Memory stocks rally 8% as Hormuz risk caps broader US indices

Nasdaq rose 0.16% to 26,770.92 as memory stocks rallied on Washington's push to keep Apple off Chinese chips; Dow fell 0.33% on Hormuz oil risk.

"The shift in interest rate expectations feeds into some of those tech names," said Rory McPherson, chief market strategist at Wren Sterling. "That helps explain some of that big rally we've had recently in tech."

Sandisk jumped 8.88% to $1,778, Micron gained 5% to $1,017 — back above $1,000 for the first time since July 23 — and Western Digital rose 6% to $540. Seagate added 2.5%. The Roundhill Memory ETF climbed 5% to $60.20, up 106% since its April 2 debut. The S&P 500 slipped 0.12% to 7,776.18.

The divergence leaves the Nasdaq pressing last week's high of 26,875.52 with the all-time record at 27,190.21 just above, while the Dow and S&P consolidate below their own records. FOMC minutes Wednesday and retail earnings from Home Depot, Lowe's and Walmart this week will test whether the consumer picture holds.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Apple directly that Chinese memory chips are off the table during the DRAM and NAND shortage. AI data centers have been buying everything these producers can ship, and Washington just removed the cheapest alternative for electronics makers. Elon Musk reinforced the thesis Friday, replying to a post that "Memory, not compute, is the rate limiter of the Agentic Era" with "Few realize this." Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said on the fiscal Q3 2026 call that "DRAM and NAND industry demand continues to significantly exceed industry supply," with tight conditions expected to persist beyond calendar 2027.

Anthropic's second-quarter revenue topped $11.5 billion, according to Bloomberg, giving chip buyers a reason to return after Friday's selling hit Broadcom and Applied Materials. Broadcom and Nvidia were both higher, while Marvell and Arm rose about 2% in premarket trading.

Rising Crude Caps the Dow and S&P

WTI crude rose about 0.5% to nearly $83 a barrel Monday, with Brent near $89. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would raise tensions in the Strait of Hormuz if diplomacy with the United States fails, keeping the supply premium in crude. The U.S.-Iran ceasefire expired Monday as negotiations stalled, and President Donald Trump told Fox News the U.S. would bomb Oman if it "gets in the way."

Higher oil puts the inflation question back in front of the Dow and S&P after last week's record. The contained CPI and flat PPI that helped stocks this month can look different if crude stays elevated through the next round of data. Gold held near $4,381 an ounce as investors sought safety, while the dollar remained under pressure after softer economic data.

Retail Earnings Test the Consumer

Home Depot reports Tuesday, Lowe's follows Wednesday and Walmart reports Thursday. The three retailers give traders their first read on the consumer since last week's soft retail sales number, the first monthly fall in nine months.

The memory group is doing the technical work, clearing key moving averages across the board. Sandisk gapped above its 50-day moving average at $1,656.12 and the 50% retracement level at $1,676.29, putting the stock in position to challenge the Fibonacci level at $1,836.32 with room to the all-time high at $2,354.39. The broader market needs oil to settle before the Dow and S&P can build on last week's record.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.