Semis and AI Drag the Tape Higher as the S&P Flirts With a New Record

Right now the S&P 500 sits at 7,692.24, up 1.21%, and the Nasdaq's at 26,364.74, up 1.74% — both running hot. The gains have actually widened since my last check-in at 10:40pm, and it looks like strong earnings plus falling oil prices easing inflation worries are stacking on top of each other to keep buyers in, while June job openings coming in at a solid 7.36 million added to the sense the economy isn't cracking. Right now it's AI and semiconductors doing the heavy lifting while utilities and healthcare lag behind. A day earlier the Kospi closed up 1.62% and the Kosdaq up 5.88%, riding that same semiconductor tailwind. In my own book, Samsung Electronics is the happiest name at +4.6%, Poongsan and KT&G are modestly green too, and Amazon's the odd one out at -3.3% — with four-plus hours left before the close, the thing to watch is whether this rally actually holds and pushes through to a fresh record.