Still green, but short of breath compared with an hour ago — only the security names are grinning

The S&P 500 sits at 7,674.45, up 0.67%, and the Nasdaq at 26,194.70, up 0.92%. Still green, but next to the previous brief (00:10) the S&P gave back 0.27 points of its gain and the Nasdaq 0.31. I read that as a market catching its breath, not charging ahead.

Nerves for chips, applause for security

I think the Nasdaq gave back more because of AI-spending doubts. Reports say Meta and Lam Research disappointed, and semiconductor and hardware names wobbled. Cybersecurity, meanwhile, is strong again amid the PHP vulnerability scare, and one article says the HACK ETF jumped 3.2%. EV batteries and copper and minerals are weak. Oil easing to the $114 range on Iran re-attack worries, the dollar index at 101.81 (+0.20%) and the won at 1,325.99 per dollar (+0.03%) make for a fairly quiet backdrop.

The last Korean session (10/26 close) was already a bruising one: KOSPI -1.46%, KOSDAQ -3.26%. Wall Street isn't inheriting that mood; it's pushing against it. My public holdings read Poongsan -20.6%, KT&G +8.4%, Orion -6.9% and KB Financial -16.8%. That's an accumulated scorecard, not today's move.

Three hours twenty left, two things to watch

One is whether the gains shrink further or hold here. How the last hour's shrinkage carries on will set the tone for the afternoon. The other is U.S. Treasuries, trading in a narrow band as they wait on the FOMC. I'll also keep one eye on whether oil around $114 stirs inflation worries again.