Stock Index

India’s Nifty IT index rose nearly 2% on July 3, taking its two-day rebound to more than 6%. The move followed weaker-than-expected US jobs data and downward revisions to the prior two months, which cooled expectations for a near-term Federal Reserve rate hike and lifted risk appetite. Infosys climbed more than 5%, while HCLTech, TCS and Tech Mahindra advanced 2.5% to 4%. The index had previously fallen 6.5% over four straight sessions.

On July 2, South Korea’s KOSPI fell below 8,000 shortly after the open, triggering the Korea Exchange’s program-trading circuit breaker. Program trading in KOSPI-listed shares was suspended for five minutes. The decline was driven mainly by heavy selling in semiconductor stocks.

SoftBank has completed a second $10 billion investment into OpenAI as part of its $30 billion overall commitment. The New York Times reported that OpenAI is considering delaying its IPO until 2027, cooling sentiment around the deal. Japan’s Nikkei fell 4% on Friday, while SoftBank shares slid more than 12% in the same session.

U.S. stocks rallied as weekend hostilities between the United States and Iran eased, lifting tech shares and pushing the Nasdaq Composite up 2.04%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished above 52,000 for the first time, while the S&P 500 rose 1.16%. SpaceX shares climbed after Nasdaq said the newly listed company will join the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7. Comcast jumped after announcing plans to split off NBCUniversal and Sky, and Alphabet ended higher on its first day as a Dow component.

Palo Alto Networks shares surged 8.45% to $329.90 on Monday, setting a new 52-week high after the company posted better-than-expected Q3 revenue and earnings. Investor sentiment was also supported by an expanded AI-focused security collaboration and a strong technical setup. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.88% and the S&P 500 gained 1.31% on the day, and PANW’s outperformance provided a direct positive contribution as a key component of both indexes.

The article argues that a new semiconductor-themed trade dubbed “MANIA”—MU, AMD, NVDA, INTC and AVGO—has emerged around the five largest holdings of the iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX). It says SOXX is up more than 105% year to date, but technical signals suggest momentum is fading as implied volatility reaches 62%, with an expected $125 trading range over the next three months. The author warns that the concentration risk could leave SOXX, and the QQQ that holds many of the same names, vulnerable to a pullback. It suggests using the leveraged ETFs SOXL and SOXS to hedge or adjust exposure.

SpaceX will be added to the Nasdaq 100 index on July 7, triggering passive buying by ETFs that track the benchmark such as Invesco QQQ. JPMorgan estimates the move could bring about $4.3 billion of passive inflows. The company listed on Nasdaq on June 12 and is not yet profitable, reporting a $4.9 billion net loss in 2023. Nasdaq has eased index entry requirements, while S&P Global said it is not changing S&P 500 eligibility rules for now.

SpaceX shares rose 0.15% on June 26 as the company prepared to be added to the Russell U.S. index lineup. Passive funds that track Russell benchmarks must buy more than $4 billion of the stock between Friday’s close and Monday’s open, according to Stephens analyst Melissa Roberts. SpaceX is also eligible for inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 on July 6, a move that could trigger purchases by index funds such as the Invesco QQQ ETF.

SpaceX is scheduled to be formally added to the Russell U.S. indexes after Friday’s close, triggering about $3 billion of mandatory buying by passive index funds. Most of the rebalancing is expected to be executed in the closing auction, concentrating demand into a short window and potentially creating a brief squeeze. The company is valued at 107 times its 2025 sales, far above peers such as Nvidia, and it is also slated to join the Nasdaq 100 in July, expanding index-driven demand further.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 closed at a record high on Thursday, rising more than 4%. The move was driven by a rally in AI-related semiconductor equipment and chip design shares after U.S. memory maker Micron issued an upbeat AI-linked earnings forecast. Investors bought into technology names including SoftBank Group, Advantest and Tokyo Electron. Energy stocks lagged as oil prices continued to fall.