This weekend, the market revolved around two main themes.

On the US-Iran situation, Iran launched drones towards the Strait of Hormuz, and Israel warned of a possible rocket retaliation after an airstrike in Beirut, reigniting tensions in the Middle East after a few weeks of calm. This pushed crude oil back above $94.

On the tech stock side, the significant sell-off in the semiconductor sector on Wall Street last Friday spread to the highly AI industry-sensitive Asian markets after Monday's opening, with the South Korean KOSPI experiencing a sharp drop triggering a circuit breaker, led by Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

Crude Oil

The crude oil prices remained sensitive to news over the weekend.

On June 6, CNN reported Iran's drone launch towards the Strait of Hormuz, with the US reportedly shooting down at least 4 drones. At that time, CL had just rebounded from around $89.3, and this news became the starting point for a new upward trend, gradually reclaiming the intraday opening price of $92.15.

On the evening of June 7, the Israeli military warned of a possible rocket retaliation after an airstrike in Beirut. The oil price peaked at $94.72 and then retreated, only to spike again around 1:30 am on the 8th.

Less than an hour later, Trump stated on Fox News, "I want to say to Iran – your missiles have done enough, take a break now." This was a statement hinting at de-escalation, causing the oil price to briefly fall back to the price before the previous news.

It is evident that the market's pricing response to Middle East news is quite proficient.

SK Hynix, DRAM, and NVIDIA

While there was panic selling in the South Korean stock market, core players in the industry chain sent out optimistic signals.

This weekend, there was a "news trade" revolving around Huang Renxun on TradeXYZ.

On June 8, NVIDIA and SK Hynix announced a new multi-year technology collaboration to jointly develop the next-generation memory products for AI data centers. Huang Renxun clearly stated that SK Hynix will continue to be NVIDIA's largest memory partner.

Upon the news, SKHX on TradeXYZ surged by 6.5%.

Furthermore, Hwang In-hyun's statement on "Memory Shortage to Last for Years" caused the DRAM ETF on TradeXYZ to spike directly to the weekend price boundary.

Stock prices reflected traders' concerns about valuation, while the industry's most critical customers deepened their long-term ties with suppliers.

If NVIDIA truly believes that the AI buildout is nearing its end, there is no need to continue locking in memory supply at this juncture.

Was the KOSPI circuit breaker a result of pricing in the peak of the AI cycle ahead of time, or was it simply a deleveraging from a crowded trade at the high?

Eli Lilly

In stark contrast to the semiconductor panic, pharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly surged over the weekend by +8.64% to close at 1214.50. The catalyst was TD Cowen's raised expectations for the GLP-1 market: increasing the 2030 global GLP-1 sales forecast from $139 billion to $150 billion, and projecting 59 million patients receiving GLP-1 therapy by then; oral weight loss drugs are expected to capture 14% of sales, with Lilly and Novo Nordisk continuing to dominate the market with shares of 62% and 31%, respectively.

Amid a weekend dominated by semiconductor sell-offs, LLY was among the few targets that strengthened based on its own fundamental narrative, indicating that funds are still seeking higher certainty growth stories beyond the AI supply chain.

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