the market down.

October 19, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • Dow 51,966.03 -0.07%
  • S&P 500 7,690.73 +0.41%
  • Nasdaq 26,430.89 +1.11%
  • PHLX Semiconductor +1.61%

Inflation and oil drove the overnight US session. September consumer prices rose 3.7% from a year earlier, above the 3.6% consensus, and core inflation came in at 2.6%, also above forecasts, with much of the gain coming from gasoline, up 27.8% year over year. That points to energy rather than demand as the source of the pressure. Houthi forces then claimed strikes on Aramco facilities at Yanbu, the Shaybah oilfield and Riyadh's airport. WTI settled 2.2% higher at $103.66 a barrel, its highest close since September 15, while Brent fell more than $3 intraday before ending 0.3% lower, so the two benchmarks parted ways (Oilprice.com). The bond market read all of this as inflation pressure: CNBC reported the 10-year Treasury yield up more than 4 basis points to 5.146%, a 24-year high, and the dollar firmed alongside it.

Indexes still rose because dip buying concentrated in one place: technology. The Nasdaq gained 1.11% to close at 26,430.89 and the S&P 500 added 0.41%, while the Dow slipped 0.07% and finished alone in the red (AP). After last week, when the Nasdaq lost more than 4% and chip stocks fell close to 10%, this looks less like a broad recovery than money returning to the hardest-hit corner. Breadth makes that plain: 1,761 NYSE issues fell against 945 that rose.

Semiconductors and AI infrastructure led the way. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 1.61%, ending eight straight sessions of losses; over that run, its longest since October 2008, the index had shed more than 15% (Bloomberg). Memory was strongest. SanDisk (SNDK, NAND memory) rallied on a new buy rating from Mizuho, and Micron (MU, DRAM and NAND) recovered ground lost the prior week to worries about China's CXMT. Intel (INTC, CPUs and foundry) and Datadog (DDOG, cloud monitoring software) moved on broker upgrades, while CoreWeave (CRWV, AI cloud) rebounded on a Goldman Sachs upgrade to buy alongside Nebius (NBIS, AI cloud) and IREN (IREN, AI data centers). Money left last week's shelters in health care and consumer staples, and rate-sensitive groups weighed on the Dow.

Korean trading today has room to open on the back of that chip rebound, though the same catalyst has already been priced once. The KOSPI fell more than 3% early yesterday before closing 1.76% higher, yet Samsung Electronics gained only 1.2% and SK Hynix 0.4% (Newspim). Another up day for US memory names can keep hopes alive, while a US 10-year yield back above 5% remains a valuation burden. The rebound in AI data-center names may be a positive signal for power equipment and transformers, and strong quarterly results from Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF, steel) give reason to revisit the steel cycle. US September housing starts and building permits are due tonight.

What is confirmed: the September inflation data, the closing levels for indexes and crude, and the broker rating changes. Whether this rebound marks the end of the correction is interpretation; even Morgan Stanley said it could extend into November unless Treasury yields settle.

Korean industries to watch today

  • Semiconductors · US memory and chip names snapped an eight-day slide, so the hope can carry over.
  • Power infrastructure · AI data-center names rebounded too, reviving hopes for power-equipment demand.
  • Steel & metals · Cleveland-Cliffs' quarterly beat is prompting a second look at the steel cycle.

Watchlist stocks in the news

  • Sandisk (SNDK) · Recovered the prior week's China CXMT-driven losses after Mizuho started coverage with an outperform rating. (The Motley Fool (AOL))
  • Micron (MU) · Rebounded with other NAND and DRAM names as the memory selloff unwound and dip buyers stepped in. (24/7 Wall St.)
  • Marvell Technology (MRVL) · Led the chip rebound as dip buyers crowded into AI networking and optical names. (CNBC)
  • Intel (INTC) · Strengthened before the open after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to neutral. (CNBC)
  • Amazon (AMZN) · Morgan Stanley named it a top pick and raised its price target to $350 from $335. (The Motley Fool)
  • CoreWeave (CRWV) · Bounced after a Goldman Sachs upgrade to buy, having fallen more than 25% the prior week on debt-load worries. (The Korea Times (Reuters))
  • Nebius (NBIS) · Recouped part of the prior week's plunge as dip buyers returned to AI infrastructure stocks. (Yahoo Finance)
  • IREN (IREN) · Drew dip buying alongside Nebius as part of the AI data-center group. (Yahoo Finance)
  • Broadcom (AVGO) · Joined the broad chip rebound after sliding more than 12% over the preceding eight sessions. (The Korea Times (Reuters))
  • CLF (CLF) · Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.28 beat the $0.21 consensus, making it the biggest gainer in the Russell 1000. (CNBC)
  • DDOG (DDOG) · Bernstein upgraded the stock to outperform from market perform. (CNBC)

Sources (Korean-language)

This market briefing was compiled by AI from this site's own price and filing data together with public news reports, and translated from the Korean original. Please check the sources below before relying on it.

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