Bitcoin Briefly Drops Below $87,000

Sandisk (SNDK.O)'s upbeat outlook boosted optimism about long-term profits from the AI boom, lifting Asian storage chip stocks. Shares of Sandisk partner Kioxia Holdings jumped as much as 8.7% in Tokyo, while memory chip maker SK Hynix rose 6.5% in Seoul. The Bloomberg Asia Semiconductor Index climbed as much as 1.6%, on track for its fifth consecutive session of gains. Sandisk previously said it expects revenue growth of 15% to 20% between 2028 and 2030, driven by long-term pricing agreements signed with customers. Andrew Jackson, head of Japanese equity strategy at Ortus Advisors, wrote: "A few years ago, it would have been unheard of for NAND flash manufacturers to issue such accurate long-term forecasts. Compared with more volatile spot memory prices, long-term agreements could help smooth out the classic boom-bust cycle."

According to the recently disclosed first-half 2026 holdings of Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), Norway’s central bank’s investment arm, the institution has for the first time disclosed a stake in Ethereum treasury firm BitMine Immersion Technologies (BMNR). As of June 30, its holding accounted for 1.16% of BMNR’s shares, with a market value of approximately 883 million Norwegian kroner (around $88.25 million). NBIM’s BitMine position makes up a small share of its first-half portfolio, but marks the first public disclosure of the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund’s holding in BitMine. The sovereign wealth fund announced Wednesday that, boosted by a rally in Asian tech stocks, it posted a 9.4% return in the first half, generating a record semi-annual profit of over $182 billion. The fund currently has total assets of roughly $2.34 trillion, with investments in more than 7,000 companies across over 50 countries, and holds approximately 1.5% of the world’s publicly traded stocks.

According to Reuters, AMD has closed a four-tranche USD bond offering worth $4.75 billion, marking the largest USD debt financing in the company’s history. The issuance comprises senior unsecured notes maturing in 2029, 2031, 2033 and 2036. The 10-year tranche was priced at 90 basis points (bps) above U.S. Treasuries, a roughly 25 bps tightening from initial guidance, indicating strong investor demand. AMD said the bond proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, including potential debt repayment. As of June 27, AMD held approximately $13.1 billion in cash and short-term investments, and carries a high investment-grade credit rating. The financing is not driven by liquidity pressure, but rather to provide flexibility for future investments and capital arrangements. The bond offering comes amid a continuous expansion in AI infrastructure investment. AMD is accelerating its expansion in AI and data center businesses, competing with NVIDIA in the AI accelerator chip market. The company recently announced partnerships with Anthropic, Microsoft and others, and plans to invest up to $50 billion in Anthropic. Market projections expect AMD’s revenue to grow 47% this year, exceeding $51 billion. The $4.75 billion financing is significantly larger than its previous investment-grade bond offering of $1.5 billion in March 2025, also reflecting that AI industry chain enterprises are entering a stage of sustained capital expansion.

Duan Yongping responded to recent queries about shifts in his Pop Mart holdings on Chinese investment platform Xueqiu yesterday, clarifying he has "never directly sold a single share of Pop Mart." After purchasing some of the stock, he directly sells call options, a strategy essentially identical to selling put options. Duan explained that when his short put positions approach their upper limit, he adopts the "buy stock + sell call" tactic; if the calls are assigned at expiration, the outcome is fundamentally the same as if puts had been exercised at expiration. He added that he may stick to similar strategies for a long time, with Pop Mart’s current option premium standing at roughly 5% per month. On Pop Mart’s long-term value, Duan remarked, "Looking at the long term, I don’t think Pop Mart’s current price is expensive; I have no idea about the short term." He noted this is the core logic behind his option strategy. This approach may result in lower returns, but it is a relatively conservative strategy; he may adjust his tactics if future premiums decline. Duan also stressed he has no plans to sell Pop Mart at a specific time or price, "and may not have such plans for a very long time." He further disclosed that selling puts is just one of his investment strategies, and he has used similar methods across other investments; roughly 80% to 90% of his past Apple stock holdings were likely acquired via put options. In response to recent market questions about his "simultaneous reduction and increase of holdings," Duan’s earlier comments clarify that these holding changes mainly stem from trading mechanisms like option expirations and exercises, and do not signal a long-term bearish outlook on Pop Mart.

According to multiple current and former U.S. officials, over the past year, Israel has repeatedly warned U.S. intelligence agencies and the White House that Iran is plotting to assassinate former President Donald Trump, with the warnings even detailing specific methods including snipers, hitmen, and shoulder-fired missile attacks. The warnings reportedly began in June 2025, on the eve of the Israel-Iran conflict, and increased significantly in February this year before the U.S. decided to take military action against Iran. In July this year, Israel also warned that Iran could target Air Force One with a shoulder-fired missile during Trump’s attendance at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The U.S. subsequently implemented enhanced security measures and moved Trump to another aircraft. However, multiple sources familiar with the matter said the CIA has been unable to independently verify the specific assassination intelligence provided by Israel, assessing it as "low confidence." Turkey also stated that its intelligence agency found no evidence to corroborate the threats at the time. Even so, the intelligence still influenced the Trump administration’s Iran policy. Sources said that when Trump decided to take military action against Iran in February this year, the assassination warning provided by Israel was one of the decision-making references. Currently, tensions between the U.S. and Iran are further spilling over into the economic sphere. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said a series of major measures targeting Iran will be announced next week, including further tightening economic sanctions and restricting the flow of goods in and out of Iranian ports through continuous military intercepts in the Strait of Hormuz.

Goldman Sachs released a report stating that Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported Q2 revenue of $3 billion, up 36% year-over-year and 20% quarter-over-quarter, exceeding both the bank’s and market expectations, as well as management’s QoQ guidance of 14% to 16%. During the period, gross margin stood at 25.3%, higher than the bank’s (21%) and market’s (21.4%) expectations, and also above management’s 20% to 22% guidance range. Goldman Sachs noted that the QoQ revenue growth was mainly driven by increased wafer shipments and higher average selling prices, while management attributed the gross margin improvement to a better product mix and rising average selling prices. For Q3 guidance: revenue is projected to grow 2% to 4% QoQ, in line with Goldman’s and market expectations; gross margin guidance of 26% to 28% outpaces both the bank’s and market forecasts. The bank maintained a "Buy" rating on SMIC, holding a positive view on the company’s long-term growth prospects, driven by rising demand from local fabless semiconductor clients and AI-related opportunities. Goldman Sachs set a Hong Kong-listed share target price of HK$135. (Jinshi)