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MARKET BRIEFING · US

The Fed leaned hawkish, but the market looked at memory and AI equipment instead of rates.

October 28, 2026 · Read the Korean original

Major indices

  • Dow 52,475.10 +0.19%
  • S&P 500 7,743.98 +0.28%
  • Nasdaq 26,549.85 +0.27%

The Federal Reserve left its policy rate at 3.75%-4.00%, but what markets weighed was not the hold itself so much as the hawkish tilt inside it. The vote was 10-2, and both dissenters wanted a hike rather than a cut. The statement again described inflation as elevated while upgrading its read on the economy from 'solid' to 'strong,' and Chair Kevin Warsh said at his press conference that politics played no role in the decision (CNBC, CNN, Yahoo Finance). The bond market read that as leaving a December hike on the table: the 10-year yield closed near 5.02%, above 5% for a second straight session, with the long end selling off harder and the curve steepening. On top of that, Houthi forces claimed a ballistic-missile strike on Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura refinery, lifting Brent to about $115 a barrel and WTI to about $101, up 1% to 2%, and reviving the inflation worry (CNBC, Reuters).

Even so, equities shrugged off the rate backdrop. The Dow and the S&P 500 rose for a third straight day and the Nasdaq edged higher as well, leaving all three within a narrow 0.2% band in the same direction. The hold was what futures had priced, and the session was driven less by rates than by individual earnings and AI investment plans.

Among sectors, chips advanced for a fourth straight session. After SK Hynix posted record quarterly results and said its DRAM and HBM output is effectively sold out through 2029, the read settled on a longer memory up-cycle, and Micron (MU, DRAM and HBM memory) rose 5.9% to lead the group. SanDisk (SNDK, NAND memory) and Western Digital (WDC, HDD storage) climbed on the same catalyst. In AI infrastructure, Oracle (ORCL, cloud and databases) jumped 10.7%, with its pledge to cap new capital-market funding at $20 billion read as more reassuring than its $225 billion fiscal 2030 revenue goal. Vertiv (VRT, data-center power and cooling equipment) rose 16% after organic orders doubled in the third quarter and it raised full-year guidance. Nvidia (NVDA, AI accelerators) and Palantir (PLTR, data analytics software) slipped by less than 1%, so the day's strength split toward memory and equipment rather than the AI bellwethers.

Big Tech results after the close pointed in opposite directions. Microsoft (MSFT, cloud and software) rose after hours as Azure revenue grew 48% and capital spending came in below estimates, while Alphabet (GOOGL, search and cloud) fell after hours because earnings per share missed badly on an unrealized loss on its SpaceX stake, even with cloud revenue doubling. Korea opens today digesting both of those alongside the regular session's chip strength.

For semiconductors, this is the SK Hynix catalyst coming back home after spreading through US memory names. The company's view that the shortage runs through 2030 underpins pricing expectations, and interest can widen to materials and equipment. For power infrastructure, Vertiv's order growth and Oracle's investment plans showed data-center power demand has not cracked, so expectations there can carry over. For chemicals and refining, firmer crude on Middle East supply risk helps refining margins but raises input costs at the same time, so the effect may split by company.

What is confirmed is the Fed's hold and the 10-2 vote, what Oracle and Vertiv disclosed, and the post-close earnings figures from the two Big Tech names. Tying higher yields to a December hike, and judging how far the sector read-through runs, is press and market interpretation, so it is worth rechecking during the session.

Korean industries to watch today

  • Semiconductors · SK Hynix's results spread through US memory names, sustaining price-cycle expectations.
  • Power infrastructure · Vertiv's order surge and Oracle's investment plans confirmed data-center power demand.
  • Chemicals & refining · Crude rose on Middle East supply risk, moving refining margins and input costs together.

Watchlist stocks in the news

  • Oracle (ORCL) Close +10.73% · Investor day paired a fiscal 2030 revenue target with a $20 billion cap on new funding, easing balance-sheet worries. (The Motley Fool)
  • Micron (MU) Close +5.87% · A rival memory maker's record quarter fueled expectations that the memory price up-cycle has further to run. (The Motley Fool)
  • CoreWeave (CRWV) Close +7.32% · Said most of its planned Denmark capacity had gone live, clawing back part of this month's slide. (The Motley Fool)
  • Nebius (NBIS) Close +6.96% · Rose with the broader AI-cloud rebound, more on dip-buying after the selloff than on company news. (The Motley Fool)
  • Broadcom (AVGO) Close +2.77% · Joined the memory-led chip rally for a fourth straight advance. (Financial News)
  • NVIDIA (NVDA) Close -1.17% · Slipped while chips broadly rose, as money rotated toward memory and equipment rather than on company-specific news. (Financial News)
  • Palantir (PLTR) Close -0.97% · Drifted lower with richly valued software names sensitive to higher yields, with no company-specific news. (Financial News)
  • Sandisk (SNDK) · Gained during the session as SK Hynix's beat spilled over into NAND pricing expectations. (FXStreet)
  • Western Digital (WDC) · Edged up intraday on the same memory catalyst, lagging the pure-play memory names. (FXStreet)
  • Robinhood (HOOD) · Traded lower during the session after quarterly results showed crypto revenue down 55%. (CoinDesk)
  • VRT (VRT) Close +16.49% · Third-quarter revenue grew 61% and orders more than doubled, prompting raised guidance that was read as proof AI data-center spending continues. (Seeking Alpha)

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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