Stocks in Asia slipped in early trading as heavyweight chip shares gave back some of the gains from Thursday’s blistering rally.

A gauge of Asian equities was down 1.1%, while South Korea’s tech-heavy Kospi dropped over 3%. US futures were little changed. The moves followed a choppy session on Wall Street, marked by heightened volatility in the tech sector. The S&P 500 ended flat, failing to sustain an early rally fueled by Micron Technology Inc., as Apple Inc.’s shares slid 6.1%. The iPhone maker led the Magnificent Seven lower after it raised prices on Macs, iPads and home devices.

Oil was in focus again after a projectile strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz saw Brent crude climb on Thursday, snapping a three-day decline. Prices edged lower in early Asia trading. Meanwhile, bond traders priced in slightly lower expectations for a Federal Reserve interest-rate hike in the months ahead after the central bank’s favored inflation gauge rose less than estimated.

The equity market’s recent swings highlight investors’ growing unease over whether the tech giants that have powered the rally for much of the past two years can continue to justify the high expectations embedded in share prices. Concerns over AI spending have driven sharp moves in chip stocks this week, and while those worries eased after Micron’s results, volatility in the sector remains high.

“A few cracks have developed in the tech sector recently,” said Matt Maley at Miller Tabak. “Therefore, we believe it will be extremely important to watch how these hyperscalers trade going forward because if they continue to decline, it’s going to make it very tough for the rest of the market to advance.”

The Nasdaq 100 Index finished up 0.8% on Thursday, after having climbed as much as 2.1%. Besides Micron’s rally following its blockbuster results and outlook, Qualcomm Inc. shares also jumped after it forecast annual sales of more than $15 billion from artificial intelligence components in data centers by fiscal 2029.
That optimism was missing in early Asian trading, with shares of SK Hynix Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and Kioxia Holdings Corp. among the biggest drags on the regional benchmark. Elsewhere, OpenAI is leaning toward holding off on an initial public offering until 2027, the New York Times reported, citing three people involved in the company’s deliberations.Meanwhile, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the personal consumption expenditures price index, rose 0.4% in May, below economists’ median estimate for a 0.5% increase. The annual rate accelerated to 4.1%, well above the Fed’s 2% target. A separate report showed the US economy grew at an annualized 2.1% pace in the first quarter, faster than previously estimated.

Interest-rate swaps linked to future Fed rate decisions showed a drop in wagers on a hike this year, pricing in about 34 basis points of tightening by the December policy meeting versus some 36 basis points at Wednesday’s close. The chance of a rate increase next month dwindled to about one-in-three.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams said interest rates are well positioned to bring inflation back toward the central bank’s target.

“The worst of inflation and consumer angst may be mostly behind us,” said Brian Jacobsen at Annex Wealth Management. “As long as gasoline prices trend lower, inflation expectations will likely follow suit.”

In commodities, gold was steady after rebounding above $4,000 an ounce in the previous session as traders tempered expectations for interest-rate hikes.

Mumbai: Vedanta Resources has received tenders for about $943 million of its outstanding dollar bonds under an early participation window of its debt buyback offer, a key step in the miner’s ongoing efforts to manage maturities and refinance debt. The tender offer, launched on June 9, sought to repurchase portions of US dollar bonds of $2.1 billion outstanding.

The early tender results represent about 45% of the $2.1 billion outstanding across four bond series maturing between 2030 and 2033. Debt capital market executives said it was a good response from investors because a large portion of them are comfortable holding the bonds due to their attractive yields and Vedanta’s improving refinancing profile.

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), under a set of draft directions published Wednesday, said eligible participants in government securities would be allowed to maintain short positions.

It also laid down a detailed framework for trading in “when-issued” securities, which are bonds that have been announced by the government but have not yet been issued.

Market participants are required to send their inputs by July 17.

Short positions of 2% of the outstanding stock or ₹500 crore, whichever is higher, will be allowed for liquid government securities.
Banks and standalone primary dealers (PD) will be allowed to take both long and short positions of up to 25% of the notified auction amount, while all other eligible participants will be subject to a 10% limit, the draft proposal said.

“This would establish a market-clearing price before the bond even enters circulation,” a bond trader at a PD said. “More active when-issued trading could also reduce uncertainty around auction outcomes and improve secondary market liquidity once the bonds begin trading.”
For other, illiquid government bonds, the limit for short positions has been set at 1% of the outstanding stock or ₹250 crore, whichever is higher, the draft said.Short selling allows traders to sell bonds they do not currently own, with the expectation of buying them back later at a lower price.

The RBI has stipulated that such positions must be covered within three months through outright purchases in the secondary market, primary auctions or the when-issued market.

Clearer limits on position and operational guidelines could improve liquidity and price discovery in government securities, by allowing traders and primary dealers to express views on interest rates more efficiently, market participants said.

The draft directions also lay down a detailed framework for trading in “when-issued” securities. RBI announces bonds on a Monday, while the auction is held on a Friday.

Qualcomm QCOM 4.02%increase; up pointing triangle agreed to acquire the AI software company Modular for about $3.9 billion, in a bid to make artificial intelligence faster and cheaper for its customers.

The semiconductor company said Wednesday that, as consideration for the acquisition, Qualcomm expects to issue up to 19.2 million shares of its common stock to equity owners of Modular. That values the deal at around $3.92 billion, based on Qualcomm’s closing price of $204.13 on Tuesday.

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To go faster and deeper will require advances in drilling technologies.

Companies are developing drilling equipment that is more stable when breaking through hard rock at high temperatures.

Some firms are even aiming to penetrate rock without using standard drills.

Quaise, a company with roots at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is using a technology called millimetre wave drilling. The frequency is similar to that of microwaves.

Quaise’s application involves “sending electromagnetic waves in the microwave millimetre wave spectrum to essentially melt and vaporise through the rock,” explains Harry Kelso, Quaise’s communications manager.

Traditional geothermal energy clusters around hotspots on the earth’s surface where very hot rocks can be easily accessed.

“Millimetre wave drilling really enables you to access super-hot geothermal just about anywhere in the world,” says Kelso.

While Quaise is planning to use some conventional drilling at the project site it’s developing in Oregon, Kelso says that conventional drills start to break down more quickly when it reaches very hard rock.

Replacing drill bits increases the cost and time of drilling.

In Quaise’s case, Kelso says, “millimetre wave drilling is really what changes that because we’re not using a physical drill bit.”

Other companies are also working on advanced drilling technology, such as projectiles that move several times faster than the speed of sound.

Another crucial resource in the process is water. While some types of next-generation geothermal could create risks of water contamination or overconsumption, careful design can avoid this problem.

Initially Quaise’s system requires a lot of water, but according to Kelso, once the water is in the system it is continually circulated over the super-hot rocks.

“We’re essentially just recycling the water over and over,” he says.

Quaise is continuing to raise funds, with the aim of its Oregon project being up and running by 2030.

Like other early versions of geothermal systems, it’s an expensive project to get up and running.

“The economics are somewhat challenging,” Kelso admits. “Geothermal today is still more expensive because you are not getting as much power out of the well as you would if you were using that well for fossil fuel.”

But Quaise hopes that by targeting very high temperatures, of between 300C and 500C, the economics will improve.

While the higher end of that temperature range is ambitious, it’s a case of the-hotter-the-better.

“It allows you to get 10 times more energy per well from geothermal, which changes the economics and the power potential of geothermal,” according to Kelso.

Mumbai: India’s equity benchmarks ended marginally higher on Thursday, ending the truncated week with gains for a third straight week, as easing crude prices lifted sentiment.

The NSE Nifty 50 rose 0.1%, or 34.35 points, to close at 24,056, while the BSE Sensex gained 0.1%, or 109.25 points, to end at 77,100.47. Both indices were up about 0.4% for the week.

Markets had gained as much as 1% intraday before paring advances ahead of the prolonged weekend. Financial markets will be shut on Friday for Muharram. Brent crude extended its decline for a fourth straight session, slipping to as low as $72.4 a barrel.

“The Street was anticipating that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz by June, and now that it has played out, oil prices have settled favourably for India, lending some investor confidence,” said Dharmesh Kant, head of research, cholamandalam securities.

Kant said dips are likely to attract buying interest with the downside appearing limited. While monsoons remain a key variable, he expects no major correction even with up to a 15% rainfall deficit. “Margins and profitability will improve from Q2 onwards, though Q1 numbers could be tepid,” he said.

The India VIX fell 2.5% to 13.1, pointing to easing near-term volatility expectations.
“This week, Nifty remained range-bound, taking support around its 20-day moving average of 23,800,” said Ruchit Jain, head of technical research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. He expects the index to test the 24,200-24,250 zone in the near term, though a breakout above this level is needed for a sustained upmove.The Nifty Midcap 150 and Nifty Smallcap 250 indices fell 0.5% each. Out of 4,406 shares traded on the BSE, 1,602 advanced, and 2,627 declined. The Nifty Auto index gained 2.3% on softer crude prices, while the Nifty Metal index fell 1.4% and the Nifty IT index declined 0.9%.

Foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net ₹383.8 crore on Thursday.