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US Equity Markets End Lower as Technology Sector Slides

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US equity indexes fell Wednesday as the technology sector paced declines and traders assessed Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's comments on inflation.

* Warsh said price risks have eased in recent weeks and reiterated his aim to bring inflation down to the Fed's 2% target, Bloomberg reported.

* The US and Iran held indirect technical talks in Doha aimed at securing shipping flows through the Strait of Hormuz and a lasting ceasefire, Reuters reported, citing a source with direct knowledge of the talks and an Iranian official.

* The Institute for Supply Management's US manufacturing index fell to 53.3 in June from 54 in May, compared with forecasts for 53.9 in a Bloomberg poll.

* The S&P Global US manufacturing index for June was revised down to 53.9 from the flash reading of 55.7, versus expectations that the flash reading would be unrevised.

* August West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $1.52 to settle at $67.98 per barrel, while August Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $1.83 at $71.13.

* Micron Technology (MU) signed a strategic customer agreement with General Motors (GM) to provide a long-term supply of memory and storage platforms for the automaker's future vehicle production. Micron shares still fell 11%.

* Meta Platforms (META) is building a cloud infrastructure business to sell access to AI computing power and models, setting up competition with Amazon (AMZN) Web Services, Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, and Alphabet's (GOOG, GOOGL) Google Cloud, Bloomberg reported. Meta shares rose 8.8%, the second-biggest gainer on the Nasdaq.

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US Equity Markets End Higher Amid Semiconductor-Led Technology Stock Gains

US equity indexes were higher on Tuesday amid semiconductor-led gains in technology stocks.* US job openings rose to 7.594 million in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, above the 7.296 million openings expected in a Bloomberg-compiled survey and up from the 7.585 million openings reported in April.* The Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence rose to 91.2 in June from a downwardly revised 90.6 in May, below the 94.4 predicted in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.* The Institute for Supply Management's Chicago PMI fell to 56.7 in June from 62.7 in May, compared with the 55.1 anticipated in a Bloomberg-compiled survey.* August West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell $0.67 to settle at $70.08 per barrel, while August Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.23 at $72.92.* SanDisk (SNDK) shares were up roughly 10%, the top gainer on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, after Bernstein adjusted the price target for the company to $3,000 from $1,700 while maintaining its outperform rating.* Digital Realty (DLR) shares fell about 5.7%, the worst performer on the S&P 500, after the company said it priced a secondary public offering of 12.3 million shares by affiliates of Blackstone (BX) at $185 each.

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Update: US Equity Indexes Jump as Semiconductors Boost Technology

(Updates with index/price moves from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite set to clock the biggest quarterly gains since Q2 of 2020 amid semiconductor-led gains in technology.The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.5% to 26,209.2, and the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 7,496.1 ahead of Tuesday's close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.2% to 52,286.5, heading for the strongest first half in five years.Technology was the standout gainer intraday, followed by industrials. Real estate, consumer staples, and utilities led the decliners.Of the top 20 stocks with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, 18 were from the tech sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Within those tech names, the majority were either semiconductors or semiconductor equipment and materials. The top gainer was SanDisk (SNDK), trading up 11%.Bernstein adjusted the price target for SanDisk to $3,000 from $1,700 while maintaining its outperform rating. Shares of SanDisk were the top gainers on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.In geopolitical news, US envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are in Doha for meetings with Qatari mediators, according to CNN. Technical talks are ongoing, but there are currently no high-level meetings between the US and Iran, CNN reported, citing Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson.The front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent slipped 0.3% to $72.92 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate fell 1.1% to $70.01 per barrel.

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Update: Semiconductors Push US Equity Indexes Higher in Midday Trading; Crude Oil Declines

(Updates with index/price moves and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes rose amid semiconductor-led gains in technology and a decline in crude oil after midday Tuesday.The Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.2% to 26,135.1, with the S&P 500 up 0.7% to 7,489.7, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by 0.3% to 52,348.4.Technology was the standout gainer, followed by industrials.Of the top 20 stocks with a market capitalization of more than $200 billion, 17 were from the tech sector, according to data compiled by Finviz. Within those tech names, the majority were either semiconductors or semiconductor equipment and materials. The top gainer was Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), trading up 7.1%.In geopolitical news, US envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are in Doha to meet Qatari mediators, CNN reported Tuesday, citing Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson. The US duo will not meet with Iranian officials, the news report added.The mediators are working as go-betweens for US-Iran talks, which won't include any high-level officials, Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari said, according to an Associated Press report.The front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent slipped 0.2% to $73.01 per barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate fell 1.1% to $70.00 per barrel.

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