Federal Reserve's Harker: May Temporarily Hold Rates Steady

Independent semiconductor and AI research institute SemiAnalysis noted in a report that one of the most underrated ways to contribute to AI semiconductor development may not be the chips themselves, but materials. As the industry accelerates production of more advanced semiconductors, demand growth is not limited to GPUs and foundry equipment, but also extends to the critical materials underpinning modern chip manufacturing. Taking tungsten as an example, the report points out that tungsten is one of the most critical materials in semiconductor manufacturing, valued for its high-temperature stability and resistance to electrical wear. Foundries rely on chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to fill deep, high-aspect-ratio vertical vias connecting multi-layer chip architectures, and use physical vapor deposition (PVD) to deposit ultra-thin structural barrier layers around them. Because tungsten is used in both core deposition processes, it is irreplaceable in advanced chip production. Tungsten supplies appear to be increasingly constrained. High-purity tungsten metal powder is the primary raw material for manufacturing tungsten hexafluoride (WF6), a gas used in CVD. Japan hosts key tungsten hexafluoride suppliers including SK Materials and Shin-Etsu Chemical, but is facing sharp price hikes and a significant drop in tungsten raw material imports, making it nearly impossible to continue producing this critical material. This price pressure is also reflected in South Korea’s tungsten hexafluoride import prices, which have surged by 151% year-to-date. As semiconductor complexity and AI demand rise, bottlenecks may emerge not only in chips or equipment, but also in the critical materials at the base of the entire supply chain.

Options analyst Bob Lang stated that amid improving market conditions, soaring investor enthusiasm for AI assets, and SpaceX’s successful IPO lifting market sentiment, OpenAI could kick off its initial public offering (IPO) as early as this year, rather than waiting until 2027. He added that the current capital market remains highly receptive to high-quality AI companies, presenting a favorable listing window. (Jinshi)

According to data from the U.S. Department of Energy, crude oil inventories in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) dropped by 5.5 million barrels to 325.7 million barrels, hitting their lowest level since May 1983. The inventory drawdown is part of an agreement under which the U.S. will release 172 million barrels from reserves to fill gaps in global inventories following the Iran conflict and help lower fuel prices. U.S. crude inventories have declined rapidly in recent weeks due to strong crude exports and refinery demand. Since the outbreak of the conflict at the end of February, as of June 19, total U.S. inventories—including commercial stocks and the SPR—have fallen by 111.4 million barrels to 743.3 million barrels, marking their lowest level since 1984. (Jinshi)

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a final ruling against crypto platform NanoBit, ordering the involved parties to pay over $5 million in fines. The case was first filed in September 2024 during the Biden administration, with the SEC accusing NanoBit and its associates of posing as financial professionals in WhatsApp groups between September 2023 and June 2024 to gain investors' trust, luring them to invest in NanoBit and falsely claiming that its affiliated company was an SEC-registered broker. The SEC stated that the so-called financial professionals promoted fake initial coin offerings (ICOs), but no actual transactions took place on the NanoBit platform. Instead, investors' funds flowed to fraud participants: over $2 million was transferred to a Hong Kong bank account, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in crypto assets were misappropriated.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, FG Nexus has sold an additional 3,375 ETH worth $5.34 million, pushing its total losses to over $86.8 million. The entity previously purchased 50,770 ETH for $196 million, and has so far sold 41,675 ETH valued at $94.51 million.

U.S. tech stocks staged a strong rebound on Monday, lifting U.S. equities to broad gains. According to Bitget data, U.S. stocks closed higher on Monday: the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.59%, the S&P 500 gained 1.18%, and the Nasdaq climbed 2.07%. Most major tech stocks advanced, with Tesla surging over 8%, SpaceX jumping more than 7%, and Google adding over 4%. The semiconductor sector rallied broadly: the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 3.83%, KLA surged over 11%, Applied Materials gained more than 10%, TSMC climbed over 5%, ASML rose nearly 5%, Marvell Technology (MRVL) advanced over 4%, and AMD rose more than 3%. The storage sector also saw broad gains: Western Digital (WDC) jumped over 11%, Seagate Technology (STX) surged more than 7%, and Micron Technology added over 1% after earlier falling more than 9%. Cryptocurrency-related stocks rallied across the board, supported by Strategy’s new plan: MSTR rose 12.6%, STRC gained 12.2%. Additionally, CRCL climbed 3.25% and HOOD advanced 3.18%.