Huge surge late at night! Chips—major bullish news just broke! The Strait of Hormuz brings the latest update

The U.S. stock market is waiting for Trump’s major address.

Tonight, after the U.S. stock market opened, all three major indexes rose sharply together. Most large-cap technology stocks gained, and storage chip concept stocks surged across the board. Seagate Technology jumped by more than 9%. On the news front, Morgan Stanley upgraded Seagate Technology’s rating to “Preferred Stock” and raised its target price from $468 to $582.

Some analysts point out that investors are currently waiting for Trump’s upcoming press conference with the military, or looking for the latest signals of how the situation may develop from it. According to a recent report by U.S. media cited by Xinhua News Agency, a White House official said the 45-day ceasefire plan between the United States and Iran is only one of many options currently under discussion. The White House official said Trump has not yet approved the plan, and U.S. military action against Iran is still ongoing.

In addition, the market is highly focused on related developments in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the latest data from Bloomberg, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has risen to the highest level since the beginning of the U.S.-Iran conflict, and 21 vessels passed through the Strait over the weekend.

Storage chip concept stocks surge across the board

On the evening of April 6, Beijing time, after the U.S. stock market opened, all three major indexes rose sharply. As of 22:15, the Dow Jones rose 0.25%, the Nasdaq rose 0.49%, and the S&P 500 rose 0.35%.

Most large-cap technology stocks rose. Apple and Amazon gained more than 1%, and Google, Meta, and TSMC ADRs edged up; Nvidia, Microsoft, and Tesla dipped slightly.

Storage chip concept stocks surged across the board: Seagate Technology rose more than 9%, Western Digital rose more than 5%, and SanDisk and Micron Technology rose more than 3%.

Morgan Stanley announced it was upgrading Seagate Technology’s rating to “Preferred Stock.” The move is based on expectations that the company’s data center hard disk demand is rebounding, expansion of AI server storage is accelerating, and gross margin is expected to improve. Analysts said Seagate’s advantages are significant in terms of technical barriers in the HDD market and customer stickiness, and it is expected to continue benefiting from incremental storage demand driven by generative AI. This upgrade reflects institutions’ recognition of the company’s visibility into long-term earnings and the resilience of its market share.

As for the situation in the Middle East, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal in the U.S. cited by Xinhua News Agency on April 6, informed officials said the U.S. and regional mediators are pushing for a 45-day ceasefire agreement in an effort to completely end the war between the United States and Iran, but the likelihood of reaching an agreement remains “dim.”

The report said the ceasefire agreement is divided into two phases: first, an immediate ceasefire in exchange for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz; second, within 3 weeks, a “broader agreement,” which includes a region-specific permanent solution for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

The report said the regional mediators have informed Iran that although U.S. President Donald Trump has publicly threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants, “he still is earnestly hoping to reach a ceasefire,” and the U.S. “may even make concessions.”

Another major focus for the market at present is that U.S. President Trump will hold a press conference with the military at 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday (1:00 a.m. Beijing time on Tuesday).

Latest news on the Strait of Hormuz

On April 6, local time, Bloomberg reported that as more countries appear to have reached safety passage arrangements with Iran, shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has risen to the highest level since the initial stage of the U.S.-Iran conflict.

The report said that over the weekend, a total of 21 vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, the highest two-day total since early March, when traffic began to decline. Although the number of vessels transiting is still far below pre-war levels (about 135 vessels), more countries have already obtained transit permissions.

A senior crude oil analyst at Kpler in Singapore said, “While Iran is responding to requests from its partner countries, it is also strengthening its control over the Strait of Hormuz. Transit still depends on Iran’s willingness, and if the conflict escalates, the situation could change at any time.”

As of now, most of the approved vessels appear to be following routes directed by Tehran, sailing close to Iran’s coastline. However, more vessels have begun to choose routes along the opposite shore.

Currently, Iraq has informed Asian trading companies and refineries that, because the country’s crude oil vessels have received an exemption from Iran, they can now transit the Strait of Hormuz, and buyers can ship crude oil at their own discretion. This move is testing buyers’ confidence in this security assurance commitment. According to media reports citing a notice issued by Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) last Sunday, Iraq’s crude oil shipments are now “not subject to any potential restrictive measures.”

According to CCTV News, on April 6, local time, senior officials from the Iranian government said they have received the latest ceasefire proposal submitted by Pakistan, the mediator, and are currently reviewing the relevant contents.

The official said Iran will not accept reopening the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for conditions such as setting a final deadline or applying pressure to force it to make a decision. Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz with a “temporary ceasefire” as the condition for the exchange. Iran believes the United States is not ready to achieve a permanent ceasefire.

Iran: Petrochemical facilities hit

This evening, according to a report from Xinhua News Agency, on the 6th, Iranian media reported that Iran’s petrochemical plants in Asaluyeh and South Pars were “attacked by enemy forces” in Bushehr Province, and several explosions were reported.

Tasnim News Agency, citing a Bushehr Province official, reported that the U.S. and Israel launched attacks here again, and that the petrochemical production facilities in Asaluyeh were hit and damaged. Investigations into the extent of the damage are ongoing, and there are no reports of casualties.

The report said two companies that supply electricity, water, and oxygen to the petrochemical plants in Asaluyeh were attacked.

In a statement issued on the 6th, Israel’s Defense Minister Katz said Israeli forces struck Iran’s “largest petrochemical facility” in Asaluyeh in southern Iran. The facility is Iran’s main production base for petrochemical products and accounts for about half of the country’s total petrochemical output. He said that last week, Israel attacked another “major petrochemical facility” in Iran, and that together these two facilities account for about 85% of Iran’s export petrochemical product output.

Katz said the petrochemical industry is a core engine financing Iran’s military activities, and that Israel’s strike constitutes a serious economic blow to Iran, with losses reaching up to tens of billions of dollars. He said the Israeli military has been instructed to continue striking Iran’s national infrastructure with full force.

In a statement issued on the 6th, the Israel Defense Forces said that based on intelligence, the Israeli Air Force carried out an attack in Tehran, resulting in the death of Asghar Bagheri, the commander of the Special Operations Unit of the “Jerusalem Brigade” under Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (840 unit).

The statement said Bagheri was killed in the attack on the 5th. Bagheri has been the commander of the “Jerusalem Brigade” Special Operations Unit since 2019. He has previously held a series of important posts within the “Jerusalem Brigade,” and “participated in attacks worldwide targeting Israelis and Americans.”

Editors: Tactical Heng

Layout: Wang Lulu

Proofreading: Yao Yuan