News Brief September 22: US Tech Reaches Record Highs, Fed Remains Vigilant

Tech & Semiconductors Surge

• AMD crosses $1 Trillion : AMD shares surged +11.34% to close at $615.52, pushing its market capitalization above $1 trillion. Demand expectation was sparked by Meta's new AI agent Muse, boosting sentiment across CPU and GPU hardware makers.
• SOX Momentum : The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index gained over 4% for its fifth consecutive rising session, providing strong upward momentum for the Nasdaq (NQ).
• Bitcoin Rally : Bitcoin reached $87,000, driven by $600M in short liquidations and renewed spot ETF inflows, reflecting resilient risk appetite despite the recent Fed rate hike.

Macro & Geopolitics

• Hawkish Fed Tone : Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin noted that inflation risks continue to outweigh employment risks, validating last week's 25 bps rate hike. He left the door open to additional rate increases depending on upcoming data.
• Energy Market Friction : Iran outlined strict demands (ending the naval blockade, unfreezing assets) to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, the US administration is considering a ban on Russian diesel exports, pushing London Gasoil up +1.55%.
• US Infrastructure Request : The US Transportation Department requested $30B from Congress for air traffic control and airport modernizations following a major East Coast telecommunications outage.

À surveiller aujourd'hui

• US Index Price Action (NQ/ES) : Monitoring whether semiconductor momentum can offset hawkish Fed comments on interest rates.
• Geopolitical Newsflow : Headlines from the UN General Assembly regarding the Strait of Hormuz and potential developments on Ukraine.