CITIC Securities: Current US-Iran Deadlock Faces Potential Risk of Prolongation

According to the Public Relations Department of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), two foreign oil tankers illegally entered relevant waters near the Strait of Hormuz despite multiple navigation warnings from Iran, and turned off their navigation systems, seriously endangering navigation safety. The IRGC Navy took necessary measures in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, and disposed of the aforementioned "violating vessels" in accordance with the law. Currently, the two oil tankers have been attacked and destroyed. Iran also stated that the security and unimpeded flow of the Strait of Hormuz are crucial to global energy supply. Iran will continue to ensure normal navigation through the strait in accordance with the law, and firmly respond to any illegal acts threatening regional security. Relevant Iranian authorities have launched a further investigation into the specific circumstances of the incident and will release more information in due course. (CCTV)

According to International Cyber Digest, Telegram’s core domain t.me was marked with a serverHold by the .me domain registry on that day, leading to its removal from the global DNS and rendering all t.me links inaccessible. To date, neither Telegram, the .me registry, nor its backend operator Identity Digital has publicly explained the reason for this.

Last night, SemiAnalysis released a bullish research report on SK Hynix. In the report, SemiAnalysis stated that its positive outlook for SK Hynix’s Q2 2026 DRAM performance remains unchanged. It forecasts blended DRAM average selling price (ASP) will rise roughly 45% quarter-over-quarter, with RAM operating profit hitting around 55 trillion won. The report specifically noted, “We understand investors’ concerns over recent volatility in memory stocks, but we still believe SK Hynix and other leading memory firms offer some of the best risk-reward opportunities in the semiconductor sector.” Citirni analyst Jukan half-jokingly commented on the report, “Go all in with leverage when Korean stocks open.” As of press time, South Korea’s KOSPI index has extended its gain to 2%, after falling nearly 3% earlier to mark a V-shaped reversal. SK Hynix rose more than 3%, while Samsung Electronics climbed nearly 5%. Notably, this report stands in sharp contrast to an earlier KIS report that “cut Hynix’s two-year operating profit forecast” — the latter directly triggered SK Hynix’s stock price plunge yesterday.

Goldman Sachs data shows hedge funds are ramping up purchases of US semiconductor stocks. Last week, they bought the largest volume of US semiconductor shares in nearly three and a half years. The move follows two consecutive weeks of heavy selling since June 2024. As a result, semiconductor stocks now account for 10% of hedge funds' total exposure — double the proportion seen at the same time last year. Still, this figure remains below the 14% peak recorded in May. Hedge funds are betting the semiconductor sell-off has ended.

Per Bitget's market data, South Korea's KOSPI index posted a 1.00% intraday gain, Samsung Electronics rose 5%, and SK Hynix climbed 2%.

According to monitoring by Onchain Lens, a crypto whale has chased higher oil prices by opening a new 15x leveraged long position in Brent crude oil, with the position valued at nearly $2.6 million. Notably, the whale has incurred a total loss of $2.49 million on Hyperliquid.