Preview of US Stock Market | Three major stock index futures rose together, the largest "quadruple witching day" in history is coming tonight.

Pre-market market trends 1. Before the market opened on June 18 (Thursday), the futures of the three major US stock indexes rose together. As of the writing, Dow futures rose 0.32%, S&P 500 index futures rose 0.73%, and Nasdaq futures rose 1.43%. 2. As of the writing, the German DAX index rose by 0.07%, the UK FTSE 100 index fell by 0.98%, the French CAC 40 index fell by 0.07%, and the European Stoxx 50 index rose by 0.11%. 3. As of the writing, WTI crude oil fell by 2.02% to $75.24 per barrel. Brent crude oil fell by 1.38% to $78.45 per barrel. Market News $8.3 trillion of options set to "explode"! The largest "quadruple witching day" in history hits the pension fund rebalancing again, and the US stock market faces a systematic position reset. Citadel Securities stock and stock derivatives strategy manager Rubina stated that the US stock market is entering one of the most critical technical position adjustment windows of the year. In the next two weeks, market trends will be more driven by trading mechanisms rather than fundamental factors. The first major technical event the June quadruple witching day is about to begin. The current open interest in options contracts has hit a historical high, with 28% of all listed options set to expire on that day, making it the largest option expiration event in history. About $8.3 trillion of US options exposure will be concentrated for clearing, 18% higher than the previous record of $7.1 trillion set in December last year. Such a large-scale option expiration will release a large amount of gamma exposure, triggering a systematic reset of market positions. The second major technical event end-of-quarter rebalancing is coming one after another. Rubina pointed out that many pension funds attach great importance to end-of-quarter asset allocation rebalancing operations. The funding ratio of the top 100 US pension funds currently stands at 110%, the highest level since 2001. Therefore, "we expect that many plans will continue to implement risk reduction and investment portfolio immunization strategies, resulting in mechanical selling of stocks and buying of fixed-income assets at the end of the month," he analyzed. Powell's debut "show of strength": Establish a special team to review the $6.7 trillion balance sheet, speculations about the Fed's "tapering" agenda intensify. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Powell made his debut on Wednesday, stating that he will establish a special task force to review the Fed's $6.7 trillion balance sheet. This is his first step in addressing the long-criticized policy issue. Powell stated during a press conference following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) decision on Wednesday that one of the independent working groups he is setting up will "evaluate the earnings and risks under the current ample reserve system and evaluate the composition of the balance sheet." Fed's dot plot "hawkish reversal": Half of officials expect rate hikes this year, inflation forecasts revised upwards. At the June interest rate meeting, Federal Reserve officials voted to keep rates unchanged but indicated that the possibility of rate hikes this year is increasing. The latest dot plot shows that nine officials expect at least one 25-basis-point rate hike this year, with six expecting at least two. Another nine officials expect no change or a rate cut. This is a significant change from the March dot plot, when no one predicted rate hikes this year. Meanwhile, Powell downplayed the forecasts of his colleagues. The new Fed chairman has been critical of the so-called "forward guidance" and has stated that he refuses to submit rate forecasts. Bank of England maintains rates but hawkish camp expands, policy statement retains action options. The Bank of England kept rates unchanged at 3.75% at its June meeting, in line with market expectations, but the voting results showed an increase in internal hawkish forces. In this meeting, in addition to Chief Economist Piel, Monetary Policy Committee member Greene also joined the camp supporting rate hikes, both voting to increase rates by 25 basis points, while only Piel supported a rate hike at the April meeting. The policy guidance conveyed in the statement did not change, with the Bank of England reaffirming its readiness to take action when necessary to contain inflation pressures, retaining policy flexibility. Although the recent US-Iran ceasefire agreement is expected to lower energy prices, the Bank remains vigilant about inflation risks, indicating that maintaining rates unchanged does not mean ignoring inflation pressures, and that it will respond quickly if necessary based on data. The increase in hawkish votes indicates that although most members choose to wait and see, the decision-making scale is gradually tilting towards tightening, and the subsequent path of interest rates will depend on actual inflation data and developments in the GEO Group Inc situation and its impact on energy prices. Intervention effect "completely neutralized"! Yen approaches 161 reversal after intervention, Japanese government signals "ready to act anytime". Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary stated on Thursday that the government is prepared to respond appropriately to exchange rate fluctuations at any time. With the yen weakening again, the market is closely watching whether the Bank of Japan will intervene to support the currency that has been under pressure for a prolonged period. When asked about the yen's decline, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary stated at a routine press conference, "We are prepared to respond appropriately to the foreign exchange market as needed." He also pointed out that while a depreciation of the yen benefits manufacturing exports and boosts corporate profits, it also increases the burden on companies and households by raising import costs. The government needs to "comprehensively examine" these impacts and emphasize that it will closely monitor market dynamics. This statement comes at a time when the US dollar is strengthening. Market expectations for the Federal Reserve's next move to raise rates instead of cutting them are rising, driving the dollar higher and putting pressure on the yen. On Wednesday, the yen against the US dollar fell to 160.795, hitting a near two-year low, completely reversing all gains made after Japans intervention on April 30. US gasoline prices fall below $4 mark! Hormuz reopening expectations challenging the Fed's hawkish narrative. US gasoline prices have fallen below $4 per gallon for the first time since March, bringing relief to American consumers who have been experiencing rising fuel costs for several months due to a unprecedented global energy supply disruption caused by political conflicts in the Middle East. Normally, a decrease in gasoline prices would quickly lower overall inflation, improve cash flow for low-income households, and release some discretionary spending capacity. For Federal Reserve policymakers, if gasoline prices continue to decline, it will reduce the tail risks related to "reinflationary shocks," potentially rekindling the market's expectations for a rate cut that have been dormant for months. Stock news Wall Street collectively bullish on Micron Technology, Inc. (MU.US), with price targets as high as $1500. Wall Street is currently experiencing an optimistic wave towards Micron Technology, Inc., a US memory chip company seen as a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, with various institutions raising their price targets. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft has raised Micron's price target from $1000 to $1500. The bank believes that with the widespread adoption of AI services, the amount of memory usage will explode, and the future demand for DRAM will far exceed supply growth in the coming years. Citigroup Inc. has significantly raised Micron's price target from $840 to $1200 and predicts that the average selling price of DRAM this year could potentially increase by up to 200%. In addition, investment bank Stifel has raised Micron's price target from $550 to $1500, while Wedbush has raised Micron's price target from $550 to $1300. AI "absorbing" memory chip capacity! Apple Inc. (AAPL.US) loses profit moat iPhone Pro may increase by $270. According to reports on Wednesday, Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook stated in an interview that the company will raise prices on some products to offset the continued rise in memory and storage chip costs. Cook did not specify which product lines will be affected, nor did he indicate the possible magnitude of the price increase or provide a clear timeline for the price hike. Estimated data from the research firm TechInsights suggests that the manufacturing cost of the next generation iPhone Pro may increase by approximately $270 as a result. Trump personally "announces": Apple Inc. will collaborate with Intel Corporation (INTC.US) to manufacture chips in the US, 18A technology secures key contract. US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Thursday that Apple Inc. has agreed to collaborate with Intel Corporation to design and manufacture its chips in the United States. The cooperation with Intel Corporation will help Apple Inc. diversify its chip manufacturing base while seeking additional chip capacity. This iPhone manufacturer heavily relies on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR (TSM.US), and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Sponsored ADR's advanced production lines are currently facing huge demand from artificial intelligence (AI) chip manufacturers such as NVIDIA Corporation and AMD (AMD.US). Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) "standing in the light" uses $3 billion in debt repurchases to solidify cash flow foundations "Optical interconnection + AI ASIC" bull market logic further strengthened. Global AI boom winner Broadcom Inc. announced on Thursday that its cash tender offer has expired and the final results have been announced. The cash tender offer aimed to purchase six series of outstanding senior notes. The AI-centric chip giant also announced that the total purchase value (excluding accrued interest payments) has been significantly increased from the previously announced $25 billion to $30 billion. The latest $30 billion bond repurchase is equivalent to clearing some long-term debt, optimizing duration and credit curve without sacrificing growth investment, to preserve strong financial flexibility for future AI ASIC, Ethernet switch core chips, optical interconnection systems, and advanced packaging investments. Aiming at AI memory lifeline! Netlist (NLST.US) upgrades patent war with Samsung, HBM and DDR5 may face US import ban. US memory technology company Netlist announced on Wednesday that it has filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung Electronics in the US International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Eastern District of Texas Federal Court. This lawsuit involves two US patents belonging to Netlist - No. 12,646,537 and No. 12,650,937, corresponding to Samsung's High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM) products and DDR5 RDIMM and MRDIMM memory modules. Netlist also includes Alphabet Inc. Class C (GOOGL.US), Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI.US), NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA.US), and Broadcom Inc. (AVGO.US) as additional defendants in the ITC complaint. This means that this patent war has expanded from a direct confrontation between Netlist and Samsung to the entire AI hardware supply chain. Rumble (RUM.US) acquires Northern Data, betting 250 MW of computing power on AI infrastructure. Video platform Rumble has completed the acquisition of Northern Data AG, officially entering the cloud and AI infrastructure field. After the transaction, Rumble holds approximately 85% of Northern Data and plans to rename itself as Rum Group, with two main business units: video platform Rumble and the cloud/AI infrastructure business Quake AI (formerly Northern Data). The latter brings approximately 250 MW of energy and data center assets, enabling Rumble to enter the AI computing power services, electricity, and data center markets, as well as empowering advertisers, users, and creators on the platform with AI. Boosted by this news, Rumble rose by approximately 17% in pre-market trading. Important economic data and event previews 20:30 Beijing time: Initial jobless claims and Philly Fed manufacturing index for the week ending June 13 in the US. 04:00 Beijing time the next day: US net long-term securities purchases for April. 04:30 Beijing time the next day: Federal Reserve balance sheet for the week ending June 17 in the US.