OpenAI is inclined to postpone its IPO to next year, as the company’s banking advisers warned that recent sharp swings in technology stocks and in shares of Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SPCX.US) following its listing could dampen retail investors’ enthusiasm for an OpenAI IPO, New York Times, citing sources, reported.

The news weighed on SoftBank (9984.JP), whose shares once plunged nearly 13% this morning (26th) and closed down more than 12% at midday. SoftBank’s investment in OpenAI is expected to reach approximately USD65 billion by October. The market has been anticipating that an OpenAI listing would generate substantial gains for SoftBank.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman urged advisers, including bankers and lawyers, to set a target valuation of USD1 trillion for the company, report said.
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Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) said that it announced price increases for Mac, iPad and home devices, in light of memory chip woes which prompt soaring prices. Its share price closed down 6.1%. Apple-related concept stocks listed in Hong Kong declined broadly.

AAC TECH (02018.HK) opened 1.53% lower today, hitting a trough of HKD42.6. It last stood at HKD42.74, down 6.48%, with 3.5167 million shares traded, involving HKD152 million.

SUNNY OPTICAL (02382.HK) announced plans to issue RMB-denominated bonds. It opened 2.99% lower today, hitting a trough of HKD58.3. It last stood at HKD58.9, down 12.09%, with 19.4982 million shares traded, involving HKD1.188 billion.

COWELL (01415.HK) opened 1% lower today, hitting a trough of HKD22.02. It last printed at HKD22.2, down 7.65%, with 2.621 million shares traded, involving HKD59.0832 million.

TONGDA GROUP (00698.HK) opened 6.7% lower today, hitting a trough of HKD1.74. It last traded at HKD1.74, down 10.31%, with 151,400 shares traded, involving HKD273,700.

FIH (02038.HK) opened 0.99% lower today, hitting a trough of HKD20.78. It last stood at HKD21, down 5.49%, with 1.2525 million shares traded, involving HKD26.4175 million.

FIT HON TENG (06088.HK) opened 2.51% lower today, hitting a trough of HKD6.66. It last quoted at HKD6.84, down 9.64%, with 49.627 million shares traded, involving HKD340 million.
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Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) shares slumped 6.1% overnight (25th), marking the steepest downfall among S&P 500 and DJIA constituents, after the company announced that rising memory and storage chip costs would prompt higher prices for iPad and MacBook products.

In Hong Kong, the iPad Air 128GB recorded the largest increase, with the price rising from HKD4,599 to HKD5,999, representing an increase of 30.4%.

The price of MacBook Neo rose by 14.6%, or HKD700, to HKD5,499; that of MacBook Air 512GB added by 16.7% to HKD10,499; and that of iPad mini climbed by 21.1% to HKD4,599.

Apple stated that the consumer electronics industry is facing challenges. Rapid expansion of AI data centers has driven exceptionally strong demand for memory and storage chips, making it necessary to raise prices for certain products, with the possibility of further price increases in the future.
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While SK Hynix is pushing ahead with a US listing, the market is focused on the potential for a higher valuation that could narrow the gap with US competitor Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US).

Analysts believed SK Hynix’s leadership in HBM is becoming increasingly solid. Together with the US listing scheduled for next month, which is expected to attract more new investors, this could help narrow the company’s valuation discount to Micron.

Currently, SK Hynix trades at 7.8x PE in Seoul, lower than Micron’s 9.2x and another US memory chip supplier Sandisk Corporation (SNDK.US)’s 10.1x.

Eugene Asset Management and Jupiter Asset Management forecast that if SK Hynix’s PE catches up with Micron next year, its Seoul-listed shares could have as much as 30% upside over the coming year. Meanwhile, HSBC said that the upcoming US ADR listing of SK Hynix, which offers greater accessibility to global investors, could see the ADR trade at a 20% premium to SK Hynix’s shares in South Korea.
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HSI opened down 23 pts this morning (25th). With losses widened, the index once slid more than 430 pts in the afternoon to miss the 23,000 level, hitting an intraday low of 22,978. The HSI closed at 23,076, down 335 pts or 1.43%. Full-day turnover totaled HKD325.785 billion. HSTECH closed at 4,405, down 73 pts or 1.63%, while HSCEI closed at 7,608, down 156 pts or 2.02%.

Dotcom bellwethers broadly came under pressure. BABA-W (09988.HK) hit an intraday low of HKD94, a 52-week low, and closed down 4.43% at HKD95. BIDU-SW (09888.HK) lost 3.45%. MEITUAN-W (03690.HK), JD-SW (09618.HK) and NTES-S (09999.HK) shed more than 2%. KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK) and TENCENT (00700.HK) declined over 1%.

BANK OF CHINA (03988.HK) was reported by the National Audit Office for alleged tax evasion involving RMB2.37 billion. Its shares once slumped 7% to a near three-month low of HKD4.9, and closed at HKD4.99, down 5.31%. CCB (00939.HK), ICBC (01398.HK) and ABC (01288.HK) also sagged more than 2%.

Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) delivered quarterly results beat, with its shares swelling 15% in after-hours trading, shoring up Asia-Pacific chip stocks. SMIC (00981.HK) rose over 1%. GIGADEVICE (03986.HK), whose TP was raised to RMB1,254 by CLSA, soared 12.32%, while MONTAGE TECH (06809.HK) rallied 6.69%. South Korea's SK Hynix announced plans to issue ADRs to raise USD29.4 billion and seek listing on July 10. In Hong Kong, XL2CSOPHYNIX (07709.HK) jumped up 18.44%, and XL2CSOPSMSN (07747.HK) proliferated nearly 10%.
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Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) reported quarterly results and guidance that beat expectations and was blessed by brokers. Morgan Stanley raised its TP to USD1,200. The stock leapfrogged 17.5% in pre-market trading to USD1,232.29.

Peers also advanced, with Sandisk Corporation (SNDK.US) up 12.1% pre-market, Seagate Technology Holdings PLC - Ordinary Shares (Ireland) (STX.US) up 8.9%, and Western Digital Corporation (WDC.US) up 11.8%.

Nasdaq futures jumped up 2.3% to 30,202.
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Samsung Electronics accounted for 38% of global DRAM market revenue in 1Q, continuing to rank as the world’s largest DRAM supplier, according to Counterpoint Research data. SK Hynix ranked second with a 29% market share, while Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) placed third with 22%.

South Korea’s KOSPI last leaped 6.02%, with Samsung shares gaining more than 6%, while SK Hynix, which is preparing to issue ADRs to raise USD29.4 billion, swelled 12.44%. In Hong Kong, XL2CSOPSMSN (07747.HK) escalated 10.61%, while XL2CSOPHYNIX (07709.HK) mushroomed 23.38%.
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In response to recent reports that NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US) asked printed circuit board (PCB) suppliers to slash prices by 10%, VGT (02476.HK) stated that raw material prices for its high-end products already in mass production remained stable, and product pricing was relatively steady.

Pricing for new products follows market-oriented principles and will be negotiated with customers based on factors such as manufacturing difficulty of specific product models, market supply and demand, and fluctuations in raw material prices.

VGT added that the company currently has a full order book, with business progressing smoothly. Order production and deliveries are being carried out as scheduled. From a mid-term perspective, supply of high-end products is expected to remain relatively tight, while downstream demand is sufficient to absorb newly added capacity.
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Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US) reported that for its third fiscal quarter ended May 28, revenue leaped nearly 3.5x to USD41.5 billion, while EPS rose to USD25.11, both beating market expectations. Adjusted gross margin more than doubled to 84.9%, above the expected 81.9%.

Micron’s share price jumped up 15.78% in after-hours trading to USD1,213.96, lifting Nasdaq futures, which last added 1.88%. In Asian markets, South Korea’s KOSPI climbed 5.4% to 8,928.61, while KOSPI 200 futures surged 5%, triggering a circuit breaker and a five-minute halt in program trading.
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China is one of the world’s leading hubs for technology and industry, with a strong pool of talented engineers, rapid iterative innovation among developers, and remarkable growth in the scale of local enterprises, as Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), delivered a video speech at the 4th China International Supply Chain Expo.

He noted that more than 1.6 million developers in China are conducting R&D based on NVIDIA’s platform. They are building practical AI technologies for manufacturing, logistics, robotics, energy, healthcare and scientific research. NVIDIA will continue to enhance its computing power platform to support developers and various industries in implementing practical AI solutions.
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