Samsung Profit Growth Below Forecasts, Chip Stocks Decline

Samsung Electronics reported a sharp rise in second-quarter profit that nonetheless fell short of elevated investor expectations, sending its shares down as much as 11% in Seoul and halting trading on the Kospi for 20 minutes. The company’s preliminary results showed operating profit roughly 19 times higher than a year earlier, yet analysts had priced in even stronger growth tied to artificial-intelligence demand.

Shares of memory-chip peers SK Hynix and Kioxia also declined, contributing to a 1% drop in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

500 futures fell 0.2% and Nasdaq futures dropped more than 1% ahead of the cash open. Micron Technology, Western Digital, Seagate and Sandisk each traded more than 5% lower in premarket action. Marvell Technology, Qualcomm, Intel, AMD and Broadcom also posted declines ranging from 1.9% to 3.4%.

Broadcom was additionally pressured after Erste Group downgraded the stock to “hold,” citing valuation concerns.

Brent crude futures climbed 1.5% to trade above $73 a barrel after reports that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fired missiles at two commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz. WTI crude rose about 1%, while European natural gas futures gained roughly 4%.

The attacks mark an escalation that could complicate efforts to end the U.S.-Iran conflict, according to a senior U.S. official cited by the Wall Street Journal.

100 SpaceX is set to join the Nasdaq 100 index today, prompting at least six Wall Street firms, including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and UBS, to initiate coverage with buy-equivalent ratings. Crinetics shares surged 99% on the news. Amazon announced plans to raise at least $25 billion through an eight-part investment-grade bond offering.

U.S. 10-year Treasury yields rose three basis points to 4.50% amid the heavy supply calendar.