Global Chip Rebound; Amazon Gains as Apple Slides Post-Earnings

Today's top stories, with context, in just 15 minutes.

On today's podcast:

1) A rebound in global chipmakers carried into Friday, buoying stocks to end a month that saw a steep derating in this year’s most popular trade on a positive note. South Korean stocks surged on Friday, with the benchmark Kospi index rising a record 18% and chip heavyweights SK Hynix Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. climbing 30% and 27%, respectively. The rebound was fueled by positive factors, including bullish reports on the artificial intelligence buildout overseas and a pledge of regulatory support from the government.

2) Amazon shares jumped after the company reported cloud-computing revenue accelerated for a fifth straight quarter, easing investors’ concerns that it won’t produce a return on huge expenditures to meet the booming demand for artificial intelligence. Apple tumbled in late trading after component shortages weighed on the company’s sales forecast, signaling that industrywide supply constraints are taking a bigger toll than anticipated.

3) The yen lost more than half of its intervention-driven gains on Friday as the Bank of Japan kept interest rates steady and Governor Kazuo Ueda offered little fresh support for the currency. Japan’s currency weakened as much as 0.9% to 160.88 per dollar on Friday after advancing as much as 3.3% versus the dollar in New York trading on Thursday.

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