Chips Rally, Oil Cools, Rate Fears Reheat

Right now the S&P 500 sits at 7,662.89 (+0.94%) and the Nasdaq at 26,363.52 (+1.08%), still holding gains with about 20 minutes left before the close — though the pace has cooled a touch from an hour ago, down 0.10 points on the S&P and 0.05 on the Nasdaq. Oil's spike finally easing let chips and AI names lead the charge, with Dell and HPE's blowout server orders adding fuel. At the same time, hotter-than-expected core CPI pushed rate-hike odds above 70%, lifting the dollar index to 99.09 while fintech and biotech slipped. It's a world away from yesterday's Korean close, where the Kospi and Kosdaq both got hammered (-1.76%, -1.95%) — meanwhile my ConocoPhillips, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Freeport-McMoRan positions are all still sitting on unrealized gains. Into the close, I'm watching whether the chip rally can keep outrunning the rate-hike jitters.