Chips Beat War Risk 🧠

Welcome to LazyListen. This is The Daily Rip for today. Markets climbed Thursday as chipmakers took center stage, pushing the S&P 500 past the 7,500 mark despite ongoing geopolitical tensions with Iran.

Oil prices cooled off after a sharp spike earlier in the week, easing some inflation worries and allowing tech stocks to lead the charge. Consumer staples lagged, signaling investors favored growth and innovation over defensive sectors. The market’s focus zeroed in on the artificial intelligence supply chain, with AMD, Micron, and related chipmakers stealing the spotlight.

Let’s start with the big chip news. S. I.

demand. The company committed up to three billion dollars in strategic investments, including a half-billion dollar deal with GlobalWafers in Texas and a decade-long wafer supply agreement. I.

applications. S. policy support all in one.

I. capital spending. Of course, memory remains cyclical, but this time the tailwinds seem stronger and more aligned.

I. 1, its first paid developer API focused on agentic and coding tasks. I.

monetization strategy—it’s not just building models; it’s starting to sell them. Meta’s pricing undercuts rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic by about seventy five percent, with a free trial followed by a cost of roughly one dollar twenty-five cents per million input tokens and four dollars twenty-five cents per million output tokens. Meta’s stock responded with a near four percent gain, reflecting optimism that competitive pricing could help it carve out market share in a space dominated by a few big players.

I. research means Meta needs massive usage to turn a profit on this. But for now, the market is focusing on the revenue potential and clearer path to monetization.

S. IPO is testing memory mania stateside, adding fuel to the chip sector’s momentum. Delta Air Lines is set to report earnings Friday, with investors watching closely for margin trends amid rising costs and travel demand.

Opendoor continues to squeeze higher after its inclusion in the Russell indexes, sparking renewed speculation about a housing rebound. Among quick movers, defense and photonics stocks stood out. nLIGHT soared nearly twenty eight percent after securing a 627 million dollar laser weapons contract, validating its pivot into defense technology.

Lumentum jumped eleven percent, boosted by Meta’s chip plans and the broader photonics supply chain rally. I. infrastructure demand lifted server makers.

In contrast, Costco dipped four percent after a mixed quarterly report raised questions about valuation fatigue in consumer staples. Sandisk also popped eight percent following SK Hynix’s IPO news, riding the wave of renewed memory sector enthusiasm. I.

infrastructure plays. I. monetization as the main drivers.

Looking ahead to tomorrow, all eyes will be on Delta Air Lines as it reports earnings. Investors will be watching for updates on margins and cost pressures, which could set the tone for the travel sector and broader market sentiment. I.

remain the market’s heartbeat, overshadowing geopolitical risks and energy volatility. I. I.

is driving capital spending and reshaping supply chains. Meanwhile, defense and photonics stocks are catching a bid, and the housing-related squeeze in Opendoor adds another layer of interest. Keep an eye on Delta’s earnings tomorrow for clues on consumer demand and margin resilience.

Thanks for listening. Catch you next time on LazyListen.